This is another one of those short story collections I've been dipping into for a while now. From the Pulp Fiction collections edited by Otto Penzler this one is entitled "The Dames" and is introduced by Laura Lippman.
From the Blurb:
From Sally the Sleuth to The Girl Who Knew Too Much, these women knew how to steal a guy's heart - or is gun - and they weren't afraid to use their fists if their charms wouldn't get them what they wanted. Risking their lives and ending others, these dames are certain to set your heart racing, whether you're a pulp novice or a hard-boiled fan.
Wearing a low-cut dress or sweater - usually in tatters - and menaced by a group of muscular thugs or a single, scarred villain, the cliched cover girls of pulp fiction magazines stole the limelight from their rather more spirited sisters concealed within. From the pens of writing legends like Dashiell Hammett, Cornell Woolrich and Raymond Chandler, stories of the greatest grand dames of the pulp genre have been gathered together in this unique volume. Its pages are rich with female jewel thieves of a certain elegance, feisty reporters in pursuit of an exclusive, gun molls with gangster boyfriends, avenging angels, tough broads and out-and-out hoodlums. Tailor-made for pulp novices and hard-boiled fans with a soft spot for the masters, "Pulp Fiction: The Dames" shows that some writing has an edge that time just can't dull.
Contents:
Preface - Otto Penzler
Introduction - Laura Lippman
Angel Face - Cornell Woolrich
Chosen to Die - Leslie T. White
A Pinch of Snuff - Eric Taylor
Killer in the Rain - Raymond Chandler
Sally the Sleuth - Adolphe Barreaux
A Shock for the Countess - C. S. Montanye
Snowbound - C. B. Yorke
The Girl Who Knew Too Much - Randolph Barr
The Corpse in the Crystal - D. B. McCandless
He Got What He Asked For - D. B. McCandless
Gangster's Brand - P. T. Luman
Dance Macabre - Robert Reeves
The Girl with the Silver Eyes - Dashiell Hammett
The Jane from Hell's Kitchen - Perry Paul
The Duchess Pulls a Fast One - Whitman Chambers
Mansion of Death - Roger Torrey
Concealed Weapon - Roger Torrey
The Devil's Bookkeeper - Carlos Martinez
Black Legion - Lars Anderson
Three Wise Men of Babylon - Richard Sale
The Adventure of the Voodoo Moon - Eugene Thomas
Brother Murder - T. T. Flynn
Kindly Omit Flowers - Stewart Sterling