Dead Weight is the fifth Johnny Liddell novel out of thirty. Published in 1951, it is one of the earlier Liddell novels and has Liddell working as a private eye out of a small office in NYC with Pinky operating the front desk and Muggsy Kiely, his reporter girlfriend, jealous of Pinky.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed story that features mysterious packages, Treasury Agents, hoods, gambling syndicates, treacherous Mata Hari characters, gunfire, corpses, frames, and secretive Chinatown Tong Gangs. It's as if Kane threw everything he could dream up into this one.
If you like fifties era action packed private eye stories with all kinds of twists and turns, this is your ticket. It holds up well even sixty plus years later although be forewarned that some of the terms used for the Chinese wouldn't be deemed acceptable now. ( )