This book is Dean's first and features the debut of King Bennett. Half of the story takes place in Los Angeles, half takes place in Las Vegas. Much of the continuity that would follow throughout the series is started here.

The title has an interesting anecdote around it. When Dean was in 8th grade he wrote a story in English class that clearly showed hardboiled fiction as his main influence. It was titled, "Bang!", Said the Gun. His teacher, Mr. Mulligan, enjoyed the story, but wasn't too thrilled about the title. He didn't like the idea of an inanimate object "talking". Dean argued his point but ended up losing. He received a B instead of an A.

Throughout the early part of his writing career Dean never used the title. He wanted to save it for his first full-length book that he was determined to have published one day. That day came in July of 1956 with the first King Bennett novel. To finally feel vindication for the story of the same title he wrote back in school, Dean sent a package to Mulligan, who was now a professor of American Literature at Briarton College in California. Inside was a picture of Dean holding a copy of "Bang", Said the Gun while smiling and pointing at it. There was also a handwritten note inside that read, "So much for inanimate objects not being able to talk, you old goat! By the way, my finger has something to say on this matter." Upon closer examination of the picture Mulligan noticed that Dean was pointing at the book with his middle finger. His former teacher took it as the joke it was meant to be and quickly responded with an invitation for Dean to speak to one of his classes. This began a long association between Dean and Briarton College.

Professor Mulligan soon became a big fan of Dean's and closely followed his work. He made The Crime Scene Trilogy required reading for one of his courses. As a matter of fact it remained on the textbook list from 1960-1986 and from 1990-present. Dean spoke many times at the college and actually taught some classes there from 1987-1989. If you noticed the gap between Dean's teaching at Briarton and The Crime Scene Trilogy not in the course, you have a good eye. Ironically, Dean was the one who cut the book out of the curriculum. "Why the heck would I want to talk about my own work?", he once stated in an interview. "I think that's pretty egotistical if you ask me. I mean, what do I say?…Hey, this book is great because I wrote it! I might as well stand up there and talk about how big my sausage is! I made the kids read some Runyon and Chandler…real literature."

Dean was the commencement speaker for Briarton College's graduating class of 1986 and was also awarded an honorary doctorate's degree in American Literature. He was honored by the gesture but wrote to the Board of Directors questioning the choice of degree. "What I know about American Literature would probably fit in a paper cup and still have enough room left over for ice", Dean wrote. He suggested they give him a doctorate in Human Sexuality since he felt confident with his knowledge of that topic. The board stuck to their original decision.