This is Black Mask at its best-slam-bang action, crackling dialogue and the keenest wit this side of Dashiell Hammett. Frederick Nebel was a master of the hardboiled school, and the nine-year saga of Captain Steve MacBride and Kennedy of the Free Press was his finest body of work. This first of four volumes presents the first nine novelettes, complete with the original illustrations by Arthur Rodman Bowker, and a new introduction by Evan Lewis. Hold onto your seat. It’s going to be a wild ride.