Trenchcoats, dangerous dames, mean streets and narrative like "My heater sneezed death… Ker-chee!" are the hallmarks of a truly American form of mystery writing: the garish and glorious pulps. Started over 70 years ago and still going strong, it's possibly the meanest, flashiest genre there is, yet it remains one of the smartest. With this collection, the best authors of all eras are brought together, from Dashiell Hammett to John D. MacDonald to Jim Thompson, with a smattering of talented no-names and an occasional surprise—who knew that science-fiction enfant terrible Harlan Ellison wrote detective fiction? From a literary standpoint, these might not be their best stories, but every short in this murder weapon-sized, 600-page collection is a hell of a fun read.