Twelve years ago, Matthew Scudder lied to a jury to put James Leo Motley behind bars.
Now the ingenious psychopath is free. And the alcoholic ex-cop-turned-p.i. must pay dearly for his sins. Motley did twelve years in Dannemora, nursing a grudge. He is back in Manhattan with an alias and a plan to destroy his old captor.
Across Ohio, a witness is slaughtered in a staged tragedy. In midtown, a casual acquaintance plunges from a high-rise window. Friends and former lovers -- even strangers unfortunate enough to share Scudder's name -- are turning up dead. Because a vengeful maniac is determined not to rest until he's driven his nemesis back to the bottle...and then to the boneyard.
Walking a tightrope of diner coffee and AA meetings, Scudder can only watch the bodies fall. Motley is tracking his routine, leaving taunting messages and daring him to intervene.
Yet an ex-cop who broke the rules cannot hide when the reckoning comes.
Hard Boiled Crime: Shut out by former colleagues on the force, Scudder turns to Grogan's Open House and Hell's Kitchen boss Mick Ballou for an untraceable snub-nosed revolver.
Race Against Time: When an auxiliary patrolman is ambushed for his uniform, the psychopath gains the perfect disguise to bypass security and corner his targets.
Suspense Thriller: Whispered phone calls and an anonymous bouquet delivered to a doorstep signal that Motley is orchestrating every move to torment his prey before striking.
Deadly Revenge: Conditioned in prison yards to crush nerves with lethal fingertip force, the killer turns every encounter into an excruciating physical nightmare.
Also by This Author: The Sins of the Fathers, Hit Man and Burglars Can't Be Choosers.
