So Nude, So Dead. Illustrated

A jazz musician wakes up from a drug-fueled blackout to find a beautiful woman dead beside him—nude and shot with his own gun.

In So Nude, So Dead, master of crime fiction Ed McBain (writing under the pseudonym Richard Marsten) delivers a lean, suspenseful noir full of desperation, paranoia, and the dark seduction of addiction. Framed for murder and hunted by the police, Ray Stone must unravel the truth before his past—and his habit—destroy him completely.

Originally published in the 1950s, this hardboiled pulp classic captures the gritty atmosphere of post-war urban America, where jazz clubs, night streets, and dope dens provide the backdrop for a chilling mystery.

Fast-paced and tightly plotted, So Nude, So Dead is vintage McBain: sharp, unsentimental, and unforgettable.