The 71 tales in this indispensable volume represent the complete short fiction of one of the genre's giants....like all the best short stories, each of them, from the badger game turned murderous to the fatalistic ex-con trying vainly to go straight, seems less created than discovered, dug up from dark places and carved to gemlike brightness. Lots of suspense writers can keep you turning pages far into the night. But how many others can keep you starting story after story, popping just one more poisoned chocolate, hours after you meant to turn out the light?

Contents:
BERNIE RHODENBARR
• Like a Thief in the Night
• The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis
• The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke
• Lynne Wood & Lawrence Block
SOMETIMES THEY BITE
• A Bad Night for Burglars
• Collecting Ackermans
• The Dettweiler Solution
• Funny You Should Ask
• The Gentle Way
• Going Through the Motions
• Like a Dog in the Street
• And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
• Nothing Short of Highway Robbery
• One Thousand Dollars a Word
• Sometimes They Bite
• Strangers on a Handball Court
• This Crazy Business of Ours
• When This Man Dies
MARTIN EHRENGRAF
• The Ehrengraf Defense
• The Ehrengraf Presumption
• The Ehrengraf Experience
• The Ehrengraf Appointment
• The Ehrengraf Riposte
• The Ehrengraf Obligation
• The Ehrengraf Alternative
• The Ehrengraf Nostrum
• The Ehrengraf Affirmation
LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
• The Books Always Balance
• The Boy Who Disappeared Clouds
• Change of Life
• Click!
• The Dangerous Business
• Hot Eyes, Cold Eyes
• If This Be Madness
• A Little Off the Top
• Leo Youngdahl, R.I.P.
• The Most Unusual Snatch
• Passport in Order
• That Kind of a Day
• Weekend Guests
• With a Smile for the Ending
• You Could Call It Blackmail
KELLER
• Answers to Soldier
• Keller’s Therapy
• Keller on the Spot
SOME DAYS YOU GET THE BEAR
• As Good as a Rest
• A Blow for Freedom
• Cleveland in My Dreams
• Death Wish
• Good for the Soul
• Hilliard’s Ceremony
• How Would You Like It?
• Like a Bug on a Windshield
• Someday I’ll Plant More Walnut Trees
• Some Days You Get the Bear
• Some Things a Man Must Do
• Something to Remember You By
• The Tulsa Experience
CHIP HARRISON
• Death of the Mallory Queen
• As Dark as Christmas Gets
NEW STORIES
• Headaches and Bad Dreams
• How Far It Could Go
• In for a Penny
• Like a Bone in the Throat
• Three in the Side Pocket
MATTHEW SCUDDER
• Out the Window
• A Candle for the Bag Lady
• By the Dawn’s Early Light
• Batman’s Helpers
• The Merciful Angel of Death
• The Night and the Music
• Looking for David