James M. Cain. 
 
Grosset & Dunlap: 1934. Later edition. Hardcover in a jacket. Octavo. Soiling, sunning, and small tears on the fading of the jacket. Chipping along the top and bottom of the jacket, especially the corners and folds. Bumping on the crown and heel of the spine. Leaves are sunned. 187 pages. Very good. 
 
One look at a sandwich seller's wife and a hobo forgets his wandering. His first choice, to start working at the sandwich stand, is the first step towards love and murder. Cain perfected the clipped and quipping hard boiled noir, and that 1930s cover, the red and black of damnation, lets you know it. 
 
“'You must be a hell cat, though. You couldn’t make me feel like this if you weren’t.'”