Green ice (A Quill mysterious classic)

Whitfield's first novel, and the one critics like best (Hammett loved it, but, then, Whitfield and Hammett were drinking buddies.) The story begins with Mal Ourney's release from a two-year prison sentence. While in prison Ourney apparently develops sympathy for the small-time crooks he meets, and hatches a plan to get the big guys when he gets out. Rumors of this spread outside the prison walls and he is a target for a frame-up within hours of his release.