That’s why mystery fans and critics alike rank the historical thriller True Detective at the top of their lists —and why the book swept up a Shamus Award for best novel from the Private Eye Writers of America. Now, author Max Allan Collins (Road to Perdition) reissues the contemporary classic that introduces the inscrutable, wise-cracking Nathan Heller in all his guts and glory. Mayor Cermak aims to scrub up Chicago’s rancid reputation for the World’s Fair, and that daunting task comes down to the youngest plainclothes cop in town, Nathan Heller of the pickpocket detail. When the Mayor’s “Hoodlum Squad” brings Heller along on a raid with no instructions but to keep his mouth shut and his gun handy, he finds himself an unwitting, unwilling part of an assassination attempt on Al Capone’s successor, Frank Nitti. Soon, he’s smack in the middle of a power struggle between the mob and the mayor, and it’s up to the young detective to upend a potentially nation-shaking political assassination in Miami Beach. In Collins’ eruptive and evocative large-landscape historical thriller, readers consort with the likes of “Dutch” Reagan, George Raft, and FDR himself, as the author weaves the intricate history of the Chicago’s Century of Progress with a classic noir mystery. Rich in riveting plot turns, including a beautiful female client and a heartbreaking romance, True Detective is one of the most highly entertaining and unlikely coming-of-age stories ever written.

    Includes four unabridged novels by Horace McCoy: "They Shoot Horses Don't They," Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," "No Pockets in a Shroud," and "I Should Have Stayed Home."

    Edgar award Nominee — THE BROAD HAD MORE MILES ON HER THAN THE N.J. TURNPIKE... — And so did the cab Simon Jaffe hacked around New York every day. But at night he went home to another world, his collection of the pulps: Black Mask and Crime Busters, Mickey Spillane and Same Spade. And especially Red Diamond, the ex-cop turned private eye who took on the tough guys with his .38 cocked, his fists at the ready, and a blond named Fifi at his side.Then came the fateful afternoon when his wife hocked his entire collection and sent Simon over the edge - and onto the mean streets with a new identity: Red Diamond, PI. Now he was out there in the naked city looking for Fifi and getting his first deadly lessons in the ABCs: A for A crazy blue-eyed dame, B for the Big Boys, and C for coke, crime...and corpses.