Considered the "queen of the police procedural," Dell Shannon (one of the many pen names of Elizabeth Linington) offers a glimpse into the world of mid-20th century police work, before the aid of forensics or technology, in this 1961 Edgar Award finalist. In his first outing, Mexican American detective Luis Mendoza of the LAPD investigates the robbery and murder of a woman, nearly identical to a homicide that happened six months earlier—a case he was never able to solve. With the grudging help of Detective Sergeant Hackett, Mendoza must separate the many twisted threads of this crime, from murder to black-market adoption and extortion.