A context in which to understand Even the Wicked is the hard-boiled genre of private eye novels. Instead of simply solving the puzzle of who is the killer, the private eye searches for justice that may not be obtainable through the regular law enforcement and judicial systems. Often the private eye bends the law to further justice. However, the detective must have his own code of right and wrong. He must take responsibility for his sometimes violent actions. The reader is usually led to see the poetic justice of the detective's solution to the killer's crossing the line of civilized behavior.

1. Consider to what extent media coverage of scandals degrades the quality of life of ordinary people leading their individual lives. Is a columnist like Marty McGraw guilty of an injury to public life and welfare, just as a murderer is guilty of destroying an individual...