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The Complete Crime Stories
Seventeen hardboiled crime stories from the “poet of the tabloid murder” and author of Double Indemnity (Edmund Wilson).
They call him Lucky—but he has never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky’s hand finds a railroad spike. Before he knows it, he has smashed the investigator’s head and shoved him out of the car. If he hurries, if he’s lucky, he will get back to Los Angeles in time to establish an alibi, burn his clothes, and avoid the electric chair. But as Lucky will discover, the deadliest threat is lurking within his own mind.
“Dead Man” is just one of the outstanding stories included in this volume. The author of some of the most hard-boiled prose ever written, James M. Cain understood fear in all its forms—and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run.
They call him Lucky—but he has never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky’s hand finds a railroad spike. Before he knows it, he has smashed the investigator’s head and shoved him out of the car. If he hurries, if he’s lucky, he will get back to Los Angeles in time to establish an alibi, burn his clothes, and avoid the electric chair. But as Lucky will discover, the deadliest threat is lurking within his own mind.
“Dead Man” is just one of the outstanding stories included in this volume. The author of some of the most hard-boiled prose ever written, James M. Cain understood fear in all its forms—and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run.
422 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2015
215 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
About the author
James M. Cain
144 books884 followersJames Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the "roman noir."
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
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February 8, 2025
4 Stars. Still reading this one, and enjoying it too! The collection contains 17 stories by James M. Cain of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' fame. If the individual story is not listed separately on GR (that's where I have reviewed it), I'll add a short review here as I get to them. Although the title implies that these are all crime stories, at least a few are not. Otto Penzler has added a great little bio on Cain. There's another collection, 'The Baby in the Icebox and Other Short Fiction' from 1961 and more than half of the stories are in both works. Cain is one of the best noir writers and well worth a read. He writes a good love story too and the two are often combined.
The numbering below is the order they are entered in 'Complete Crime ..'
1. 'The Baby in the Icebox.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
2. 'Pay-Off Girl.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
3. 'Two O'clock Blonde.' 4 Stars. Another take on romance and crime from James M. Cain. Jack Hull invites a young woman to his hotel room one afternoon - you decide if, in 1953, she was a prostitute; I wasn't sure! A problem develops. She's someone he's talked to and has a picture of, but instead, Zita introduces him to Maria and leaves. The women are both beautiful and Hungarian but he wanted to be with Zita. Not long after, Maria's husband enters the scene. It's a shakedown. Where are we going here?
4. 'The Birthday Party.' 4 Stars. There's an adage that boys as they enter their teenage years are often not as mature as girls. Burwell Hope fits the bill. He's been invited to Marjorie Lucas' birthday party; she's a classmate but he says she has "The face that only a mother could love." Don't we sometimes say such cruel things. And the other guys going are "sissies." He does enjoy swimming and, to avoid Red the ice cream truck guy to whom he owes a dime, he goes to the local pond where to his amazement Marjorie turns up! She's a great diver and he begins to enjoy her company. Before you get too invested in this boy meets girl story, should I remind you that Cain loves sudden twists?
5. 'Brush Fire.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
6. 'Coal Black.' 5 Stars. A romance in a coal mine! With a touch of terror thrown in. Lonnie is a 19-year-old coal miner; he likes his job. One day he's down in the mine and there's a real surprise - a young woman appears! She had been hiding in one of the cars and the train suddenly moved and took her deep below. Now she can't find her way out. Scared, she begs for his help. But Lonnie informs her, and us, that a woman in a coal mine means bad luck. The other miners are a afraid that her presence portends a cave-in. Lonnie says she shouldn't be seen by them. Some think the mine is already haunted. Will the two of them make it out?
7. 'Career in C Major.' A novella. Review to follow.
8. 'Death on the Beach.' 3 Stars. Not a crime story, but it's sad and full of the difficult side of our human experience. A little uplifting too, and again with Cain, there's romance. Diego is a young taxi driver in the town of Matamoras, Mexico. It's on the Rio Grande not far from a lovely beach on the Gulf of Mexico; Diego often drives people to and from the beach. It's there that he meets a lovely young woman named Maria and her rambunctious son Gil who is, maybe, four. He's a defiant one and swims out much further than he should - he wants to see the porpoises. That's where I'll leave you.
9. 'Dead Man.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
10. 'The Girl in the Storm.' 4 Stars. Another tough situation which could lead to romance. But it's a different twist from Cain this time. Jack Schwab has been riding the rails in the depression and wakes up in Hidalgo, California - in the middle of a terrible flood and rain storm. He barely escapes from drowning and finds refuge in a half-finished home. Then he sees a car on the near-by road stall in the flood waters and he rescues the driver. Glory be, it's a young woman, Flora Hilton, who has dry matches for a fire. Soon they find food. Both of them are sure to survive but ..
11. 'Joy Ride to Glory.' 5 Stars. A crime story. With very tense moments and another surprise. Fear is one of Cain's specialties. The question comes down to, 'Is Red Conley dead, or is he alive?' Red is in jail for a month or so for stealing 6 tires and today he's unloading meat and supplies for the prison along with a lifer named Bugs Calenso. That's when a guard slips up and the two of them escape as stowaways in the delivery truck. Red didn't really want to escape but Bugs holds him at gun point while committing a string of gruesome killings. Does Red survive all of this? It's 11 pages of suspense.
12. 'Pastorale.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
13. 'Mommy's a Barfly.' 3 Stars. As you try to figure out what's happening, exactly who's saying what to whom, a tragedy is unfolding. The action takes place in an unknown bar. We meet a young woman who has picked-up the wrong nickname, 'barfly,' that's a person who imbibes too much at the local bar too often. She's picked-up another, more-damaging one too. Married, she has a cute, 4-year-old daughter, Pokey, who she brings along and who occasionally tap dances on the bar to great applause. But then her soldier husband arrives; he's been away serving in the army.
14. 'The Taking of Montfaucon.' 3 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
15. 'Cigarette Girl.' 3 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
The numbering below is the order they are entered in 'Complete Crime ..'
1. 'The Baby in the Icebox.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
2. 'Pay-Off Girl.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
3. 'Two O'clock Blonde.' 4 Stars. Another take on romance and crime from James M. Cain. Jack Hull invites a young woman to his hotel room one afternoon - you decide if, in 1953, she was a prostitute; I wasn't sure! A problem develops. She's someone he's talked to and has a picture of, but instead, Zita introduces him to Maria and leaves. The women are both beautiful and Hungarian but he wanted to be with Zita. Not long after, Maria's husband enters the scene. It's a shakedown. Where are we going here?
4. 'The Birthday Party.' 4 Stars. There's an adage that boys as they enter their teenage years are often not as mature as girls. Burwell Hope fits the bill. He's been invited to Marjorie Lucas' birthday party; she's a classmate but he says she has "The face that only a mother could love." Don't we sometimes say such cruel things. And the other guys going are "sissies." He does enjoy swimming and, to avoid Red the ice cream truck guy to whom he owes a dime, he goes to the local pond where to his amazement Marjorie turns up! She's a great diver and he begins to enjoy her company. Before you get too invested in this boy meets girl story, should I remind you that Cain loves sudden twists?
5. 'Brush Fire.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
6. 'Coal Black.' 5 Stars. A romance in a coal mine! With a touch of terror thrown in. Lonnie is a 19-year-old coal miner; he likes his job. One day he's down in the mine and there's a real surprise - a young woman appears! She had been hiding in one of the cars and the train suddenly moved and took her deep below. Now she can't find her way out. Scared, she begs for his help. But Lonnie informs her, and us, that a woman in a coal mine means bad luck. The other miners are a afraid that her presence portends a cave-in. Lonnie says she shouldn't be seen by them. Some think the mine is already haunted. Will the two of them make it out?
7. 'Career in C Major.' A novella. Review to follow.
8. 'Death on the Beach.' 3 Stars. Not a crime story, but it's sad and full of the difficult side of our human experience. A little uplifting too, and again with Cain, there's romance. Diego is a young taxi driver in the town of Matamoras, Mexico. It's on the Rio Grande not far from a lovely beach on the Gulf of Mexico; Diego often drives people to and from the beach. It's there that he meets a lovely young woman named Maria and her rambunctious son Gil who is, maybe, four. He's a defiant one and swims out much further than he should - he wants to see the porpoises. That's where I'll leave you.
9. 'Dead Man.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
10. 'The Girl in the Storm.' 4 Stars. Another tough situation which could lead to romance. But it's a different twist from Cain this time. Jack Schwab has been riding the rails in the depression and wakes up in Hidalgo, California - in the middle of a terrible flood and rain storm. He barely escapes from drowning and finds refuge in a half-finished home. Then he sees a car on the near-by road stall in the flood waters and he rescues the driver. Glory be, it's a young woman, Flora Hilton, who has dry matches for a fire. Soon they find food. Both of them are sure to survive but ..
11. 'Joy Ride to Glory.' 5 Stars. A crime story. With very tense moments and another surprise. Fear is one of Cain's specialties. The question comes down to, 'Is Red Conley dead, or is he alive?' Red is in jail for a month or so for stealing 6 tires and today he's unloading meat and supplies for the prison along with a lifer named Bugs Calenso. That's when a guard slips up and the two of them escape as stowaways in the delivery truck. Red didn't really want to escape but Bugs holds him at gun point while committing a string of gruesome killings. Does Red survive all of this? It's 11 pages of suspense.
12. 'Pastorale.' 4 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
13. 'Mommy's a Barfly.' 3 Stars. As you try to figure out what's happening, exactly who's saying what to whom, a tragedy is unfolding. The action takes place in an unknown bar. We meet a young woman who has picked-up the wrong nickname, 'barfly,' that's a person who imbibes too much at the local bar too often. She's picked-up another, more-damaging one too. Married, she has a cute, 4-year-old daughter, Pokey, who she brings along and who occasionally tap dances on the bar to great applause. But then her soldier husband arrives; he's been away serving in the army.
14. 'The Taking of Montfaucon.' 3 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
15. 'Cigarette Girl.' 3 Stars. See my single story review elsewhere on GR.
June 10, 2015
James M. Cain should be a name that needs no introduction: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), Serenade (1937), Mildred Pierce (1941), Double Indemnity (1943), all of them classics of noir both on the page and on the silver screen. Postman in particular blew the doors off sex in literature, one of the first novels in a clean-cut decade to feature sex and lust as a driving force. Cain’s writing focuses on the point where “love at first sight” intersects “crazed animal lust,” the all-encompassing and inflamed passion that can become the first steps down an easy road to murder—death of a husband, a wife, another lover. What many forget is that Cain was really a short-story writer—most of his novels were only around 30,000-40,000 words in length, which falls into “novella” territory today. Cain was at his best with the short story, and many of his best short tales are collected in this edition.
Many of Cain’s novel follow the same theme: a romance between a shifty man and a dangerous woman, set in a darker, seedier part of the world that exists outside of comfortable society. “Pay-Off Girl” has a man falling for a bookie’s pay-off girl in a seedy bar; he’ll have to fight to keep her, though, as she’s working a job you don’t just walk away from. “Brush Fire” has a drifter working for the Civilian Conservation Corps extinguishing California forest fires fall for a beautiful young woman in camp, until he runs afoul of the man he’d saved earlier in the day—her husband. “Coal Black” has a miner and a lost woman trapped in the inky blackness of a coalmine, huddling together in fright; it’s bad luck to bring a woman into a mine, but this chance encounter ends with the desperate hope of a new beginning. In “Two O’Clock Blonde,” it’s between a traveling salesman and the maid of a dumpy hotel—an opportune afternoon affair monkeywrenched by a grift attempt.
These are all excellent stories—I really enjoyed “Coal Black” and “Brush Fire” in particular—but perhaps the best is “The Baby in the Icebox,” set at a roadside gas station operated by a young married couple and told from the perspective of a drifter they’ve employed. The husband wants to get into big cats, and operates his own roadside amusement show; little does he know that his wife has a way with cats, and in her hands even his dangerous pet tiger becomes a docile pet. But neither are happy with their marriage; each is seeing someone on the side, and it’s obvious that the marriage’s days are numbered. With the ensuing deadly game of cat and mouse, it could easily have been titled “Tiger in the Kitchen” instead. A knockout story, and a great way to lead off the collection.
Cain does great work painting the gray underworld where lust, desperation, and greed drive some to murder. “Joy Ride to Glory” has a pair of cons bust out of prison, the protagonist forced at gunpoint by a sadistic killer. A nice surprise twist shows that even a con might get a chance for a fresh start. “Dead Man” follows a train-hopping hobo who kills a railroad detective by accident; he flees back through L.A. in an attempt to evade the police, making several attempts to throw pursuers off his tail. That said, it also has a strong theme of redemption by the end. “Pastorale” is a bit dated (as Cain’s first published story, this should not be surprising), but is still a decent tale. It’s about a drifter named Burbie who returns home and falls in love with a woman—they wish to be together, but have to deal with her rich husband. Desperate to be together, they talk a dangerous killer into killing the old man for his wealth, a mere $23 in change that Burbie planted in a pot. Needless to say, things become more grim and deadly than Burbie anticipated.
Some of the most effective stories are those that aren’t specifically crime stories, though everything is written in Cain’s trademark hardboiled patois. “The Birthday Party” is a sweet coming-of-age story, where a boy would rather go swim in the creek than prepare to go to a girl’s birthday party. When she shows up while he’s swimming, it’s quite apparent that she has her eye on him, though he’s oblivious to it all, and he screws up by making some self-aggrandizing lies. “Mommy’s a Barfly” is a fairly recent discovery—a submitted copy of it was found and printed in 2012. Set in a darkened bar during the War, a torch singer pianist entertains a young girl out far past her bedtime—her mother is a two-timing dancer, married to a handsome sergeant and shacking up with a “pie-faced runt.” Cain intended it as a tearjerker, and it’s quite effective; it wasn’t lost due to its quality, with a wonderful atmosphere full of song, smoke, and grim sadness. “The Taking of Montfaucon” is a dusty war story about two couriers treading across No Man’s Land between two HQ posts, a tale that ostensibly drew from Cain’s own experiences in the Great War.
Cain thrived as a stylist—the reason he worked best at short fiction was because he could pack a lot of punch into a short tale, and his writing does not waste words. He had an exquisite flair for character, and his first-person protagonists all have their own distinct voice—full of accents and jargon and slang, the words of the hard-working lower class and of the underworld, full of shady barrooms and cigarette girls. It’s not the snappiest or most quotable writing, accolades oft used to describe contemporaries Chandler and Hammett. But his writing reads smooth, fast, and clear; Cain understood his characters on a psychological level, and his sparse prose is a thing of beauty. He can evoke a certain seedy, uneasy atmosphere with ease, then spin a romance into it without trying. Chandler hated Cain’s style, but it proved a hit with readers and helped cement noir within mainstream modernist literature. All told, he wrote some of the best short fiction of the 1930s.
James M. Cain wrote tales of Depression-era desperation like none other. His fiction straddles the gray area between hope and damnation—whether it’s a romantic dreaming for a brighter future, or about a criminal on the run from the law. The diversity and quality of his fiction remains high to this day. Several of the stories here are pure potboilers, and they’ve captured the distinctive feel of 1930s literature in both good and bad ways. I’m not quite sure where it MysteriousPress/Open Road Media’s lineup, given there’s a good deal of overlap between it and the two other Cain collections they’ve released, The Baby in the Icebox and Career in C Major and other stories, all priced at $7.99. But if you’re a fan of Cain’s work, or would like a good introduction to him, The Complete Crime Stories puts the best of his short works in one place. It collects a sizable number of stories that range from decent potboilers to excellent gems, and deserves a place on the reading list of all noir readers.
Contents list:
The Baby in the Icebox
Pay-Off Girl
Two O’clock Blonde
The Birthday Party
Brush Fire
Coal Black
Career in C Major
Death on the Beach
Dead Man
The Girl in the Storm
Joy Ride to Glory
Pastorale
Mommy’s a Barfly
The Taking of Montfaucon
Cigarette Girl
The Robbery
The Money and the Woman (The Embezzler)
Many of Cain’s novel follow the same theme: a romance between a shifty man and a dangerous woman, set in a darker, seedier part of the world that exists outside of comfortable society. “Pay-Off Girl” has a man falling for a bookie’s pay-off girl in a seedy bar; he’ll have to fight to keep her, though, as she’s working a job you don’t just walk away from. “Brush Fire” has a drifter working for the Civilian Conservation Corps extinguishing California forest fires fall for a beautiful young woman in camp, until he runs afoul of the man he’d saved earlier in the day—her husband. “Coal Black” has a miner and a lost woman trapped in the inky blackness of a coalmine, huddling together in fright; it’s bad luck to bring a woman into a mine, but this chance encounter ends with the desperate hope of a new beginning. In “Two O’Clock Blonde,” it’s between a traveling salesman and the maid of a dumpy hotel—an opportune afternoon affair monkeywrenched by a grift attempt.
These are all excellent stories—I really enjoyed “Coal Black” and “Brush Fire” in particular—but perhaps the best is “The Baby in the Icebox,” set at a roadside gas station operated by a young married couple and told from the perspective of a drifter they’ve employed. The husband wants to get into big cats, and operates his own roadside amusement show; little does he know that his wife has a way with cats, and in her hands even his dangerous pet tiger becomes a docile pet. But neither are happy with their marriage; each is seeing someone on the side, and it’s obvious that the marriage’s days are numbered. With the ensuing deadly game of cat and mouse, it could easily have been titled “Tiger in the Kitchen” instead. A knockout story, and a great way to lead off the collection.
Cain does great work painting the gray underworld where lust, desperation, and greed drive some to murder. “Joy Ride to Glory” has a pair of cons bust out of prison, the protagonist forced at gunpoint by a sadistic killer. A nice surprise twist shows that even a con might get a chance for a fresh start. “Dead Man” follows a train-hopping hobo who kills a railroad detective by accident; he flees back through L.A. in an attempt to evade the police, making several attempts to throw pursuers off his tail. That said, it also has a strong theme of redemption by the end. “Pastorale” is a bit dated (as Cain’s first published story, this should not be surprising), but is still a decent tale. It’s about a drifter named Burbie who returns home and falls in love with a woman—they wish to be together, but have to deal with her rich husband. Desperate to be together, they talk a dangerous killer into killing the old man for his wealth, a mere $23 in change that Burbie planted in a pot. Needless to say, things become more grim and deadly than Burbie anticipated.
Some of the most effective stories are those that aren’t specifically crime stories, though everything is written in Cain’s trademark hardboiled patois. “The Birthday Party” is a sweet coming-of-age story, where a boy would rather go swim in the creek than prepare to go to a girl’s birthday party. When she shows up while he’s swimming, it’s quite apparent that she has her eye on him, though he’s oblivious to it all, and he screws up by making some self-aggrandizing lies. “Mommy’s a Barfly” is a fairly recent discovery—a submitted copy of it was found and printed in 2012. Set in a darkened bar during the War, a torch singer pianist entertains a young girl out far past her bedtime—her mother is a two-timing dancer, married to a handsome sergeant and shacking up with a “pie-faced runt.” Cain intended it as a tearjerker, and it’s quite effective; it wasn’t lost due to its quality, with a wonderful atmosphere full of song, smoke, and grim sadness. “The Taking of Montfaucon” is a dusty war story about two couriers treading across No Man’s Land between two HQ posts, a tale that ostensibly drew from Cain’s own experiences in the Great War.
Cain thrived as a stylist—the reason he worked best at short fiction was because he could pack a lot of punch into a short tale, and his writing does not waste words. He had an exquisite flair for character, and his first-person protagonists all have their own distinct voice—full of accents and jargon and slang, the words of the hard-working lower class and of the underworld, full of shady barrooms and cigarette girls. It’s not the snappiest or most quotable writing, accolades oft used to describe contemporaries Chandler and Hammett. But his writing reads smooth, fast, and clear; Cain understood his characters on a psychological level, and his sparse prose is a thing of beauty. He can evoke a certain seedy, uneasy atmosphere with ease, then spin a romance into it without trying. Chandler hated Cain’s style, but it proved a hit with readers and helped cement noir within mainstream modernist literature. All told, he wrote some of the best short fiction of the 1930s.
James M. Cain wrote tales of Depression-era desperation like none other. His fiction straddles the gray area between hope and damnation—whether it’s a romantic dreaming for a brighter future, or about a criminal on the run from the law. The diversity and quality of his fiction remains high to this day. Several of the stories here are pure potboilers, and they’ve captured the distinctive feel of 1930s literature in both good and bad ways. I’m not quite sure where it MysteriousPress/Open Road Media’s lineup, given there’s a good deal of overlap between it and the two other Cain collections they’ve released, The Baby in the Icebox and Career in C Major and other stories, all priced at $7.99. But if you’re a fan of Cain’s work, or would like a good introduction to him, The Complete Crime Stories puts the best of his short works in one place. It collects a sizable number of stories that range from decent potboilers to excellent gems, and deserves a place on the reading list of all noir readers.
Contents list:
The Baby in the Icebox
Pay-Off Girl
Two O’clock Blonde
The Birthday Party
Brush Fire
Coal Black
Career in C Major
Death on the Beach
Dead Man
The Girl in the Storm
Joy Ride to Glory
Pastorale
Mommy’s a Barfly
The Taking of Montfaucon
Cigarette Girl
The Robbery
The Money and the Woman (The Embezzler)
March 2, 2025
Significantly more closure than his Incomplete Crime Stories. And, natch, in These Trying Times, we all want More Closure.
May 30, 2015
James M. Cain - The Complete Crime Stories is a 2015 Mysterious Press/ Open Road Integrated Media publication. I was provided a copy of this book my the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Most people equate the name James M. Cain with his famous hardboiled crime novels such as “The Postman Always Rings Twice”. But, Cain also wrote wrote short stories for magazines, as well as screenplays.
This is a collection of seventeen short stories by Cain, none of which I had ever read or even heard of, and I actually considered myself a fan. So, hats off to the publisher for collecting this outstanding group of stories and putting in them into one volume and in digital format.
Now, a brief word about the these stories:
The stories are all pretty short, some longer than others. While labeled as crime stories they have a kind of pulp quality to them and many are just dark essays on the underbelly of human nature. While many years have passed since these stories were written, they still pack a punch, and could be shocking to even the most jaded modern reader. No holds barred, no politically correct watered down dialogue or actions and some may even be offended, especially when it comes to the treatment of women in some cases.
However, I did enjoy reading some more obscure works by this author. I couldn't pinpoint a story I would call my favorite in the collection, but the first story - “The Baby in the Icebox” was the perfect lead in and stuck with me. Not all stories were to my liking, but for the most part the stories are quintessential Cain and one can't help but caught up in his signature prose.
If you are a fan of this author, or of the hard boiled style of writing, you really do want to pick this one up. Cain's unapologetic style of writing and his insight into humanity's dark side is absolutely riveting even in small, contained stories like these. So, even if you aren't all that familiar with the author, this is a nice way to familiarize yourself with a true legend in this genre.
4 stars
Most people equate the name James M. Cain with his famous hardboiled crime novels such as “The Postman Always Rings Twice”. But, Cain also wrote wrote short stories for magazines, as well as screenplays.
This is a collection of seventeen short stories by Cain, none of which I had ever read or even heard of, and I actually considered myself a fan. So, hats off to the publisher for collecting this outstanding group of stories and putting in them into one volume and in digital format.
Now, a brief word about the these stories:
The stories are all pretty short, some longer than others. While labeled as crime stories they have a kind of pulp quality to them and many are just dark essays on the underbelly of human nature. While many years have passed since these stories were written, they still pack a punch, and could be shocking to even the most jaded modern reader. No holds barred, no politically correct watered down dialogue or actions and some may even be offended, especially when it comes to the treatment of women in some cases.
However, I did enjoy reading some more obscure works by this author. I couldn't pinpoint a story I would call my favorite in the collection, but the first story - “The Baby in the Icebox” was the perfect lead in and stuck with me. Not all stories were to my liking, but for the most part the stories are quintessential Cain and one can't help but caught up in his signature prose.
If you are a fan of this author, or of the hard boiled style of writing, you really do want to pick this one up. Cain's unapologetic style of writing and his insight into humanity's dark side is absolutely riveting even in small, contained stories like these. So, even if you aren't all that familiar with the author, this is a nice way to familiarize yourself with a true legend in this genre.
4 stars
May 27, 2015
A man uses a tiger to try and murder his wife, a young code clerk falls for a beautiful bookie, a bank executive caught in a web of deceit. These are only a few of the exciting stories in this collection of Crime Fiction by the master James M. Cain.
James M. Cain has written some of the great crime novels of our time. Works like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity still stand out as masterpieces of Crime fiction. These seventeen stories are a mixed bag. Cain is an excellent writer so there are no bad stories here. Some are better than others. Even though this is called Complete Crime Stories not all of the stories are crime stories, but they are all enjoyable. Cain had an amazing ability to pull you in to the story in just a few short words. There are some real gems here. One of my personal favorites is the classic “The Baby in the Icebox.” In just a few short pages we have adultery, attempted murder, and tigers. Many of the stories have characters falling impossibly in love. Sometimes they have relationships falling completely apart.
Cain’s spare prose and often realistic look at human nature would make him one of the great influences on Elmore Leonard. The short story is one of the literary forms where American authors tend to shine the brightest. When reading these stories you can really see how Cain was a true master of the short story.
James M. Cain has written some of the great crime novels of our time. Works like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity still stand out as masterpieces of Crime fiction. These seventeen stories are a mixed bag. Cain is an excellent writer so there are no bad stories here. Some are better than others. Even though this is called Complete Crime Stories not all of the stories are crime stories, but they are all enjoyable. Cain had an amazing ability to pull you in to the story in just a few short words. There are some real gems here. One of my personal favorites is the classic “The Baby in the Icebox.” In just a few short pages we have adultery, attempted murder, and tigers. Many of the stories have characters falling impossibly in love. Sometimes they have relationships falling completely apart.
Cain’s spare prose and often realistic look at human nature would make him one of the great influences on Elmore Leonard. The short story is one of the literary forms where American authors tend to shine the brightest. When reading these stories you can really see how Cain was a true master of the short story.
April 27, 2017
The first story in this collection is possibly the most perfect short story I've ever read. It's dark, it's tense, it features a man trying to kill his wife with a tiger, and the twist at the end is surprising and satisfying.
Another story in the collection is about a man who learns to sing opera to spite his wife, ends up falling in love with his teacher, and sings his way into a new career. It's obviously written by someone who knows a lot about opera singing and keep it interesting. The tension comes from what he's going to do about his wife, his singing and his teacher as it's all spelled out in the parts he plays on stage.
All the stories are a blend of the maudlin and the unsentimental with characters you won't easily like but won't easily forget. I enjoyed this immensely.
Another story in the collection is about a man who learns to sing opera to spite his wife, ends up falling in love with his teacher, and sings his way into a new career. It's obviously written by someone who knows a lot about opera singing and keep it interesting. The tension comes from what he's going to do about his wife, his singing and his teacher as it's all spelled out in the parts he plays on stage.
All the stories are a blend of the maudlin and the unsentimental with characters you won't easily like but won't easily forget. I enjoyed this immensely.
September 9, 2024
This is billed as "The Complete Crime Stories". Not sure that is completely accurate. I haven't been able to find a comprehensive list of all of Cain's works. This collection contains two novellas, and 15 short stories. The novellas are at least three hours of time reading time, but the short stories are only 20 to 30 minutes in length. Here are the stories with their publish date.
Career in C Major, 1946
The Embezzler (The Money and the Woman), 1940
Short Stories:
The Baby in the Icebox, 1932
Pay-Off Girl, 1952
Two O'clock Blonde, 1953
The Birthday Party, 1936
Brush Fire, 1936
Coal Black, 1937
Death on the Beach, 1858 (Written by Jack London)
Dead Man, 1936
The Girl in the Storm, 1939
Joy Ride to Glory, 1981
Pastorale, 1928
Mommy's a Barfly, 2012
The Taking of Montfaucon, 1929
Cigarette Girl, 1953
The Robbery, 1928
Most if not all of these stories are about obsessive love. In all of Cain's writing about "love", it seems more like lust to me or at least some kind of dysfunctional obsession. Cain does a wonderful job in creating women characters that are attractive. The only problem is that the guy (first person point of view) either doesn't trust the woman, can't explain why he's attracted to the woman (at least in a spiritual way) or there is some other dysfunction going on.
On the whole, the collection is a healthy amount of reading material containing over 400 pages. I wish they had included the publish date at the beginning of each story; this information is only contained at the back of the book; this is where I learned one of the stories was written by Jack London.
Career in C Major, 1946
The Embezzler (The Money and the Woman), 1940
Short Stories:
The Baby in the Icebox, 1932
Pay-Off Girl, 1952
Two O'clock Blonde, 1953
The Birthday Party, 1936
Brush Fire, 1936
Coal Black, 1937
Death on the Beach, 1858 (Written by Jack London)
Dead Man, 1936
The Girl in the Storm, 1939
Joy Ride to Glory, 1981
Pastorale, 1928
Mommy's a Barfly, 2012
The Taking of Montfaucon, 1929
Cigarette Girl, 1953
The Robbery, 1928
Most if not all of these stories are about obsessive love. In all of Cain's writing about "love", it seems more like lust to me or at least some kind of dysfunctional obsession. Cain does a wonderful job in creating women characters that are attractive. The only problem is that the guy (first person point of view) either doesn't trust the woman, can't explain why he's attracted to the woman (at least in a spiritual way) or there is some other dysfunction going on.
On the whole, the collection is a healthy amount of reading material containing over 400 pages. I wish they had included the publish date at the beginning of each story; this information is only contained at the back of the book; this is where I learned one of the stories was written by Jack London.
October 23, 2018
Great writing, abysmal editing
Was really looking forward to reading this guy's work, but the typographical errors were so numerous they ruined the experience. Do yourself a favour and buy a paperback.
Was really looking forward to reading this guy's work, but the typographical errors were so numerous they ruined the experience. Do yourself a favour and buy a paperback.
July 8, 2015
There are a LARGE number of typos in this book. It's a shame for the author's sake. Wonderfully written, tightly compact, plot rich, James Cain is a treasure. He deserves better from this publisher.
September 3, 2015
This is just an average collection in my opinion. Nothing very memorable in here. The best story is the first one The Baby In The Icebox. Could have skipped the rest.
2 stars out of 5
2 stars out of 5
January 21, 2019
It would be a great collection, but the typos, missing words, and generally poor proofreading are shameful treatment for one of the great mystery writers.
June 17, 2018
This book is riddled with typographical errors, whether it be "the" rendered as "thw" or "she" becoming "he" for a sentence. Worse, lines sometimes repeat themselves twice in a row. These errors aren't limited to one story, they stretch out over the entire book - practically every story contains at least one colossal error - and really, the errors are all these stories have in common. 2/3rds of these stories aren't vaguely related to crime, and some of Cain's crime related short stories managed to somehow elude the editor, though it's billed as The Complete Crime Stories. That could be overlooked if these were at least The Complete Stories. But again, this isn't the complete anything.
There's really no excuse for putting out a product this poorly vetted and edited. I'm not kidding, A one-eyed drunk chimpanzee could have produced a better transcription of these stories.
As for the stories themselves, some are excellent, while some make you wonder why Cain bothered to write them. The stories "The Baby in the Ice Box" "Dead Man" and the often anthologized "Pastorale" and "Brush Fire" are all great stories, but the stand-out pieces are the book's two novellas - "Career in C Major" and "The Embezzler." The first being an operacentric dramady that shows the author versatility, and the later being classic Cain.
It isn't the best collection of Cain's stories in print, but it is the only collection of Cain's stories in print. That's a damn shame.
There's really no excuse for putting out a product this poorly vetted and edited. I'm not kidding, A one-eyed drunk chimpanzee could have produced a better transcription of these stories.
As for the stories themselves, some are excellent, while some make you wonder why Cain bothered to write them. The stories "The Baby in the Ice Box" "Dead Man" and the often anthologized "Pastorale" and "Brush Fire" are all great stories, but the stand-out pieces are the book's two novellas - "Career in C Major" and "The Embezzler." The first being an operacentric dramady that shows the author versatility, and the later being classic Cain.
It isn't the best collection of Cain's stories in print, but it is the only collection of Cain's stories in print. That's a damn shame.
May 25, 2022
I always wanted to read more of James Cain after I read The Postman Always Rings Twice. His writing is refreshing and crisp and without any fillers.
To quote Otto Penzler: "Cain’s literary style is a paragon of spare prose. In the wardrobe of literature, he is a thong. Cain left out the part that people tend to skip"
The Complete Crime Stories is a collection of 17 gripping tales, mostly related to crime (some are not crime related at all or probably ai failed to capture the nuances)
The Baby in the Icebox was fairly reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice - The twist at the end was really fantastic!
My two most favourite stories are fairly longish - 1. Career in C Major (I think it helped that James' mother was an Opera Singer to write about them in such detail. 2. The Money and The Woman is a hell of a roller coaster ride and keeps you enthralled and guessing till the end!
To quote Otto Penzler: "Cain’s literary style is a paragon of spare prose. In the wardrobe of literature, he is a thong. Cain left out the part that people tend to skip"
The Complete Crime Stories is a collection of 17 gripping tales, mostly related to crime (some are not crime related at all or probably ai failed to capture the nuances)
The Baby in the Icebox was fairly reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice - The twist at the end was really fantastic!
My two most favourite stories are fairly longish - 1. Career in C Major (I think it helped that James' mother was an Opera Singer to write about them in such detail. 2. The Money and The Woman is a hell of a roller coaster ride and keeps you enthralled and guessing till the end!
December 15, 2024
More hits than misses in this collection. The Baby in the Icebox got things off to a cracker jack start: a taut story with a touch of absurdity. The next few stories were weak, but from Brush Fire on it was pretty solid. Career in C Major was my favorite if for no other reason than the unexpectedness of a hard-boiled story about opera. The final story was also good. Cain's best work is in the novella length.
As mentioned by others, the paperback version has a lot of typos. One near the end stopped me short trying to figure out who this new person was (Sheila was written as Sheik). Not a deal breaker, but Mysterious Press usually does better.
As mentioned by others, the paperback version has a lot of typos. One near the end stopped me short trying to figure out who this new person was (Sheila was written as Sheik). Not a deal breaker, but Mysterious Press usually does better.
Read
May 16, 2023The curious thing about the James M. Cain collection called “The Complete Crime Stories” is that many of the stories aren’t about crime. That said, several of them are reasonably effective, and some, such as the aptly titled novella “Career in C Major,” show the fascination with music that injects extra interest into “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and especially “Mildred Pierce,” both fine novels. For me Cain is better as novelist than as a short-story writer, but he’s generally fun to read. Recommended with mild enthusiasm.
February 19, 2023
This is an interesting collection of short stories and novellas and, while the characters are typical of Cain, most of the stories could probably be best described as romantic noir. The plotting and story quality is quite uneven and, though none of the stories are terrible, not really at the same level as Cain’s better-known work.
September 27, 2023
Surprising (to me) A Great Read
I'd never heard of James M. Cain before, but I've enjoyed other compilations Otto Penzler put together. I wasn't disappointed-far from it! With stories ranging from over a hundred pages to a mere 9, there isn't a bummer in the bunch. Highly recommended. Happy reading.
I'd never heard of James M. Cain before, but I've enjoyed other compilations Otto Penzler put together. I wasn't disappointed-far from it! With stories ranging from over a hundred pages to a mere 9, there isn't a bummer in the bunch. Highly recommended. Happy reading.
January 7, 2024
`A collection of stories and novellas from a master story teller. People presented in all their fallibility. Several of the stories and novellas deserve reviews in their own right. The final story about the embezzler is attention grabbing and the outcome wasn’t what I’d expected. I’ll certainly read more of his books.
July 6, 2019
A Nice Anthology
If you like your stories in the Noir category you will like this book. James Cain is know for his stories such as Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce and other classics. If you like your stories with a twist you will like this.
If you like your stories in the Noir category you will like this book. James Cain is know for his stories such as Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce and other classics. If you like your stories with a twist you will like this.
August 18, 2021
These stories and this writing just don't hold up anymore.
The storytelling is abrupt and stilted, and the dialogue and situations completely unrealistic.
It makes you wonder how this guy ever made it as a successful author -- were books written so badly back in the 30's?
The storytelling is abrupt and stilted, and the dialogue and situations completely unrealistic.
It makes you wonder how this guy ever made it as a successful author -- were books written so badly back in the 30's?
April 14, 2024
Master of style!
Cain is a truly gifted writer. Short Stories and novellas are his long suit. They really fit his style well. Great collection of Stories, though the last one needed shortening. But well worth the ride otherwise.
Cain is a truly gifted writer. Short Stories and novellas are his long suit. They really fit his style well. Great collection of Stories, though the last one needed shortening. But well worth the ride otherwise.
January 14, 2019
a collection of mostly shorter tales, with 2 full-length novles included. The opening story is a kind of prototype for the "Postman" novel, but all the stories are well worth reading.
May 26, 2019
Thoroughly Enjoyable
I liked the majority of these stories. I particularly liked Career In C Major. A definite must read for anyone who enjoys classic noir.
I liked the majority of these stories. I particularly liked Career In C Major. A definite must read for anyone who enjoys classic noir.
July 31, 2020
James M. Cain was a master at this.
August 15, 2023
Disapointing
March 23, 2025
تقدم الرواية نقدًا للجشع، والخداع، والطمع البشري، مما يجعلها أكثر من مجرد قصة جريمة عادية ولا يوجد جريمة كامله فمهما ظننت انك نجوت من العقاب سياتى يوم تنكشف فيه كل الحقيقة
January 2, 2025
Saving the best for last.
James M Cain was a novelist whose books were both best-sellers and critically acclaimed. "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity", and "Mildred Pearce" were published in 1934, 1936, and 1941. All were quickly made into hit movies. Like most writers of that era, Cain also wrote for magazines.
I've never read any of his novels and I thought I'd dip my toe in the water with these short stories and novellas. I love the short story form, but these puzzle me. Otto Penzler (who ought to know) claims in the introduction that Cain was the hardest boiled of all the hard-boiled genre writers, but I sure don't see it in these stories. Penzler also pans Cain for creating characters who are flawed because they're TOO unremittingly evil. Again, none of the characters in these stories comes close to that description. The characters here are more hapless than evil. Did Penzler actually read the stories before he wrote the introduction?
These stories aren't "noir" as typified by Chandler and Hammett. In many of them there's no murder at all and, when there is, the identity of the murderer is never in question. There's an almost complete dearth of detectives, official or private. I'd call them dark or gritty or gloomy. They're set in the Great Depression and it's hard to put a happy face on an economic disaster that wiped out the financial security of thousands of families, but they're certainly not traditional noir fiction.
One story is a charming tale of a young boy who falls in love and (as inexperienced males do) ruins the whole thing by trying to make himself look like a tough guy to the girl he admires. It could be printed in a school-room anthology with no editing. Several are stories of hobos - youngsters "riding the rails" in hope of finding work, but finding only hunger and hardship. In most of the stories, the Depression is a major factor, putting men out of work and forcing children to grow up far too early. If there's one connecting theme in these stories, it's the Great Depression and I think Cain does a masterful job of showing its devastating effects on American life.
There are two novellas. One is "Career in C Major" and it's a comical story of a now-idle architect and his vain, destructive wife. Neglected by his wife, Leonard Borland starts an affair with a prominent opera singer. Soon Wife and Girlfriend are squaring off for battle. Each has something the other desperately wants. Doris Borland wants a career in opera. Cecil Carver wants Leonard Borland and she wouldn't mind having Doris Borland's looks, clothes sense, and born-to-the-manor confidence.
Cain's father was a college president and his mother an opera singer. He knew the inner workings of opera as well as the inner workings of high society. He knew about marriage, too. Either he was a good observer or he picked up some hints during his own four marriages. I got bored with the details, but it's a fine novella.
The other novella is "The Embezzler" (also called "The Money and the Woman.") It's the last one in the book and in my opinion, far and away the best. It's a complicated story and has a lot of details about how banks operate. Or at least how they operated in pre-computer days. The banker/hero is an intelligent but naive former football hero. He falls in love and risks his career and freedom trying to help a beautiful, seductive woman. But is she what she seems or not? I wavered all the way through and one part of the ending surprised me. Truly, one man's meat is another man's poison.
I liked most of these stories, although "The Embezzler" is the prize pig of the batch. I love Cain's spare writing, which reminds me of Hammett. It's a rare writer who's so confident of his skills that he never has to show off or cover his bases. Will reading these stories make me want to read Cain's novels? I'm still not sure, but I'm glad I got this book.
NOTE: I didn't see any of the bad editing that one reviewer complains of. Either he's awfully picky or the e-book edition has been improved.
James M Cain was a novelist whose books were both best-sellers and critically acclaimed. "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity", and "Mildred Pearce" were published in 1934, 1936, and 1941. All were quickly made into hit movies. Like most writers of that era, Cain also wrote for magazines.
I've never read any of his novels and I thought I'd dip my toe in the water with these short stories and novellas. I love the short story form, but these puzzle me. Otto Penzler (who ought to know) claims in the introduction that Cain was the hardest boiled of all the hard-boiled genre writers, but I sure don't see it in these stories. Penzler also pans Cain for creating characters who are flawed because they're TOO unremittingly evil. Again, none of the characters in these stories comes close to that description. The characters here are more hapless than evil. Did Penzler actually read the stories before he wrote the introduction?
These stories aren't "noir" as typified by Chandler and Hammett. In many of them there's no murder at all and, when there is, the identity of the murderer is never in question. There's an almost complete dearth of detectives, official or private. I'd call them dark or gritty or gloomy. They're set in the Great Depression and it's hard to put a happy face on an economic disaster that wiped out the financial security of thousands of families, but they're certainly not traditional noir fiction.
One story is a charming tale of a young boy who falls in love and (as inexperienced males do) ruins the whole thing by trying to make himself look like a tough guy to the girl he admires. It could be printed in a school-room anthology with no editing. Several are stories of hobos - youngsters "riding the rails" in hope of finding work, but finding only hunger and hardship. In most of the stories, the Depression is a major factor, putting men out of work and forcing children to grow up far too early. If there's one connecting theme in these stories, it's the Great Depression and I think Cain does a masterful job of showing its devastating effects on American life.
There are two novellas. One is "Career in C Major" and it's a comical story of a now-idle architect and his vain, destructive wife. Neglected by his wife, Leonard Borland starts an affair with a prominent opera singer. Soon Wife and Girlfriend are squaring off for battle. Each has something the other desperately wants. Doris Borland wants a career in opera. Cecil Carver wants Leonard Borland and she wouldn't mind having Doris Borland's looks, clothes sense, and born-to-the-manor confidence.
Cain's father was a college president and his mother an opera singer. He knew the inner workings of opera as well as the inner workings of high society. He knew about marriage, too. Either he was a good observer or he picked up some hints during his own four marriages. I got bored with the details, but it's a fine novella.
The other novella is "The Embezzler" (also called "The Money and the Woman.") It's the last one in the book and in my opinion, far and away the best. It's a complicated story and has a lot of details about how banks operate. Or at least how they operated in pre-computer days. The banker/hero is an intelligent but naive former football hero. He falls in love and risks his career and freedom trying to help a beautiful, seductive woman. But is she what she seems or not? I wavered all the way through and one part of the ending surprised me. Truly, one man's meat is another man's poison.
I liked most of these stories, although "The Embezzler" is the prize pig of the batch. I love Cain's spare writing, which reminds me of Hammett. It's a rare writer who's so confident of his skills that he never has to show off or cover his bases. Will reading these stories make me want to read Cain's novels? I'm still not sure, but I'm glad I got this book.
NOTE: I didn't see any of the bad editing that one reviewer complains of. Either he's awfully picky or the e-book edition has been improved.
June 21, 2015
Thanks to Netgalley and MysteriousPress.com/ Open Road Media for providing me a copy of this book to complete this review.
As with most regular crime fiction readers, I was familiar with Cain’s most famous novels – The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), Double Indemnity (1936) and Mildred Pierce (1941), but no other novels and certainly no short fiction. I was certainly interested in reading more. In researching about Cain, I realized though that his early novels and fiction are where he became famous and his later fiction and most of his short fiction are not as well known. This collection, seems to follow that pattern somewhat, in my opinion, as the more enjoyable stories appear to be more like his early novels and were written (or at least published) during and story and especially the characters.
My favorite story was The Money and the Woman (The Embezzler) published in 1940 about a bank executive who allows the wife of a bank manager to take over while he’s out sick. He also ends up in love with the woman and helps her hide her husband’s apparent embezzlement. The bank executive is never sure if he can trust the woman though. My second favorite was the longest story in the book, Career in C Major, published in 1946. This sometimes humorous story finds a husband of an aspiring opera singer to have a great voice. He has an affair with a successful opera singer who uses him and develops him to be more successful than his wife. Of course, he struggles with the love and power his wife has over him. Although this collection is considered Cain’s complete crime stories, some of them do not really have that much crime in them. Cain is at his best though in the relationship and sexual conflicts between men and women as in my two favorite stories in the collection.
Overall, though this was an enjoyable collection with my two favorite stories taking up more than half of the book’s 400 pages. Everyone would enjoy this collection, and this will be especially enjoyable to fans of Cain’s novels.
As with most regular crime fiction readers, I was familiar with Cain’s most famous novels – The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), Double Indemnity (1936) and Mildred Pierce (1941), but no other novels and certainly no short fiction. I was certainly interested in reading more. In researching about Cain, I realized though that his early novels and fiction are where he became famous and his later fiction and most of his short fiction are not as well known. This collection, seems to follow that pattern somewhat, in my opinion, as the more enjoyable stories appear to be more like his early novels and were written (or at least published) during and story and especially the characters.
My favorite story was The Money and the Woman (The Embezzler) published in 1940 about a bank executive who allows the wife of a bank manager to take over while he’s out sick. He also ends up in love with the woman and helps her hide her husband’s apparent embezzlement. The bank executive is never sure if he can trust the woman though. My second favorite was the longest story in the book, Career in C Major, published in 1946. This sometimes humorous story finds a husband of an aspiring opera singer to have a great voice. He has an affair with a successful opera singer who uses him and develops him to be more successful than his wife. Of course, he struggles with the love and power his wife has over him. Although this collection is considered Cain’s complete crime stories, some of them do not really have that much crime in them. Cain is at his best though in the relationship and sexual conflicts between men and women as in my two favorite stories in the collection.
Overall, though this was an enjoyable collection with my two favorite stories taking up more than half of the book’s 400 pages. Everyone would enjoy this collection, and this will be especially enjoyable to fans of Cain’s novels.
October 26, 2015
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Seventeen gripping tales from one of the toughest authors in the history of crime fiction
They call him Lucky—but he has never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky’s hand finds a railroad spike. Before he knows it, he has smashed the investigator’s head and shoved him out of the car. If he hurries, if he’s lucky, he will get back to Los Angeles in time to establish an alibi, burn his clothes, and avoid the electric chair. But as Lucky will discover, the deadliest threat is lurking within his own mind.
“Dead Man” is just one of the outstanding stories included in this volume. The author of some of the most hard-boiled prose ever written, James M. Cain understood fear in all its forms—and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run.
James M. Cain has been well-known for his novels The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity but, in my view, he has always been the master of the short story. No wasted words, no asinine endings or poor dialogue - just good hardboiled noir stories everyone can enjoy!
This collection of 17 stories is filled with Cain gems - 'The Money and the Woman' and 'Career in C Major' are absolute standouts in a bunch of stories that I had never read but certainly has led me to want to track down more of his shorter fiction.
A fantastic anthology of Cain's short fiction - a must for noir fans of the 30s and 40s.
Paul
ARH
Seventeen gripping tales from one of the toughest authors in the history of crime fiction
They call him Lucky—but he has never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky’s hand finds a railroad spike. Before he knows it, he has smashed the investigator’s head and shoved him out of the car. If he hurries, if he’s lucky, he will get back to Los Angeles in time to establish an alibi, burn his clothes, and avoid the electric chair. But as Lucky will discover, the deadliest threat is lurking within his own mind.
“Dead Man” is just one of the outstanding stories included in this volume. The author of some of the most hard-boiled prose ever written, James M. Cain understood fear in all its forms—and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run.
James M. Cain has been well-known for his novels The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity but, in my view, he has always been the master of the short story. No wasted words, no asinine endings or poor dialogue - just good hardboiled noir stories everyone can enjoy!
This collection of 17 stories is filled with Cain gems - 'The Money and the Woman' and 'Career in C Major' are absolute standouts in a bunch of stories that I had never read but certainly has led me to want to track down more of his shorter fiction.
A fantastic anthology of Cain's short fiction - a must for noir fans of the 30s and 40s.
Paul
ARH
September 30, 2024
I was looking forward to this having read a lot of Cornell Woolrich recently; but I have to say that of the 14 stories here, I liked only 4 of them. Unlike Woolrich, who can get you straight into a story, I think Cain is better suited to the longer medium (his novels Double Indemnity, Postman Always Rings Twice and Mildred Pierce are deserving of their praise).
Here, I enjoyed 'The Baby In The Icebox' - in which a couple who own a garage/diner both have wandering eyes; 'Pastorale' - a fast, dark and breezy tale of a couple who plan to murder her old man; and 'The Birthday Party' is not so much a crime story as a telling character piece and gender commentary about a proud young boy and girl who play together - but he doesn't like the fact that she can do things better than him.
Lastly, and possibly the best story here, is the 93 page long 'The Money And The Woman (The Embezzler). A bank manager falls hopelessly in love with a woman whose husband is embezzling the bank. It's a very typical noir of the period with a man who is hopelessly at the mercy of the clever and ambiguous woman that he loves. It has cops, guns, crime, and characters spinning down into an ever deepening grave.
The longest story here (Career In C Major) has its moments, but is completely unbelievable!
As has been noted, there are typos galore in this edition.
Here, I enjoyed 'The Baby In The Icebox' - in which a couple who own a garage/diner both have wandering eyes; 'Pastorale' - a fast, dark and breezy tale of a couple who plan to murder her old man; and 'The Birthday Party' is not so much a crime story as a telling character piece and gender commentary about a proud young boy and girl who play together - but he doesn't like the fact that she can do things better than him.
Lastly, and possibly the best story here, is the 93 page long 'The Money And The Woman (The Embezzler). A bank manager falls hopelessly in love with a woman whose husband is embezzling the bank. It's a very typical noir of the period with a man who is hopelessly at the mercy of the clever and ambiguous woman that he loves. It has cops, guns, crime, and characters spinning down into an ever deepening grave.
The longest story here (Career In C Major) has its moments, but is completely unbelievable!
As has been noted, there are typos galore in this edition.
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