James M. Cain

Most people don’t realize that James M. Cain, the taciturn, womanizing author of such hardboiled pulp classics as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity, originally trained to become an opera singer.

Note: The Postman Always Rings Twice was originally titled Bar-B-Que. Aren’t you glad he rethought that one?

Aftertaste:
None.

Availability:
Online--I had a surprisingly tough time finding these in bookstores.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by Raymond Chandler (who did several of the screenplay adaptations of Cain's books)

Anything by Cornell Woolrich