Author(s): Ed McBain

General Fiction

A homicide in the 87th Precinct wasn't exactly front-page news. But two murders made headlines. Both added up to big trouble. Pretty redhead Annie Boone lay facedown on a liquor store floor, surrounded by broken bottles and riddled with bullets. The boys of the 87th didn't have a suspect without an irontight alibi - or a reason for someone to shoot Annie dead. Detective Roger Havilland lay faceup in a grocery store's front window, a shard of glass piercing his jugular. A crazy bag lady was Detective Steve Carella's best witness. But a mistake by Carella's new partner Cotton Hawes could put them both in the line of fire - where a wrong move could get a good cop killed.