Two effectively used techniques in this story are the abrupt scene cuts and the final tie-in of all the clues; both are techniques regularly found in the more recent Shayne stories. The story opens from the perspective of the murderer; soon the perspective shifts to that of the most recent victim and then finally to Shayne's viewpoint. Even after Shayne enters the story, the scenes shift rapidly from one setting to another, keeping the pace quick and allowing for much information to be provided. The story is also nicely tied together with the ending logically growing out of the story. The reader has been provided sufficient clues to find the solution or at least believe it when it is explained to him. These techniques combine two positive qualities of the hard-boiled and classical schools of detective writing: the hardboiled action and the classically tight plot.

"Deadly Visions" was...