This milestone collection of forty-two stories by the biggest and most prestigious names in the mystery field creates a fictional mirror of our fears, our need for justice - or revenge - and our violent world. James Elroy and Andrew Vachss surpass the mere hard edge to depict a bloody, pitiless world of criminals and avengers. Sue Grafton uses her P.I. Kinsey Millhone to balance the scales of justice in the shotgun killing of a cocaine dealer when the authorities can't or won't. And Sara Paretsky brings back Philip Marlowe to solve a classic California case of double murder in a brilliant homage to Raymond Chander.

All the stories in this unparalleled treasury represent crime writing that no longer follows the rules of yesterday's cozies and detective fiction. Evil still lurks there, but there are no sanitized off-stage murders solved by aloof paragons of deduction. Instead we have vigorous, ironic, disturbingly realistic and undeniably alive tales that are remarkably diverse and riveting. A mystery lover's dream.