Dorothy B. Hughes

A down on his luck screenwriter reluctantly agrees to adapt a trashy bestseller to the silver screen. Rather than read the book himself, Steele convinces a star-struck hatcheck girl, Mildred Atkinson, to accompany him home and tell him the story in her own words. Later the night, Mildred is found murdered and Steele, who has a history of violent behavior, becomes the prime suspect. A neighbor who is attracted to him lies to the police providing him...

In the 1960s a number of gifted writers--some at the peak of their careers, others newcomers--reimagined American crime fiction through formal experimentation and the exploration of audacious new subjects and themes. This is the first of two volumes gathering the best of their work, nine novels of astonishing variety and inventiveness that pulse with the energies of that turbulent, transformative decade. In The Murderers (1961) by Fredric Brown, an...