Just to be able to say something dealing with the theme of
the month, I got out my copy of the Pronzini/Adrian-edited
HARD-BOILED, a highly selective anthology (James Reasoner has
a story in it; I don't) that conveniently has the stories
arranged chronologically. There are only two from the '20s:
Hammett's "The Scorched Face" (1925) and W. R. Burnett's
"Round Trip" (1929).
The Hammett story, as you'd expect, is sharp and fresh. The
close connection that the Op has with the cops (mentioned in
Bill Denton's earlier post) is prominent. It's a fast-moving
story, with plenty of violence, but there's also some
methodical detective work. A great little surprise in the
last lines, too. This is a good one.
It's telling, I guess, that the Hammett story was in BLACK
MASK, while Burnett's appeared in HARPER'S. "Round Trip" is a
gangster story, and it reminded me a little of
Hemingway's
"The Killers," except that it's funnier. You can see why
Hammett's story would never have been published in
HARPER'S.
Too much sex, for one thing.
I liked Burnett's story well enough to consider re-reading
LITTLE CAESAR one of these days.
Bill Crider
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