Madness is also what distinguishes him thematically from the other major "pulp fiction" writers. I think the short stories are effective because there is a mood and a tonality present that gets to a state of dread, which heightens anticipation. He's clearly a precursor for the "noir of victimhood" school of pulp fiction, later mined with such notable results by Boileau-Narcejac and Japrisot.
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