City Sleuths and Tough Guys

This hefty anthology of crime stories is marvelous as a basic introduction to citified, hard-boiled sleuthing. Anyone but a neophyte, however, will find many of the selections quite familiar. McCullough's ( Great Detectives: A Century of the Best Mysteries from England and America ) 28 selections run roughly chronologically, beginning in the early 19th century with such pioneers as Francois Eugene Vidocq and Edgar Allan Poe. The tales represent the stylistic gamut of Georges Simenon, Jim Thompson, Yoh Sano, Stanley Ellin and Ross MacDonald, and include such newer voices as Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton. Their urban settings range from Paris to Amsterdam, New York to Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Additionally, Raymond Chandler's essay ``The Simple Art of Murder,'' opens this volume, while the screenplay for Double Indemnity (written by Chandler and Billy Wilder from the James M. Cain novel) ends it. (Nov.)