Kirkus Reviews
These 14 previously published stories (from EQMM, AHMM, etc.) include a cornball goround for Nameless ("The Big Bite") in which he outsmarts one client and outdumbs another; a long yawn for Gilded Age sleuths John Quincannon and Sabina Carpenter ("The Highbinders") that has them dodging Tong feuds, sniffing out opium dens, and locating a pilfered corpse; and a dreary SF adventure ("And Then We Went to Venus") that drags along to a lastline meltdown. More successful are "Bank Job," in which two heists intersect; "Wishful Thinking," with its dueling marital fantasies; and "Liar's Dice," the ultimate strangeratthebar encounter. A husband goes nuts in "Putting the Pieces Back," and a wife stews interminably in "I Think I Will Not Hang Myself Today." Also on hand: a paean to the pulps, "The Man Who Collected 'The Shadow' "; a tale of extremely convoluted ratiocination, "The Arrowment Prison Riddle"; and a rollickingly original tale of house theft, "Caught in the Act." For those who like a final twist, Pronzini provides "Shade Work," a poker con's comeuppance; "Out of the Depths," an anecdote that throws a robber and an abuser up against a disgruntled housewife; and "The Dispatching of George Ferris," a practical joker needled to death.