Best Selling Books by John Lutz

A con man takes to the road with a blond drifter, trying to stay one step ahead of a vengeful killer in this chilling thriller from New York Times–bestselling author John Lutz Lou Roebuck couldn’t tell the truth if his life depended on it. If he could, he might not have lost his job and his wife, or ended up driving over his old nemesis, Ingrahm, in his Thunderbird. Now Roebuck’s a thief and a murderer on the run with nobody to listen to his tall tales but Ellie, a pretty blonde who’s looking for excitement. They’ll have to keep moving, though, because not only are the cops dangerously close behind, but Ingrahm’s cold killer friend, Gipp, is coming after them as well. Roebuck’s going to have to do some pretty fast talking if he and Ellie want to keep breathing. And if he can’t lie his way out of this one, he’s going to find himself lying in an early grave. A true master of suspense, John Lutz dazzles with a breakneck thriller that has more twists and turns than a winding country road. The Truth of the Matter is a bravura display of Lutz’s justifiably acclaimed storytelling prowess.

DIVDIVForced into early retirement by a bullet to the knee, ex-cop Fred Carver undertakes a missing persons case that quickly places him in mortal danger/divDIV /divDIVWhen the criminal’s bullet shattered his knee, Fred Carver’s colleagues called him lucky. Between his pension and the insurance check, they said, he had a nice, easy retirement to look forward to. But Fred Carver would rather have his knee. His career finished, his marriage over, he takes a halfhearted stab at private detective work, and is already sick of it by the time he meets Edwina Talbot, a beautiful woman who wants him to find her dead lover./divDIV /divDIVOf course, Edwina doesn’t believe her lover is actually dead. Every piece of evidence at the crime scene pointed to suicide, but as far a she’s concerned her man is just missing and Fred Carver is going to bring him back. Carver wants nothing to do with it, but he can’t say no to a little adventure. Some men just aren’t built for taking it easy./divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

JOHN LUTZ IS . . . "A MAJOR TALENT." —John Lescroart "ONE OF THE MASTERS." —Ridley Pearson "IN RARE FORM." —The New York Times Book Review "AMONG THE BEST." —San Diego Union THE BIRTH OF A KILLING FRENZY The killer has a pattern. Abduct a girl from a beachside community. Tie her up. Torture her to death. Move north along the coast. Repeat. With each gruesome killing, a clue is delivered to New York City investigator Frank Quinn. The ex-homicide detective understands that the message is more than a taunt. It is an invitation—to play. And the game has just begun. . . "LUTZ OFFERS UP A HEART-POUNDING ROLLER COASTER OF A TALE." —Jeffery Deaver 12,500 Words

DIVDIVWhen a client dies in a car explosion, Orlando detective Fred Carver learns the man may not have been who he said he was /divDIVFor Bert Renway, it starts out as a simple proposition: a fat bundle of money to spend a few weeks impersonating Frank Wesley, a local tycoon. But after a while Bert grows suspicious of the easy money, and seeks help in the shape of Fred Carver, an ex–Orlando policeman turned private investigator. Like Bert, Carver smells trouble, and agrees to help him find out who his employers are and why they want him to play Wesley./divDIV /divDIVNeither of them is suspicious enough. A few minutes after Bert leaves, an explosion sounds in the parking lot—the new client’s car gone up in a burst of flame. When they pull his body from the wreckage, dental records identify him not as Bert Renway, but as Frank Wesley. Carver doesn’t care. He’s on the case no matter who the man was./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection./div/div

DIV A serial killer claims the life of Fred Carver’s eight-year-old son, sending the ex-cop on a mad hunt for vengeanceDIV /divDIVA year ago, Fred Carver was nothing but a disabled ex-cop whose career, marriage, and family were all little more than fading memories. But then, while working as a private detective, he met Edwina Talbot, and ten months of life together has made him happier than he has been in years. But fate does not let men like Fred Carver stay happy for long./divDIV /divDIVOn the eve of a visit from his ex-wife and their two children, tragedy upends his new life. As if Florida in July weren’t hot enough, a madman is on a killing spree with a homemade flamethrower. After Fred’s eight-year-old son becomes the third victim, a man who has spent his life trying to catch murderers now has some killing to do of his own./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection./divDIV /divDIV /div/div

DIVDIVWhen a client dies in an apparent suicide, Florida detective Frank Carver suspects murder/divDIV /divDIVDonna Winship is an ordinary woman with a typical problem. No longer in love with her husband, she has taken to spending evenings and long afternoons with a new man. Fearful that her husband will learn the truth and be overwhelmed with jealousy, she contacts Fred Carver, an ex-cop turned PI, and asks him to tail her. Minutes after he agrees, Donna drives her car into a speeding tractor trailer. Dead on impact./divDIV /divDIVThe local police are happy to call it a suicide, but Carver is determined to serve his client, even in death. More bloodshed follows, as Donna’s husband kills himself and her lover disappears without a trace. No love triangle is simple, but this one could cost Fred Carver his life./divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

DIVDIVWhen he is accused of stalking a woman he swears he’s never met, a local businessman asks Fred Carver for help clearing his name/divDIV /divDIVJoel Brandt swears he’s never met the woman before. His wife dead six months before, the small-time businessman is perplexed when Del Moray police inform him that a local woman, Marla Cloy, has accused him of harassing her. According to her, Joel has been lurking outside of her house, following her car, even assaulting her at the grocery store. Brandt says it’s all a lie, but the police don’t believe him./divDIV /divDIVHe goes to Fred Carver, an ex-cop turned PI, for help clearing his name. The harder Carver looks, the less he understands. There is no apparent connection between the two people, and yet one of them is trying to destroy the other’s life. When this game turns deadly, who will be the first to go?/divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

Ex-cop Fred Carver investigates a death at a Florida funeral home whose residents don’t always die of natural causes Retirement is a word that has always frightened Fred Carver. One of Orlando’s finest, he retired early—when a criminal’s bullet shattered his kneecap and made him unfit for beat work. Since then he hasn’t been able to relax, and fills his days and nights investigating cases the local police aren’t willing to touch. Now one of those cops has come to him with a problem that only a private detective can solve. It takes Fred into the heart of Florida’s retirement community: a spacious estate called Sunhaven where the elderly can finish their lives in luxury. But it seems that some of them are dying before their time. When the residents speak of murder, are they telling the truth, or are they simply confused? Unraveling the mystery will take Fred Carver into a place where death is seldom the result of natural causes. This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

A horrific discovery at a hotel sends PI Frank Quinn and the NYPD after a madman in this thriller by the New York Times–bestselling Shamus Award winner. When half a dozen bodies are found in a hotel room, tied up and with a set of initials carved into their foreheads, the NYPD recognizes the signature of a serial killer. Ex-cop and PI Frank Quinn has faced this perpetrator in the past—and paid a price for it. But he intends to stop the murderer once and for all . . . From a winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America and a finalist for the Anthony and Edgar awards, this gritty, fast-paced novel continues the series starring the former top homicide detective who was framed for corruption and forced to retire—but isn’t finished taking down the city’s most terrifying and elusive criminals. “Lutz ranks with such vintage masters of big-city murder as Lawrence Block and Ed McBain.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “A major talent.” —John Lescroart, New York Times–bestselling author of The Missing Piece “Lutz knows how to make you shiver.” —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Think Twice

From bestselling author John Lutz comes a lightning-paced thriller of a city gripped by a killer''s savage reign of terror. . . Someone is killing wealthy Manhattanites. One by one, the victims are discovered in luxurious high-rise apartments. Bound, gagged--brutally murdered in the "safety" of their own homes, by someone whose modus operandi is as horrifying as anything NYPD Detectives Ben Stack and Rica Lopez have ever seen. As Stack and Lopez investigate the cruel deaths, they have no idea that they are being watched from the shadows--observed by a cunning murderer picking up all the clues necessary to stay one step ahead of the police while perfecting a deadly craft. And when a pattern slowly emerges, the detectives realize that the killings aren''t the random acts of a maniac, but the personal campaign of someone bent on retribution. . .someone who''s been watching closely and knows their case too well. Someone whose vengeance will burn forever.

A Manhattan woman’s new roommate is a nightmare in this classic psychological thriller that inspired the hit film, Single White Female. Things could be better for computer consultant Allie Jones. With her boyfriend moved out, she needs to find a new way to make rent on her Upper West Side apartment. After placing an ad in the classifieds, she meets Hedra Carlson, a shy, awkward office temp. While Hedra may not be the perfect applicant, she’s the best one Allie can find. As the two adjust to living together, Hedra can barely contain her admiration for Allie. But soon Hedra’s mousey demeanor transforms into something far more menacing. She’s doesn’t just love Allie, she wants to become her . . . “A contemporary horror tale that few readers will be able to put down. . . . An enjoyable diversion.” —Publishers Weekly “Gotham paranoia at its creepiest.” —Kirkus Reviews

A PI pieces together a serial killer’s bloody puzzle in this edge-of-your-seat thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of Frenzy. Frank Quinn was once New York City’s top homicide detective—until a setup forced him into early retirement. Now running his own detective agency, he assists the NYPD on some of their most disturbing cases . . . A woman’s body is found in Central Park drained of blood, dismembered, and reassembled. Her killer is a cold man who enjoys taking things apart to figure out what makes them tick. And this is only the beginning of his destructive, bloody plan. Before he is finished, he will try to see what makes Frank Quinn tick, and what makes him break. Praise for John Lutz “Lutz knows how to make you shiver.” —Harlan Coben “One of the masters of the police novel.” —Ridley Pearson “Lutz offers up a heart-pounding roller coaster of a tale.” —Jeffrey Deaver “Lutz ranks with such vintage masters of big-city murder as Lawrence Block and Ed McBain.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A Short Story by John Lutz Excerpt EDDIE HAYES SLOWED ALMOST TO A STOP AFTER THE FOOTBALL WAS SNAPPED, THEN SPRINTED DOWN THE SIDELINES, WHIRLED AT the fifty-yard line, and there was the ball. Willard, the quarterback, had made a perfect pass, and all Eddie had to do was reach out and pluck the ball from the air as if he were picking fruit. He tucked the football beneath his arm as he spun back toward the opposing team''s goal line and broke into a run. The defensive end hadn''t been entirely fooled, and Eddie glimpsed him in the corner of his vision, closing in fast for the tackle. That was when Eddie executed his favorite football maneuver, the stutter step. Maybe he liked it because he stuttered himself when he talked, and this was almost like making his halting speech physical in a way that could win football games and acceptance with his classmates. The stutter step was kind of like taking a quick stride and a half without speeding up, keeping your feet going faster than you were, so that on videotape it looked a little like a momentary fast-forward. Eddie was good at it. He broke stride just enough to throw off the defensive end''s timing, changed direction, and felt arms slip around his right thigh, then slide down and away. He pulled free and was running full tilt again toward the goal line.

An ex-cop turned PI goes up against a lady killer known as “The Butcher” in this crime thriller New York Times–bestselling author of Darker Than Night. An Invitation Written In Blood . . . A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they’ve been dismembered with careful precision, their limbs stacked into a gruesome pyramid and completely cleansed of every last drop of blood. To Catch A Killer—Or Die Next . . . Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn’s nerves don’t rattle easily. But when the last names of the killer’s victims spell out “Q-u-i-n-n,” the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine. Then, a fresh victim is linked to the one woman Quinn can’t stop desiring. Hunting down killers is what Quinn does best. But this time, Quinn is up against a psychopath that will test him as never before . . . Praise for In for the Kill “Shamus and Edgar award–winner Lutz gives us further proof of his enormous talent. . . . Lutz has a thorough command of plot and character, making this another enthralling page turner.” —Publishers Weekly “Moviegoers sometimes hide their eyes during the really scary parts. Readers would do that while turning these pages, too, if not for the obvious drawback. A very scary and suspenseful read.” —Booklist

The New York Times–bestselling author of Single White Female delivers another gritty cop thriller with this sequel to The Eye. NYPD cops E. L. Oxman and Art Tobin, who hunted a serial killer in The Eye, are back with what may be their most bizarre case yet. Shadowtown is the hottest soap opera in the country, even after the most popular character—a vampire—is killed off. The writers had little choice after the accidental death of the actor who played him. But now a real-life villain wearing the TV vampire’s cape has committed murder, slaying a former New York cop who was working as a night watchman on the show’s soundstage. Meanwhile, actress Lana Spence, who portrays a femme fatale on the soap—and has ruined a few careers—has been receiving death threats for months. Could the murder and the nasty missives be related? Oxman and Tobin must sort through a cattle call of suspects to shine a spotlight on a crazed killer hiding in the shadows . . . New York Times– and USA Today–bestselling author John Lutz has been called “a major talent” by John Lescroart and “one of the masters” by Ridley Pearson. “Lutz offers up a heart-pounding roller coaster” (Jeffery Deaver) in his thrillers and “knows how to make you shiver” (Harlan Coben). Once again, he delivers an electrifying murder mystery that will keep you riveted until the last page.

DIVDIVInvestigating cocaine smuggling in the Florida Keys, Fred Carver stumbles on a crime far worse than drug pushing/divDIV /divDIVWhen Henry Tiller barges into Fred Carver’s office, the old man seems crazy. He tells a paranoid story about one of his neighbors on the sunny Florida Key where he makes his home—a wealthy man whom he suspects of using his yacht to run drugs. A young boy recently washed up on the beach, Tiller says, and he’s certain it was murder. Carver is uninterested until he learns that the old man’s grandson died a few years earlier: another casualty of cocaine addiction. It’s only been three years since Carver’s own son was murdered, and he’s too sentimental to turn down the case./divDIV /divDIVWhen Tiller turns up dead himself, a victim of a suspicious hit-and-run, a little smuggled cocaine becomes the least of Carver’s troubles./divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

DIV After an explosion causes his lover to miscarry, Fred Carver hunts for the man who planted the bombDIV /divDIVFred Carver’s lover, Beth, is not a woman who wants to be tied down. When she learns that she is pregnant with the detective’s child, she resists his attempts to marry her and initially wants to have an abortion. Finally, love wins out, and they decide to raise the child together. Stopping by the abortion clinic to cancel her appointment, Beth is caught in an explosion that spares her life but takes her unborn child./divDIV /divDIVThe police are content to lock up a local anti-abortion fanatic whose house is full of explosives, but Fred Carver isn’t convinced. When he and Beth start receiving death threats, he takes the matter into his own hands—seeking revenge against the man who took his child and nearly murdered the woman he loves./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection./div/div

Helen Crane, a beauty "men build dreams around," hires private eye Alo Nudger to find out what''s troubling her lover Jake Dancer. Middle-aging, old-shoe Nudger tails Dancer and manages to save him from a couple of strong-arm men. Dancer, handsome, feckless, an alcoholic and compulsive gambler is vague about the money he owes, and Nudger learns that Helen, working for an "escort service," plans to move "up" to prostitution to help pay Dancer''s debts. Then Dancer vanishes, Nudger''s lover Claudia is abducted, and the story ends with the uncovering of a grisly, sadistic snuff-film operation. "Lutz''s plotting here has a stark, unusual, genuinely disturbing curve to it—making this another Nudgeresque blend of strong action, lean atmosphere, and downbeat personality."—Kirkus "...[Lutz] deserves high marks for another intriguing glimpse into the unusual world of Alo Nudger, a uniquely warm and thoroughly disheveled detective."—Booklist

A Madman''s Obsession Is A City''s Nightmare He comes out when the sun goes down. He''s made New York City his shooting gallery. The Night Sniper threatens to increase the body count-unless legendary homicide detective Vin Repetto is willing to engage him in a lethal game of cat and mouse. When the next victim is murdered right before Repetto''s eyes, the game is set to begin. But The Night Sniper doesn''t realize they''re playing by Repetto''s rules. . . "A HEART-POUNDING ROLLER COASTER OF A TALE." --Jeffery Deaver on Night Victims "A PAGE-TURNER. . .TWISTY, CREEPY." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Mister X "LUTZ IS IN RARE FORM." -The New York Times Book Review on Chill of Night

DIVDIV /divDIVAn amateur ballroom dancer is targeted by a serial killer in this riveting mystery by veteran John Lutz/divDIV /divDIVMary Arlington only feels alive when she is dancing. The rest of her life, dominated by a violent boyfriend and a mother intent on drinking herself to death, isn’t worth being awake for, but when she dances the tango her troubles disappear. She’s gotten so good that her studio is taking her to the national competition in Ohio, where she will prove to the world and to herself that her hobby is more than a pastime. That is, if she can stay alive until the music starts to play./divDIV /divDIVAt dance competitions across the country, amateur dancers have been turning up with slit throats. Mary follows the killing spree in the newspapers, morbidly fascinated by the deaths of women so similar to her. When the killer comes for her, she will need more than rhythm to survive./divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

DIVDIVFred Carver investigates a series of suspicious deaths in a stately Florida retirement community/divDIV /divDIVHattie Evans, a retired schoolteacher, isn’t one to fuss. When her husband drops dead of a heart attack, she does her best to move on without too many tears. After all, Jerome was seventy years old. But an anonymous note, asserting that her husband was murdered, shakes her resolve, and she seeks out help. The police are useless, save that they send her to Fred Carver—a former Orlando cop who turned PI when a bullet shattered his left knee./divDIV /divDIVHer case takes Carver into the depths of Solartown: an old-age mecca where seventy is the new forty, golf carts are the only way to get around, and death from natural causes is nowhere to be found./divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

A desperate ex-cop searches for a shadowy killer in a thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author: “One of the masters of the police novel.” —Ridley Pearson A killer dubbed “The Night Prowler” has turned the city that doesn’t sleep into a town kept awake by terror. Unseen, he enters couples’ homes. Unsuspected, he lingers until the perfect moment arrives. He leaves “gifts” for his victims—before taking their lives. Enter ex-homicide cop Frank Quinn, still reeling in the wake of an elaborate setup that ended his career. For Quinn, this isn’t just any job—it’s a last chance to salvage his reputation. As the investigation proceeds, the murderer loses no time stalking new prey: a loan officer and her high-earning husband; a couple who made a killing in the stock market; a pretty actress and her prosperous lover. With the body count rising, it’s up to Quinn to unlock the mystery of a madman’s past and end his bloody reign. Quinn’s got his work cut out—because in a city the size of New York, any one of eight million faces could be that of a killer—or his next target . . . “I’ve been a fan of John Lutz for years.” —T. Jefferson Parker “John Lutz just keeps getting better and better.” —Tony Hillerman “Some writers just have a flair for imaginative suspense, and John Lutz is one of them.” —Jeremiah Healy “John Lutz is the new Lawrence Sanders.” —Mystery Scene “Lutz knows how to seize and hold the reader’s imagination.” —The Plain Dealer “Lutz’s real gift is to evoke detective work better than anyone else.” —Kirkus R

DIVDIV When a nervous husband asks him to track down his heroin addict wife, Fred Carver learns that not every client can be trusted/divDIV /divDIVWhen he meets Bob Ghostly, it’s hardly the first time that Fred Carver has been asked to find a missing spouse. But Ghostly’s tale about a beautiful woman who fled for no apparent reason doesn’t quite convince Carver, who presses for more detail. Finally Ghostly admits it. His wife was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, but she was also a heroin addict. She fled their Florida home with half their savings—nearly $10,000—and he’s afraid she’s going to put it straight into her veins./divDIV /divDIVCarver goes looking for the troubled young bride, but when she shows up on her own—terrified and looking for protection—a routine case becomes one that could prove lethal for the well-meaning PI. /divDIV /divThis ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection. /div

A PI turns the tables on a brutal lady killer in this suspense thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of Pulse. Once one of New York’s top homicide detectives, Frank Quinn now runs his own detective agency, frequently assisting the police on some of their most disturbing cases . . . A serial killer is stalking the city for beautiful, blue-eyed blondes. He likes to drug and bind them, then torture them to death. Women everywhere are terrified, but the NYPD can’t do anything to help. The case soon becomes personal for Quinn when his niece, Carlie, begs for help. She fits the killer’s type, and worse, someone is following her. Now Quinn must trap this monster before it’s too late. He just needs some bait . . . Praise for John Lutz “John Lutz knows how to make you shiver.” —Harlan Coben “Lutz offers up a heart-pounding roller coaster of a tale.” —Jeffery Deaver “Lutz knows how to seize and hold the reader’s imagination.” —The Plain Dealer “It’s easy to see why he won an Edgar and two Shamuses.” —Publishers Weekly“/Pu003e

"The Justice Killer There''s a twisted serial killer stalking the streets of New York City, dealing his own perverse version of justice. He kills swiftly and silently, leaving his calling card--a red "J"--on the bodies of his prey. His victims have one thing in common: they''ve all been jurors in the city''s most infamous cases--cases in which the killer was found "not guilty." Overnight, the Justice Killer has the city in a stranglehold. And there''s only one man who has a shot at finding him . . . Homicide detective Artemis Beam made his reputation hunting down serial killers. After getting shot by an armed robber--and stepping on the wrong toes in the NYPD--he''s been retired. The city needs him now, and finding the killer is his chance to get back into the life he loves. As the body count climbs and the city''s legal system fails, the Justice Killer thinks he''s outsmarted the cops. But Beam isn''t officially a cop anymore . . . and he doesn''t have to play by the rules . . .

When he discovers his daughter''s corpse in a deserted beachfront bungalow, Ezekiel Cooper vows to find her murderer. Then Coop crosses paths with Cara Callahan, who''s determined to lure her sister''s killer by transforming herself into someone just like her, but Cara''s plan may be working too well.

A dark, compelling suspense story that reveals a surprising insight into?the background of?Homicide Detective Frank Quinn, the popular continuing character of John Lutz''s serial-killer thrillers.

A murderer is stalking the streets of St Louis, and the only thing linking his victims is a system of special nightlines used by the phone company to test equipment. Lonely people use them to make contact with one another—but these people are dying.

A suspense thriller set in the Ozarks from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Night Caller, who “knows how to make you shiver” (Harlan Coben). When the men find him, the boy’s legs look like they were run through a wood-chipper. He’s bleeding heavily and near death, but he still has strength to tell them of the monster that attacked him: a dark, massive creature that emerged from the bottom of the lake. The child dies before he can say more. Sheriff Billy Wintone has seen too much superstition, drunkenness, and rage in this small Ozarks town to believe the delirious boy’s tale of a monster lurking under the lake’s dark waters. Like it or not, however, Wintone must scour the woods for the man or beast who killed the child before the start of fishing season. When another body is found chewed to pieces, the Sheriff begins to wonder what evil lies at the bottom of Big Water Lake. From an Edgar Award winner who’s been called “one of the masters” by Ridley Pearson and earned widespread praise from critics for his terrifyingly suspenseful novels, this is an unforgettable story of the darkness hidden in a small mountain town. This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Good Night, Sleep Tight A computer programmer, a casting director, a call girl. The victims have nothing in common except the manner in which they spent their last night--wrapped in their own bed sheets in a bloody ritual of slow, agonizing death. . . . And Never Wake Again For NYPD Captain Thomas Horn, this adversary is unlike any he has met before. Methodical and highly skilled, the killer is always one step ahead, able to enter buildings without detection and leave no trace behind. To stop this deadly rampage, Horn must unlock the secrets of a cunning enemy who is saving his most shocking surprises for last. . . "John Lutz knows how to make you shiver." --Harlan Coben "Lutz ranks with such masters as Lawrence Block and Ed McBain." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch "A heart-pounding roller-coaster of a tale." --Jeffery Deaver

Kidnap proves only the prelude to a diabolically clever scheme of fraud and murder in this vivid tale of taut suspense. Private investigator Alo Nudger didn''t have to think twice about accepting the $2,500 fee from Gordon Clark, whose seven-year-old daughter had been "kidnapped" by his ex-wife, Joan. After all, the pay was good, and the job seemed simple enough: bring young Melissa back from Florida to her frantic father. Nudger arrives at his destination to find only an empty house but soon locates Melissa in the safekeeping of a neighbor and reckons his job is done... or is it? For now Joan is missing, and the man she and Melissa had been living with is murdered. Nudger''s new proposition from an equally distraught parent-Joan''s father-is not so readily appealing as before. Fifty thousand dollars to locate a missing person is a tempting sum, indeed-assuming Alo Nudger can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. "One of the best and most unusual novels in the history of private eye fiction." -Cedar-Rapids Gazette. Lutz''s bestselling novel SWF Seeks Same was released as the major motion picture, Single White Female starring Bridget Fonda. About the Series St. Louis private eye ALO NUDGER is perhaps the most Chaplinesque of fictional gumshoes. Where other P.I.s are hardcases living on cigarettes, booze, broads and danger, Alo survives (just) on antacid tablets (it was his nervous stomach that forced Alo to resign from the police force) and grocery coupons.

JOHN LUTZ IS. . . "A MAJOR TALENT." –John Lescroart "ONE OF THE MASTERS." –Ridley Pearson "IN RARE FORM." –The New York Times Book Review "AMONG THE BEST." –San Diego Union THE HUNT BEGINS. . .AGAIN Will Harper was an NYPD hero. Then fate, a fiery blast, and departmental politics burned down his career. Now Will is again in the line of fire as a disgraced FBI profiler pulls him back into the action—on a hunt for a serial killer authorities don''t even know about yet. "Fast-paced. . .Edge-of-your-seat suspense mixes well with a hefty dose of reality." —Publishers Weekly "Lutz always delivers the goods, and this is no exception."—Booklist

Find The Cat, Catch The Killer Dead in her penthouse apartment. Designer scarf around her neck. Dismembered finger in a place it should never be. What the police haven''t found is her diamond-and-ruby bracelet, switched with a cheap imitation. A bracelet that mysteriously ended up around the neck of a little girl''s pet cat. Now the feline is missing, the killer has struck again--and former NYPD detective Frank Quinn has to track down both the cat and the culprit before the next body drops. Quinn''s played his share of cat-and-mouse games before. But this time, when fingers are pointed, the claws come out. . . "Lutz knows how to make you shiver." --Harlan Coben on The Night Spider "A heart-pounding roller coaster." --Jeffery Deaver on Night Victims "Nail-biting. . .dramatic suspense." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Mister X 18,000 Words