New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1952

8vo, pp. 251. Original brown textured boards, lettered in brown on silver to spine. Illustrated dust jacket, photographic portrait of the author to rear panel. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with just a little light wear to spine ends.

First edition. A Mike Hammer title, and the sixth in the series.

In the first issue dust jacket, with $2.50 price to the front flap, and with the publisher's triangular framing device to the jacket's front panel. The circular version is more common. Although no priority has been firmly established the triangular device on all copies examined is slightly misaligned, causing it to wrap slightly round the front fold. This would suggest the circular version was issued later to correct the problem, and that this is therefore the first issue.

Filmed by Robert Aldrich in 1955 with Ralph Meeker as Hammer.

A key pulp title, and scarce in this condition.

HUBIN, p. 385