Snarl of the Beast

Carroll John Daly, enormously popular in his day but has since faded into obscurity, is often credited with penning the first hard-boiled crime story in 1922 and creating the first hard-boiled detective in 1923. The Snarl of the Beast is his popular gumshoe Race Williams' first full-length novel and features Daly's classic P. I. as fast-thinking, hard-nosed smart aleck who finds trouble at every turn and isn't afraid to sling some lead to get himself out of a tough spot. This story begins with Race being tailed and assaulted by a hulking beast of a man, only to be chased by cops when he's mistaken for the murderer of a sergeant he wasn't on the best of terms with. Can Williams track down the beast and stop him before anyone else dies? - Summary by Ben Tucker