Little Men, Big World / Vanity Row - W R Burnett - Bog

LITTLE MEN, BIG WORLD

Ben Reisman, veteran columnist for the Journal, is bored. So when he stumbles across a reference to a character known as “De Ark,” an underworld person who seems to operate without anyone knowing about him, he is intrigued. “De Ark” is in fact, Mr. Orral Wanty, Arky to his friends, the right hand man of the Mover, the man who really runs the city. Arky’s control is so tight, even Commissioner Stark, the zealous law-and-order crusader, has never heard of him. But Arky’s hand is everywhere. He’s the man Leon Sollas, front for the syndicate, makes his weekly payment to—and he’s the man who Sollas goes to when he wants out. But Arky’s got problems of his own. The Big City Boys want to move in. His woman, Anna, wants a baby. And somewhere, hot on his trail, is a newspaper man in search of a story…

VANITY ROW

Police Captain Roy Hargis is the Administration’s fair-haired boy, only answering to Chad Bayliss, the city’s political boss. Most of the officers are in awe of him. Hargis can do no wrong. He knows how to cut to the heart of a case and bring the facts home to the D.A.’s office. So when rich lawyer Frank Hobart is shot down in cold blood, it looks open and shut. Hobart had been fooling around with a babe named Ilona Vance, things got out of hand, and she kills him. But Hargis doesn’t figure it that way—not after he meets Miss Vance. Because Ilona Vance is a force to be reckoned with, not merely beautiful, but so desirable it almost hurts. Hargis will go to any lengths to get her off, but he’s up against it this time. The syndicate wants to see her burn, Bayliss wants a quick conviction, and Hargis is finding his tough shell has been thoroughly cracked.