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CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF HARD CASE CRIME—
20 UNFORGETTABLE STORIES BY
HARD CASE CRIME FOUNDER CHARLES ARDAI

Since debuting 20 years ago, Hard Case Crime has won acclaim for publishing the best in hardboiled crime fiction—not least of all the work of founding editor Charles Ardai, which has won the Edgar and Shamus Awards, been selected for "Year’s Best" anthologies, and earned praise from everyone from the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to Megan Abbott and Stephen King.

Collected here for the first time anywhere are the author’s 20 finest stories, including his Edgar-winning "The Home Front," about death and repentance during World War II; the Shamus Award finalist "Nobody Wins," about a brutal gangland enforcer searching for the woman he loves; and year’s-best selections such as "A Bar Called Charley’s," about a traveling salesman’s most grueling night on the road. From Brazil at Carnival to Times Square at midnight, from Tijuana, Mexico to history’s first gunshot in 11th-century China, Ardai will take you to some of the most dangerous places in the world—and the darkest corners of the human heart.

• First publication ever!
• Featuring the Edgar Award-winning Best Short Story "The Home Front"
• Includes rare stories that have been unavailable for decades
• Cover painting by renowned film and book cover illustrator Paul Mann

"The best thing Hard Case is publishing right now? Ardai’s own books."

— San Francisco Chronicle

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

— Washington Post

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

— Megan Abbott

"Dark energy and period perfection."

— Chicago Tribune

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

— Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine