McBain aims to lead the reader into the bleak litter-strewn environment of a crowded American slum with its inherent threat of violence. Two dominating forces, Heat and July, established in the first two words, emerge as double personifications, prostitutes, in the first paragraph, their brazen ‘vengeance’, strutting insolently, garishly, born to make you suffer. Here the tone is aggressive, and menacing as McBain establishes the control his ‘twin bitches’ exert. This colourful start, rich in uncompromising nastiness, ....