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Short stories and a novella from one of crime fiction's most revered writers. In his first collection of stories, George Pelecanos introduces us to a vivid cast of characters, all of them fighting against odds, against enemies, or against themselves. A seasoned claims investigator tracks a supposedly dead man from Miami to Brazil, only to be thrown off his game by a kid from the local slum. An aging loser takes a last stab at respectability by becoming a police informant. In the title novella, we go behind the scenes of a television cop show, where a writer gets caught up in a drama more real than anything he could have conjured. By turns heartbreaking and humane, brutal and funny, these tales expose the violence and striving beneath the surface of any city and within any human heart. Tough, sexy, and crackling with energy, THE MARTINI SHOT is Pelecanos at his very best.