Another Part of the City

The real New York City, not the mythical Isola of McBain's popular 87th Precinct series, plays a lead in his devastating new thriller. Uptown Manhattan is where Olivia Kidd forces her brother Sarge to sell his beloved collection of paintings as ordered by their father, a Texas trillionaire. Downtown, Detective Reardon seeks for clues to the gunmen who have shot Ralph D'Annunzio dead in his restaurant. Robberty isn't the motive; there seems to be none nor can Reardon make a connection between D'Annunzio and a second murder victim, a lawyer killed after leaving a stock broker's office. By diligently investigating the dead men's last days, however, the detective begins to put together bits of a puzzle with appalling implications. The murders and other crimes form a graphic picture in Reardon's mind of a great metropolis ravaged by people beyond the law's long arm. These malefactors order killings to silence anyone who might accidentally hear about their deals for vast profits swelling already uncountable fortunes. McBain's practiced skills rivet one to the story of human vultures and their prey. (April 15)