In Four Days, an orphaned boy watches as his older brother and idol graduates from petty thievery into big-league crime. A bank heist goes awry, leaving loose threads and dangerous links back to the brothers. Following instructions, the boy leaves the city with the stolen money and travels to a rendezvous point in a mountain vacation resort. What he doesn't know is that he is on his own, his brother will not show up-and the underworld is after him.

John Buell's gripping second novel, Four Days, was first published in 1962 by Farrar, Straus & Cudahy in the United States and Macmillan in the UK. John Buell wrote five novels-The Pyx (1959), Four Days (1962), The Shrewsdale Exit (1972), Playground (1976) and A Lot to Make Up For (1990)-three of which were made into feature films. This Ricochet Books edition of Four Days marks the reintroduction of the work of a neglected master of suspense.

Ricochet Books is a series of vintage noir mysteries, edited by Brian Busby. He is the author of The Dusty Bookcase: A Journey Through Canada's Forgotten, Neglected and Suppressed Writing.

John Buell(1927-2013) was a native and lifelong resident of Montreal. He studied at Loyola College (later Concordia University) and Université de Montréal, teaching English and Communication Studies at the former. Upon his retirement in 1987, he was made professor emeritus. Buell's five novels - The Pyx (1959), Four Days ( (1962), The Shrewsdale Exit ( (1972), Playground ( (1976) and A Lot to Make Up For ( (1990) - were lauded by Edmund Wilson amongst other prominent critics. Three of Buell's novels have been made into feature films.

Sean Kelly was one of John Buell's students. Originally from Montreal, he is a former editor at National Lampoon, and is the co-author of more than a dozen books, including Slightly Higher in Canada (1978) and Saints Preserve Us! (1993). His television work includes The Magic School Bus, Shining Time Station (and Between the Lions ). Kelly lives in Brooklyn and teaches in the Pratt Institute's Humanities and Media Studies department.

John Buell's profile page

Trevor Ferguson is the author of seven novels under his own name and another three under his pseudonym, John Farrow. One of his novels became a feature film, The Timekeeper. Four of his plays have been produced, including an off-Broadway engagement and one seen by more than 22,000 patrons in a single run. He teaches creative writing at Concordia University and lives with his wife in Hudson, Quebec.

Trevor Ferguson's profile page

Praise for John Buell's he Pyx:

"Mr. Buell proves he has real talent.. The author's choice of a mystery or suspense story format to serve his serious purpose reminds one of Graham Greene's novels, but The Pyx is not just another in a long line of imitations." -The Critic

"One of the most unusual novels of the year." -The Los Angeles Times

"Shockingly powerful." -The New York Times Book Review