The Baby in the Icebox and Other Short Fiction

Two murderers, the head of their victim, and a frozen creek...Lucky, the hobo, concocts the perfect alibi...The tiger in the kitchen, the baby in the icebox...These are the elements of three stories highlighted by the streamlined prose, concise plots, and unique voice that also distinguish James M. Cain's classic novels Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. As Roy Hoopes points out in his incisive Introduction, James M. Cain wrote best when he wrote succinctly, and this collection proves the point.The short stories, sketches and dialogues, and one novella in this book are filled with people caught in the cold-blooded grip of passion and fate. Every page is written in the crisp, fast-paced, caustically ironic style that made James M. Cain a master of the school of hard-boiled fiction."An impressive, revealing selection of Cain's journalistic sketches and short fiction" - ALA Booklist"Taken together, the short stories comprise a satisfying companion to Cain's novels." - Publishers Weekly