This is a classic Mike Shayne mystery and a real good one at that. This story starts with all kinds of action including the appearance of the most beautiful girl Shayne has ever seen, a vicious bar fight, a killing, and all kinds of puzzling elements swirling around. Always great when these stories start with lots of action that never really seems to let up.

This one takes Shayne out of bustling Miami to a small town which is not too keen on outsiders and in which quite a few mysterious accidents have taken place. The theme of being a stranger in a strange land is a familiar one to pulp literature, but Halliday does it as well as anybody. You can feel the tension as Shayne walks into the bar and feel every eye on him and no one to bother to lend a hand to aid him. His fame means little here away from Miami, not to the police who think he's just another drunk. ( )