Overall, the book moves quickly and sustain the reader's interest. It is entertaining, Stuewe simultaneously paying tribute to, and playing with, the genre he is using: Chandler's own style of "hard-boiled" detective fiction. As in Chandler's work, there is realism and violence, a "gritty" world in which McDumont (like Philip Marlowe) tries to bring the guilty to justice. The cops are mean and corrupt; the damsel in distress is young and attractive; the hero is a tough guy with a soft spot. It is part of McDumont's charm that he doesn't take himself entirely seriously, not even when faced with a difficult situation:

"For a moment he thought about going back and shooting Harmon, killing him, then making the Wilsons take him to where Penny was being held. That's what would happen in one of Chandler's stories, the hero wouldn't be freezing his butt off out in the bushes."

Stuewe is no stranger to writing. Although, technically, this is his first novel, he has written a collection of essays and a biography of Hugh Garner, with whom he co-wrote a mystery novel, Don't Deal Five Deuces (1992), by finishing a manuscript that Garner left when died. That book also features Walter McDumont-a Toronto cop originally created by Garner in his three (completed) detective novels. It will be interesting to see where McDumont turns up next.