C.S. (CARLTON STEVENS) MONTANYE (1892 1948) was a prolific American writer of pulp fiction detective stories. His novelets and short stories were published in a number of magazines, such as “Black Mask”, “Detective Story”, “The Phantom Detective”, “Thrilling Detective”, and many others. Five novelets by Montanye are included in the present book, all featuring Big Dave McClain, a detective in the Homicide Bureau of the New York Police Department. The Dave McClain stories provide a detailed picture of life in New York City during the 1940s. Like other detective stories by C.S. Montanye, they are all well written and rivet the reader’s attention from beginning to end.