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Dead Man

From The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories

Part of A Vintage Short

Author James M. Cain
Ebook
Knopf | Vintage
On sale Oct 26, 2021 | 24 Pages | 9780593467794
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In this powerful tale of guilt, a short story from James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories, a desperate man is driven to the edge of madness after he accidentally kills a railroad detective. As the murderer works to get his alibi straight, he soon discovers that the prick of his own conscience is just as oppressive as the long arm of the law.

A Vintage Short.
© (illustration) Michael J. Balzano
James M. Cain was a first-rate writer of American hard-boiled crime fiction. Born in Baltimore in 1892, Cain began his career as a reporter, serving in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and writing for the newspaper of the 79th Division. He returned from the war to embark on a literary career that included a professorship at St. John’s College in Annapolis and a stint at The New Yorker as managing editor before he went to Hollywood as a script writer. Cain’s first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, became an instant sensation in 1934. In 1974, James M. Cain was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Cain published 18 books in all and was working on his autobiography at the time of his death in 1977.  View titles by James M. Cain

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In this powerful tale of guilt, a short story from James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories, a desperate man is driven to the edge of madness after he accidentally kills a railroad detective. As the murderer works to get his alibi straight, he soon discovers that the prick of his own conscience is just as oppressive as the long arm of the law.

A Vintage Short.

Author

© (illustration) Michael J. Balzano
James M. Cain was a first-rate writer of American hard-boiled crime fiction. Born in Baltimore in 1892, Cain began his career as a reporter, serving in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and writing for the newspaper of the 79th Division. He returned from the war to embark on a literary career that included a professorship at St. John’s College in Annapolis and a stint at The New Yorker as managing editor before he went to Hollywood as a script writer. Cain’s first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, became an instant sensation in 1934. In 1974, James M. Cain was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Cain published 18 books in all and was working on his autobiography at the time of his death in 1977.  View titles by James M. Cain

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