Author:Don Winslow
New York: Late 1958
Walter Withers had given the best years of his life to the CIA, setting honeytraps and reeling in the victims of his plots. But Withers has returned to his hometown for an easier, safer life as a Private Investigator.
Manhattan in the late Fifties is alive with new possibilities, new sounds and new faces, including young presidential hopeful Senator Joe Keneally. Withers is assigned to bodyguard Keneally's girlfriend at a society gathering: a simple enough job. But next morning, she's dead - and Withers is the prime suspect.
To clear his name, Withers must take on his old masters from the CIA, as well as J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, all of them determined to set Keneally up. And Withers, expert hunter, becomes another disposable victim of the trap closing in on the Senator.
No one does American small-town evil more chillingly ... Slaughter tells a dark story that grips and doesn't let go
—— The TimesThoroughly gripping, yet thoroughly gruesome stuff
—— Daily MirrorIt's beautifully paced, appropriately grisly, and terrifyingly plausible
—— Time OutVintage Ken Bruen. Clipped prose and mordant humour are coupled to a plot that's just about as violent as anything he has ever written. Bruen has the uncanny ability to describe the most touching of moments with heart-rending effectiveness and lyrical beauty.
—— Mean StreetsKen Bruen is one of Ireland's leading crime writers...this is snappy, knowing writing.
—— SUNDAY EXPRESSA creepy and entertaining story full of perfectly written characters. A definite recommendation
—— Library JournalThis is an edgy, compelling read-more unnerving than scary-that will slide its hooks deep inside and throttle you more than a few times before it's all over
—— BooklistA blend of creepy literary horror and taut psychological thriller
—— Marie ClaireSinister, edgy and with a hold that doesn't let up
—— Woman & HomeBest read as an authentic, full-blooded, old-fashioned ghost story...genuinely eerie... will have you staying up late
—— Independent on SundayWinslow is a sensational writer ... Won't disappoint under any circumstances
—— Independent on SundayAction sequences that put your heart into your mouth ... Vegas nights, floating orgies, shakedowns and shootings galore all feature in this superb novel ... The ending will blow you away
—— Evening Standard