Mandarin's Jade and Other Stories

So there I was, holed up in my office, trying to duck the bill collectors, when she walked in. She was the kind of sweet cookie that made your eyes water like you were hit with a 10-ton blackjack. She told me Raymond Chandler created the hard-boiled private eyes that rule American crime fiction, and this collection traces the genesis of Chandler's style in such stories as "Mandarin's Jade," "The Man Who Liked Dogs," and "Try the Girl." Then she left me, like a kid spitting out a wad of bubble gum, leaving me with that chewed-up feeling and an empty wallet. I guess it's a living.