title: Speak of the Devil: 14 Tales of Crimes and Their Punishments (Five Star First Edition Mystery Series)
author:  Joe Gores 
description: Fans of Gores's peerless DKA Associates p.i. procedurals (Contract Null and Void, 1996, etc.) will want this collection of 14 reprints (195891) no matter what. Others should be warned that although Gores is the master of many voices and formulasfrom hipster (``The Second Coming,'' about two cool cats who want to witness an execution) to sci-fi (``The Andrech Samples,'' whose heroic couple struggle to protect a baby whose birth is a crime), from Twilight Zone (``Quit Screaming,'' whose hired killer ventures a little too deep into a Florida swamp) to affectionate parody (``Sleep the Big Sleep''a nerdy wannabe shamus gets his shot at a big case)most of the stories here expertly embody their formulas rather than transcend them. Gores-watchers won't be surprised that the stories most limited by their conventions are the whodunits (``Plot It Yourself'') and the portraits of cunning killers (``Watch for It,'' ``Killer Man''), the most satisfying the stories that pull off utterly unexpected surprises (``You're Putting Me OnAren't You?'') or that make do with no surprises at all (the Edgar-winning ``Goodbye, Pops''). All in all, the collection demonstrates the variety of Gores's pitches while reminding you that he kept his best stuff for his novels. -- <i>Copyright 1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.</i>
zlib_text: This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events, and incidents are products of the
  author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance
  to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
   
  Devil’s Bargain copyright @ 2018 by Brook Wilder and Scholae Palatina Inc. All rights
  reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
  written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
   
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  DEVIL’S BARGAIN
  Chapter 1
  Chapter 2
  Chapter 3
  Chapter 4
  Chapter 5
  Chapter 6
  Chapter 7
  Chapter 8
  Chapter 9
  Chapter 10
  Chapter 11
  Chapter 12
  Chapter 13
  Chapter 14
  Chapter 15
  Chapter 16
  Chapter 17
  Chapter 18
  Chapter 19
  Chapter 20
  Chapter 21
  Chapter 22
  Ch