The Cat with a Headache

A fast-talking detective. A city full of grifters, gunmen, and double-crosses. Vintage pulp crime fiction at its finest. Smart, sardonic, and sharper than ever, Cellini Smith is back in The Cat with a Headache: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Cellini Smith, Volume 3. In this third collection of hardboiled detective stories from the legendary Black Mask magazine, Robert Reeves' wisecracking sleuth tackles a new batch of gritty mysteries packed with murder, mayhem, and misdirection. From seedy alleys to shadowy nightclubs and even a murder at 30,000 feet, these four classic noir mysteries showcase the offbeat cases and razor-edged dialogue that made Reeves a standout among the golden age pulp writers. Set against the backdrop of 1940s America, these vintage crime stories combine the punchy pace of pulp fiction with the cerebral edge of a detective who reads people as easily as he reads case files. With his mix of book smarts and streetwise instincts, Cellini Smith offers a refreshing twist on the traditional private eye. Perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and other masters of classic detective fiction, this volume is essential reading for anyone who loves hardboiled heroes, tough-talking dames, and the dark alleys of pulp-era Los Angeles and New York. Rediscover a forgotten icon of crime fiction-Cellini Smith is back on the case."[Reeves] can hold his own with the best, giving you as sharp and action-packed a story-line as any of them, brightened by vivid dialog and enlivened by the presence of Cellini Smith, who is unique among hard-boiled private eyes in being admittedly an intellectual-and tough enough to get away with it."- Anthony Boucher