Paul Cain - The Complete Slayers - Centipede Press, 2011, Limited Edition.

Lakewood, CO, Centipede Press, 2011. Limited Edition. Hardback. A fine copy. 25 of 500 copies, signed by Max Allan Collins (introduction), Lynn F. Myers (introductions) and Ron Lesser. "Paul Cain was the hardest boiled of all the Black Mask writers. And other than Hammett and Chandler, the one who best epitomizes the hard, brittle style that represented the magazine. Short staccato sentences void of introspection, conjunctions, and all but the most necessary exposition. Stark, violent, and occasionally brutal storylines. And prose so provocative and compelling that the reader finds himself gulping it down whole instead of in the usual bite-size pieces. This new edition includes a stunning biographical introduction by Max Allan Collins and Lynn F. Myers, Jr., which incorporates years of research into the life of Paul Cain, about whom little is known. Along with the stories, this edition features a cover gallery of old issues of Black Mask as well as old covers of the Fast One and Seven Slayers collections" [source: centipedepress.com]. Some dustiness to the top edge. Cover art by Ron Lesser [12111, Hyraxia Books].