Hardboiled Kitten Story

I am finally reading THE NAME OF THE GAME IS DEATH by Dan J. Marlowe, an official Michael Kupperman recommendation. Mr. Kupperman kept talking about the thoroughly boiled hardness of it, and it's true! So far it's action packed: more action (and blood) in the first four or five pages than in some whole books. BUT! Kupperman did not tell me - and this is also true - that our protagonist's origin story, the way he becomes a loner and a remorseless criminal, is centered around how much he loves his kitten! But what do you expect from a book with the title THE NAME OF THE GAME IS DEATH? That's right, plenty of frolicking kittens. Here is a kitten sitting in a Pop Tarts box.