Charles Ardai - Fifty-to-One

Deliciously entertainin...[one of those] crime tales so sharp theyll slice your fingers as you flip the pages.

Playboy

Excellen...[Ardai] has done a fine job of capturing both the style and the spirit of the classic detective novel.

Chicago Sun-Times

An instant classic. The...climax of this novel, as unexpected as it is powerful, will move you in ways that crime fiction rarely can.

The Washington Post

Barrels forth at the speed of [a] Manhattan taxi...and contains some whiplash-inducing plot twists...Tightly written from start to finish, this crime novel is as satisfyingly edgy as the pulp classics that inspired it.

Publishers Weekly

A wonderful novel, brilliantly plotted, beautifully written, and completely satisfying. I loved the book.

Richard S. Prather

Dark energy and period perfection.

Chicago Tribune

It isnt just greatits phenomenal. Easily, this is the best crime novel [of the year] thus far.

Bookgasm

Hands down, the best mystery novel of the year. It might be the best mystery written in America in years. [This] book...packs a punch that left me breathlessly turning the pages.

Book Reporter

Another sure-fire winner...Reads like a collaboration between Henry Miller and Mickey Spillane.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Expertly crafted in every way and ending with one of the most shocking...conclusions in recent memory.

Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine

Reads like O. Henry run amok in McBains 87th Precinct.

Ink19

Classic pulp.

Kevin Burton Smith, January Magazine

A wonderful chase from start to finish.

Charlie Stella

Excellent...terrific.

The Globe and Mail

Able to cut to the heart of a character or a situation with equal ease, he has a voice as unforgettable as his stories.

Billie Sue Mosiman

[Ardai] builds his tale slowly and really throws it into high gear in the emotional final chapters.

George Pelecanos

A pleasant visit to an unpleasant society where honor and loyalty count for more than life.

James Crumley

Another standout [about a] man on a memorable downward spiral.

The Boston Globe

[A] layered hard boiled work [with] an ending that leaves readers mouthing wow!...Essential reading.

Library Journal

Gives Chandler a run for his money.

Paramour

The best thing since bread sliced with a bloody knife...[Ardai] writes with genius.

Dick Adler

It knocked my socks off. The last 30 pages, I dont think I took a breath.

Megan Abbott

The best Hard Case Crime offering Ive read in a very long time. Its fast, suspenseful, profound, violent, witty, disturbing, and heartrending.

About to Charge

A crime novel with an end that you wont soon forget...theres something so classic about it that, when you read it, you cant help but picture the story unfolding in crisp black-and-white.

Nights and Weekends

This guys a gold mine, Borden said, jabbing with the back of his pen at the newest book to grace his desk. Hes the genuine article. Gold Medal wishes they could find a guy like this.

The book was titled I Robbed the Mob! and was credited to that most prolific of authors, Anonymous, but Tricia was as proud of it as if her name had been plastered all over the cover. The illustration showed a man in a heavy overcoat, his face hidden in shadows, advancing on a buxom woman in a torn blouse. What that had to do with robbing the Mob, Tricia had no idea. But Borden said it would sell books.

Beneath the title it said

Torn From the Headlines!

The Scandalous True Story of One Mans

LIFE in the UNDERWORLD!

You know what Casper Citron said about us on his program yesterday? Borden said. He called the book reprehensible. Said we glorified crime. Thats good for a thousand copies, easy. The things selling, Trixie. You did goodyou and this guy you found. Borden grabbed his jacket from a hook on the back of the door, shrugged it on. You think he really ripped off his boss?

Oh, Im sure he wouldnt say it if it werent true, Tricia said.

Man, Borden said. The guy has guts. I tell you, I wouldnt want to be in his shoes the day someone hands Nicolazzo a copy of the book.

It was at that moment that the frosted glass pane in Bordens door shattered...

SOME OTHER HARD CASE CRIME BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:

SONGS OF INNOCENCE by Richard Aleas

FRIGHT by Cornell Woolrich

KILL NOW, PAY LATER by Robert Terrall

SLIDE by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr

DEAD STREET by Mickey Spillane

DEADLY BELOVED by Max Allan Collins

A DIET OF TREACLE by Lawrence Block

MONEY SHOT by Christa Faust

ZERO COOL by John Lange

SHOOTING STAR/SPIDERWEB by Robert Bloch

THE MURDERER VINE by Shepard Rifkin

SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake

NO HOUSE LIMIT by Steve Fisher

BABY MOLL by John Farris

THE MAX by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr

GUN WORK by David J. Schow

KILLING CASTRO by Lawrence Block*

THE DEAD MANS BROTHER by Roger Zelazny*

THE CUTIE by Donald E. Westlake*

HOUSE DICK by E. Howard Hunt*

CASINO MOON by Peter Blauner*

* coming soon

by Charles Ardai

A HARD CASE CRIME BOOK

(HCC-050)

First Hard Case Crime edition: December 2008

Published by

Titan Books

A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

144 Southwark Street

London

SE1 OUP

in collaboration with Winterfall LLC

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should know that it is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Copyright 2008 by Winterfall LLC

Cover painting copyright 2008 by Glen Orbik

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Print edition ISBN 978-0-85768-324-3

E-book ISBN 978-0-85768-396-0

Cover design by Cooley Design Lab

Design direction by Max Phillips

www.maxphillips.net

Typeset by Swordsmith Productions

The name Hard Case Crime and the Hard Case Crime logo are trademarks of Winterfall LLC. Hard Case Crime books are selected and edited by Charles Ardai.

Printed in the United States of America

Visit us on the web at www.HardCaseCrime.com

For Max Phillips, Without whom

The day she got the job dancing, they asked her what her name was and she told them the first thing that came to mind: Trixie. It wasnt her real name, of course, her sister had told her enough to know better than to give them her real name; but it was close enough that if someone called it out to her she wouldnt think they were calling someone else.

Her name was Tricia Heverstadt, Patricia Heverstadt. She was five foot one and weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. She was pretty enough, but her body wouldnt make any man look at her twiceno bosom to speak of and nothing much in the way of hips. She had long legs for her frame, but what did that mean when your frame was as small as hers was? Her hair was brown, her eyes were brown, her skin was pale, her smile didnt shine. But she could move.