Dark, twisting tales from an Edgar Award-winning author whose storytelling skills will "dazzle you" (San Francisco Chronicle).   From a local sheriff's casual narration of brutal crimes to a sideshow performer's evil exploits to the tension and terror created by a madman's escape, Frederic Brown's collection of mystery and thriller stories provides a showcase of short fiction ranging from the grim and grisly to the darkly humorous.   Discover the golden age of noir and crime fiction with these eighteen stories, many drawn from top magazines of the era such as Thrilling Detective and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, that offer us a front-row seat at the circus of humanity.   "A real pro . . . a natural storyteller." --The New York Times Book Review