Мягкой ночью на Среднем Западе Джонни прислоняется к стене аптеки. Он ждет Дороти, свою невесту, и сегодняшняя ночь — последняя ночь, когда они здесь встретятся, потому что сегодня 31 мая, а 1 июня — день их свадьбы. Но она не приходит, и Джонни узнает об ужасном несчастном случае. В один короткий момент Джонни теряет все, что для него важно, и его жизнь рушится. И Джонни начинает свой путь к мести…

In depths of despair, the beautiful, lonely Madeline contemplates suicide. She gently strokes an ugly revolver, the sole legacy of an alcoholic father. Holding the barrel to her temple, she pulls the trigger. There is only the click of the hammer on an empty chamber. The failure of the weapon brings on a rush of joy, and renewed hope for her future. She throws down the gun — and it explodes with deadly fury. The bullet strikes an innocent young woman passing in the street outside, who in the next moment dies in Madeline’s arms. So begins Into the Night, the quintessential Cornell Woolrich novel, never before published. Although Woolrich worked on it for years, this tale of hatred...

A crumpled five-dollar bill, a ticket to San Francisco, a legal document terminating a marriage lost long ago in angry words— These were all she had. But between today and tomorrow a strange thing happened. She had a chance to build a whole new life, a life based on a lie.

One chance in 7,000,000 of getting away! Four hours to make good their escape! She had not the courage to go without him. He cannot go until he finds the person who committed the murder which can so “circumstantially” be traced to his door. And that person was one of 7,000,000 in New York City. Bricky, the small town girl, meets Quinn, a boy from her own Iowa town, a day too late. The long arm of coincidence brings them happily together — two lost “little” people in the vast city. The long arm of retribution reaches out to separate them forever. When Quinn, at Bricky’s behest, so that as free people they can take the morning bus back to Iowa, goes to return some money he has just...

Story of a boy who found a way.

Anything can happen — and usually does — when a lying murderer tells the truth!

In his spirited Introduction to a topnotch collection of Great American Detective Stories, Anthony Boucher says: “The detective short story belongs to us. It started in America and it started off magnificently. In five stories, Edgar Allan Poe created the form and almost all its possible variants... There are as many kinds of detective short stories as there are of detective novels — and you’ll find most of them here, from the ethical poetry of Melville Davisson Post to the brash foolery of Frank Gruber.” A glance at some of the titles of the stories included confirms Boucher’s modest words and guarantees that you’ll find plenty of good reading here.

The Gringo got the job — to kill the man he’d been hired to protect!