Description:

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran journalist King, the Edgar-winning author of the Max Freeman novels (_The Blue Edge of Midnight_, etc.), sets this edgy, brooding stand-alone in a milieu he knows well, the world of the professional crime reporter. Nick Mullins, who covers the crime beat for the South Florida Daily News, is still shattered two years later by the deaths of his wife and one of his twin daughters in an auto accident with a drunk driver. Obsessed with revenge, Mullins spends his off hours stalking the driver, who's just been released from prison after serving only 18 months. Mullins's reputation for honesty and integrity endears him to a devoted cadre of readers, including Michael Redman, an ex-cop and former military sniper who begins assassinating criminals Mullins has profiled. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that Redman is indeed working from a list, and that the final name will fulfill a personal debt that he feels he owes Mullins. While the plot unfolds predictably, King's crisp writing and insights into grief and loss give this novel a depth and poignancy unusual for a thriller. (May)
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From

Starred Review King, who won the Edgar Award for The Blue Edge of Midnight (2002), is a former daily journalist who brings both the newsroom and the field to vivid life in his Max Freeman series. His latest is a stand-alone tale about another newsman, Nick Mullins, a crime reporter for the South Florida Daily News. Mullins is a crime victim himself, having lost his wife and one of his twin daughters to a drunk driver. The scenes of Mullins trying to mimic a normal life with his surviving nine-year-old are harrowing. Pressures build for Mullins as he learns two things: the DUI offender who tore apart his family has just been released from prison, and another prisoner, en route to a courthouse plea, has been killed by a sniper. As Mullins investigates the sniper shooting, he learns that the killer has a hit list, all of whose victims have been subjects of Mullins' own stories. Tension skyrockets as Mullins fights to save his daughter and to surmount his own need for vengeance. Intriguing views of crime scenes from the media side of the tape, masterful plotting, and a credible, striving hero make this a winner. Connie Fletcher
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