Lawrence Block

A classic pulp novel set on the Texas-Mexico border follows the intersecting lives of a professional gambler, a bored divorc�ee, a beautiful hitchhiker-turned-sex performer, an agenda-seeking redhead, and a killer on the run.

New York private detective and recovering alcoholic Matthew Scudder is already struggling with his sobriety when his friend and fellow AA member Jack Ellery is found murdered. Now the only thing keeping Scudder from the bottle is his obsession with finding the culprit.

Introspective professional assassin John Keller continues to ponder his life, the ethics of his lethal career, and his possible retirement as he accepts a couple of dubious contracts.