New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, [1946]. Octavo, cloth. First edition. Classic crime novel. "This quintessential tale of psychological suspense is so good, in fact, that labeling it a small masterpiece would not be unjustified." - Pronzini and Muller, 1001 Midnights, The Aficionado's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction, pp. 242-243. Basis for two films The Big Clock (1948) and No Way Out (1987). The 1948 film is one of the best noir films of the 1940s. [Reference: Johnson, The Dark Page, p. 94. See also St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers (pp. 345-46), Magill (ed.), Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction, pp. 592-98].