It's done. More or less.

A bit of tidying to do–a page here and there, for clarity–and it goes in on Monday.

To paraphrase Nabokov, one does not so much finish a Caine novel as one abandons it in despair.

BLADE OF TYSHALLE was very different from HEROES DIE, and CAINE BLACK KNIFE isn't much like either of them. This one too. Or maybe more so.

Now I'm tired.

Then on Tuesday, I'll start thinking about what to do with the rest of my career . . .