Stab In The Dark

Paul Knox, secret agent for the U.S. Government, had been around. But never had he seen anything as vicious as this new twist in the blackmail racket. Wealthy and prominent people were being exposed to international scandal, the kind that could give not merely themselves but their nation a black eye, and it had to be stopped. Further, it was known that the criminal ring was about to expand. But when Paul found his only contact had been stabbed through the eye with an icepick, he realized several things: first, his own life was in immediate peril; second, he could trust no one on either side of the law; and third, with no more leads to follow, his only hope was a Stab in the Dark.

My account of my time in the Territorial army

A gripping Matt Scudder novel from the author of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES. Nine long years have passed since the killer last struck. Nine years since eight helpless young women were hideously slaughtered by an ice-pick wielding maniac. Now hard-drinking ex-cop and unlicensed investigator Matt Scudder has been hired to bring the murderer to justice at last. Relentlessly, Scudder follows an aging trail of blood towards a psychopath either long gone, long dead or very patiently awaiting the chance to kill again.

A gripping Matt Scudder novel from the author of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES. Nine long years have passed since the killer last struck. Nine years since eight helpless young women were hideously slaughtered by an ice-pick wielding maniac. Now hard-drinking ex-cop and unlicensed investigator Matt Scudder has been hired to bring the murderer to justice at last. Relentlessly, Scudder follows an aging trail of blood towards a psychopath either long gone, long dead or very patiently awaiting the chance to kill again.

In his fourth appearance, Matthew Scudder deals as an unlicensed private investigator with a case from his own past as a cop. A serial killer has confessed to the murder of seven woman, but insists he had nothing to do with the death of an eighth victim. The dead woman's father hires Scudder to investigate, and the facts he uncovers tend to confirm the killer's claim of innocence. This tells him a new killer purposely copied earlier crimes—which makes it likely he had a personal motive. Scudder, very much the hard-drinking loner, stays on the case like a dog with a bone, even after his own client has attempted to dismiss him. It's in this novel that Scudder meets sculptor and SoHo resident Jan Keane, who'll figure prominently in several future volumes of the popular series. Reviews: "Block knows how to weave a tangled web. And when people try to deceive, which is fairly often in his books, they get into a lot of trouble. Block's plots are taut, and his dialogue realistic without too many embellishments. The characters are tough men and they speak accordingly." ~Rocky Mountain News "Unusually well written! Block is a deft surgeon, sure and precise." ~The New York Times "Riveting...a staggering conclusion." ~Publishers Weekly "Convincing suspense." ~Philadelphia Inquirer "Block is awfully good, with an ear for dialogue, an eye for low-life types, and a gift for fast and effortless storytelling that bears comparison with Elmore Leonard." ~Los Angeles Times