Matthew Scudder Crime Novel #4. "When Lawrence Block is in his Matthew Scudder mode, crime fiction can sidle up so close to literature that often there's no degree of difference" (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Louis Pinell, the recently apprehended "Icepick Prowler," freely admits to having slain seven young women nine years ago -- but be swears it was a copycat who killed an eighth victim attributed to him. The relentless detective Matthew Scudder believes him and, at the behest of the victim's family, searches for a vicious murderer who's either long gone, long dead … or patiently waiting to kill again.

About Scudder: Matt Scudder -- ex-cop, unlicensed private eye, sober alcoholic -- is an unusual hero. Consorting with cops and criminals alike, Scudder's a man who believes in justice, but who knows that no one is innocent. He is the complex and intriguing hero of a classic contemporary noir series by Grand Master of Mystery Lawrence Block.