"Lavie Tidhar lays it out like a dystopian dog!" -James Ellroy A middle-aged hitwoman goes on the run from the Israeli mob; a boy on a South Pacific island searches for a missing cat and uncovers dark secrets; an ageing bagman has to recover a package across one violent night, no matter the cost; an informer must uncover the heist of a lifetime on the fringes of the Roman Empire, and Sherlock Holmes is faced with a confounding botanical mystery; while a pair of hapless actors are forced into a seedy mystery in Golden Age Hollywood. Moving from the genteel English countryside to the mean streets of L.A. and from the islands of Vanuatu to the dark alleyways of Tel Aviv, this wide-ranging collection gathers together the best crime and noir stories of master storyteller Lavie Tidhar, including the CWA Dagger Award nominated "Bag Man" and much more besides. Welcome to a world of gangsters and hired killers, of lost romantics and deadly women, of good times and lowlifes. Where it's always the wrong part of town, and where whatever you do, there are no good choices... Because when it comes, no one hears the last shot. "Tidhar changes genres with every outing, but his astounding talents guarantee something new and compelling no matter the story he tells." -Library Journal "Some write in ink, others in song, Tidhar writes in fire." -Junot Díaz