纽约出现了一群绑架恶魔，他们也是残忍而手法多变的杀手，专门以那些做不法生意的商人家属为猎捕对象，因为这些人不会去向警察求助。马修•斯卡德接手调查。他并不喜欢现在需要他帮助的那些毒贩子，但他决心找出这些凶残的勒索者，不能让他们再用无辜的人来维持他们的魔鬼行当。
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“劳伦斯•布洛克是侦探小说界的大师；马修•斯卡德系列是本世纪最好的侦探小说。” ------乔纳森•凯勒曼
“侦探小说中的硬汉……这不是轻松的闲逛，但却是一次了不起的旅行。”
------《纽约时报书评》
“我阅读马修•斯卡德过程中，感觉像小时候看武侠小说那样，非要一口气看完不可。” ------候孝贤
“好书！” ------斯蒂芬•金
“雷蒙•钱德勒和达希尔•哈米特仍然对悬疑小说流派有着深远的影响。如果说有某个侦探小说作家能够与他们相媲美，那就是劳伦斯•布洛克。”------《旧金山纪事报》

Bernie Rhodenbarr is a personable chap, a good neighbor, a passable poker player. His chosen profession, however, might not sit well with some. Bernie is a burglar, a good one, effortlessly lifting valuables from the not-so-well-protected abodes of well-to-do New Yorkers like a modern-day Robin Hood. (The poor, as Bernie would be the first to tell you, alas, have nothing worth stealing.) He's not perfect, however; he occasionally makes mistakes. Like accepting a paid assignment from a total stranger to retrieve a particular item from a rich man's apartment. Like still being there when the cops arrive. Like having a freshly slain corpse lying in the next room, and no proof that Bernie isn't the killer. Now he's really got his hands full, having to locate the true perpetrator while somehow eluding the police -- a dirty job indeed, but if Bernie doesn't do it, who will?