Leonard's narrative technique, including interior monologues and his careful probing of the villains' psyches, enables the reader to see things from their perspective and to gain understanding of them. Even with this insight, it is difficult to sympathize with these men, because they always act completely antithetically to accepted social norms. Another tech nique he uses is the interweaving of tense confrontations and murder episodes with realistically developed domestic scenes involving ironworkers and their families.