**When his nephew is killed by a mugger, Lieberman will do anything to bring his family justice**

In a posh part of Chicago’s North Side, two Trinidadian men look for someone to jump. Waiting outside an apartment building, they see a couple shivering in the cold as they make their way to their car. The Trinidadians draw guns, demand money—and quickly go too far. Shots ring out, and the muggers run. Behind them, the man is dead, and his pregnant wife lays bleeding in the street.

The murder victim is the nephew of Abe Lieberman, one of the most dignified cops in Chicago homicide. When he learns of the killing, Lieberman’s calm façade cracks. As he works with his partner, Bill Hanrahan, to find the killers, Lieberman makes a pact with the devil—ready to sacrifice everything if it means finding the men who gunned his nephew down in the street.

**

### From Publishers Weekly

Kaminsky may be best known for his Toby Peters series, most recently The Melting Clock , set in 1940's L.A., but this third outing for Chicago homicide detective Abe Lieberman (after Lieb erman's Choice ) firmly establishes the characters and setting of this present-day series as well. Lieberman's nephew, David, and David's pregnant wife are shot in a late night mugging. David dies; his wife and unborn child survive, barely. Lieberman gets the case and in the following 24 hours deals with the grief of his brother and sister-in-law, the aftereffects of the collapse of his daughter's marriage, the desperate deal he cuts with a violent drug-dealer called El Perro to catch the killers and the busting of two con artists. Lieberman's partner, Bill Hanrahan, copes with his own alcoholism, ambivalent feelings for his runaway wife, his Chinese-American lover and murderous Frankie Kraylaw, whose abused wife and son he has been sheltering. Lieberman uncovers a final nasty secret about the murder as he and Hanrahan are involved in separate violent conclusions. Kaminsky masterfully limns his colorful characters, none more finely than 62-year-old Abe: smart, weary and loving, with a sorrowful, wise appreciation for life's absurdities and gifts.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Booklist

Kaminsky's books just keep getting better. He's a master of the rock 'em-sock 'em whodunit and a plot maestro extraordinaire. His latest describes a "routine" day in the life of aging Chicago police detective Abe Lieberman, a tough, committed cop with an ugly mug and a kind heart. With his partner, Bill Hanrahan, Lieberman faces 24 hours of cop nightmares, beginning with the brutal shooting of Lieberman's nephew David and David's pregnant wife. Lieberman and Hanrahan sprint nonstop through a day filled with Abe's attempts to console his grieving relatives, a sting operation the two partners have set up, Hanrahan's confrontation with a deranged religious maniac, Lieberman's curious negotiations with a local gang leader, and the bittersweet success of apprehending the men who attacked David and his wife. And just when readers are feeling overwhelmingly shell-shocked by the violence that seems routine to Lieberman and Hanrahan, just when it seems there can't be any more horrors or crises in a single day, Kaminsky's story explodes in a stunning climax that will leave readers breathless. Two admirable cop-heroes with character plus Kaminsky's usual fine plot and plenty of high-octane suspense make this an outstanding story. *Emily Melton*