A Man's Game
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A father hunts the serial killer stalking his daughter in this twisted thriller by "one of the best writers of his generation" (The Guardian).
Jimbo Slade, a drug dealer and prostitute, is also a suspect in a number of rapes and murders in Seattle. He's outwitted the police and justice system before, but when the brutal killer targets teenager Kathy Baird, her father takes matters into his own hands. Turning the tables, Jack Baird slowly wins Slade's trust, and soon he finds himself sharing Slade's lifestyle—cruising the city's sewers, lying to his family and the cops. He knows he can trust no one—not with the ruthless justice he has planned.
"Thornburg is such an accomplished writer and the story so complex that the reader is left with much to ponder . . . Not an easy book to forget." —Library Journal
"A chilling tour of society's sleazy underside." —Publishers Weekly
"Gripping." —Kirkus Reviews
"A commanding writer of unusual delicacy and power." —The New Yorker
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Successful Seattle paper salesman Jack Baird's settled--if not idyllic--life is disrupted when his 18-year-old daughter is stalked by Slade, an obsessive sociopathic ex-con who menaces her with sexual threats. Jack's restless, disenchanted wife, mildly disturbed by his unnaturally close relationship with their daughter, is more concerned with searching for her own fulfillment. When Jack goes to the cops to get a restraining order, he discovers that Slade is a suspect in a series of rapes and murders; yet, strangely, the investigating officer seems unmotivated to intervene. The problem escalates when Jack confronts Slade and makes an impotent attempt to intimidate him. The dilemma is further complicated by Jack's rapidly progressing alcoholism and his sexual attraction to the seductive partner of the senior detective. Tormented by his escalating rage and frustration, Jack desperately tries to trap Slade by pretending to befriend him. Jack's misguided effort to protect his family effects a chilling Jekyll-Hyde transformation as he is pushed beyond the edge of reason by fear and confused feelings for his daughter. Murder, incest and a damning indictment of an indifferent law enforcement system are the themes that propel this chilling tour of society's sleazy underside.
