The Graveyard Shift
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3.9 • 30 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A detective takes on a vengeful ex-con in London's seedy underworld in this classic thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Midnight Bell.
After nine years in prison, thief Ben Garvald has been released, and he's headed back to the old neighborhood. His remarried ex-wife and sister-in-law aren't happy about it, and they've asked for police protection. Det. Sgt. Nick Miller, meanwhile, is hopeful; this may be an opportunity to finally locate the stolen money that was never recovered after Garvald's last heist. But a colleague of Miller's is jealous: He wants to crack the case himself, and will risk endangering everyone to do so.
Miller's highly unorthodox methods are perfectly suited for the graveyard shift, the midnight hours when the driven and desperate come out to play. Tonight, his toughest opponent will be Garvald—and only one of them will live to see the dawn.
From the author of such blockbusters as The Eagle Has Landed and the Sean Dillon novels, including Rain on the Dead, this is a hardboiled detective tale—originally published under the name Harry Patterson—in which the master of international intrigue focuses on one criminal, one cop, and a fast-paced cat-and-mouse game.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Previously published in England under Higgins's real name, Harry Patterson, this 1960s police thriller is the first of three featuring Detective Nick Miller to be released in the United States. Ben Garvald, a notorious thief, is finally getting out of prison, much to the dismay of his former wife and sister-in-law, who go so far as to enlist police protection. While Miller, an educated officer versed in judo and karate, tracks Garvald, hoping that the ex-con will lead him to stolen money never recovered from his final crime, Detective Constable Brady, a jealous colleague of Miller's, secretly confronts Garvald's ex-partner in an effort to solve the case himself. Instead, Brady winds up in a hospital bed, and Garvald, having witnessed the attack, becomes a target. Despite Miller's sophisticated front, he muscles information out of Garvald's acquaintances with the finesse of a hardboiled detective. Miller's abrasive personality takes some getting used to, as does his way with words (like a true '60s detective, he refers to women as "birds" and "tarts"). Though mystery buffs will appreciate the Mickey Spillane-like characters and cadence, this straightforward procedural lacks the espionage elements and historical content of Higgins's bestselling novels (The Eagle Has Landed) and may prove too dated for popular consumption.
