Las Vegas. Lost Wages. Sin City. An artificial oasis of pleasure, spectacle, and entertainment, the gambling capital of America has reinvented itself so many times that its doubtful that anyone knows for sure what's real and what isn't in the miles of neon and scorching heat. Las Vegas is considered the ultimate players destination-no matter what your game. Almost anything is available-for a price, mind you, and sometimes losers walk away from the tables with even less than just an empty wallet or purse-sometimes they don't walk away at all. Now the International Association of Crime Writers and New York Times -bestselling author Michael Connelly have gathered twenty-two crime and mystery stories about the ultimate playground, Las Vegas, and what can happen behind the glitz and glamour. From a gambler who must-must-win at the roulette table to stay alive to a courier who's only mistake was accepting a package with Las Vegas as the final destination, come to the true city that never sleeps, where fortunes are made and lost every day, and where snake-eyes aren't found just on a pair of dice. Featuring stories by:James Swain, S.J. Rozan, Wendy Hornsby, Michael Collins, T.P Keating, J. Madison Davis, Sue Pike, Joan Richter, Libby Hellmann, Tom Savage, Edward Wellen, K.j.a. Wishnia, Linda Kerslake, John Wessel, Lise McClendon, Ronnie Klaskin, Ruth Cavin, A.B. Robbins , Gay Toltl Kinman, Micki Marz, Rick Mofina, Jeremiah Healy In a witty, engaging introduction, Connelly, author of the celebrated Harry Bosch series, makes the case for why Las Vegas serves as such an excellent backdrop for crime fiction. It's an easy case to make: bright lights, pretty girls, all that money, and all that desperation set the stage for any number of crimes. In this collection of 22 new stories by a mix of well- and lesser-known authors, murder takes the spotlight from slot machines and chorus girls. Contributions from James Swain, author of the acclaimed Tony Valentine series, and Edgar winner S. Z. Rozan will attract the most attention, but nearly all the tales manage to use the usual Vegas topics--desert heat, the Mafia, big scores gone wrong--in new and unusual ways. In Wendy Hornsby's "Dust Up," for instance, thugs in the process of whacking a turncoat mistake a birdwatcher for a federal agent; the birdwatcher, in turn, thinks the thugs are poachers out to eliminate an endangered bird. Only in Vegas. Mary Frances Wilkens Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "This series can be counted on to showcase the best of mainstream crime fiction."--- Booklist on The Best American Mystery Stories 2003, edited by Michael Connelly and Otto Penzler " The Narrows, Michael Connelly's best crime novel since City of Bones, unfolds within his increasingly seductive world. ... The Narrows is so enveloping that it may send readers back to the early lives of these characters. " — The New York Times "Mr. Connelly's terrific 14th novel...a suspenseful book marked by flashes of insight and moments of pathos, as well as by dry wit and graceful prose." — Wall Street Journal on The Narrows "This is scarifying in a big way—a Thomas Harris kind of scary, which is high praise indeed." — Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly on The Narrows "Connelly is a master and this novel is yet another of his masterpieces."--- Publishers Weekly on The Narrows Michael Connelly is the author of the bestselling Harry Bosch novels, including A Darkness More Than Night,City of Bones and Lost Light ; and the bestselling novels The Poet, Chasing the Dime, Blood Work and Void Moon . He lives in Florida. THE SUNSHINE TAXJAMES SWAIN “Welcome to Nevada,” the convenience store manager said.The manager’s name was Huey Dollop. He was fifty, and he had tobacco-stained teeth and a head shaped like a honeydew. His store was the first thing motorists driving from California to Las Vegas saw when they crossed the state border on 1-15. A concrete pillbox sitting off the highway with a neon Budweiser sign in the window.The couple who came into Huey’s store looked beat. Two tired kids driving a Volvo they’d stopped making fifteen years ago. The girl had red hair, and eyes that said she’d seen a lot. The guy, maybe the same age, wore a Dodgers cap and was built like a stump. He made a bee-line for the cold beverages, leaving the girl at the counter.“Good afternoon,” Huey said. “What can I do for you today?”Huey said his lines with a smile on his face. It was the way he addressed every customer that came into his store. It always put them at ease.“This is our first time visiting Las Vegas,” she said, nodding at her boyfriend in the back of the store. “Troy won a chunk of change on the lottery, and figured maybe it was time to give lady luck a spin.”Huey nodded. He’d been running his store twenty years, and had heard a lot of stories. Most were hard luck. This one wasn’t, only the girl seemed afraid, like she sensed that they were about