Showing results by author "John Lutz" in All Categories

A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they've been dismembered with careful precision, their limbs stacked into a gruesome pyramid and completely cleansed of every last drop of blood. Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn's nerves don't rattle easily. But when the last names of the killer's victims spell out "Q-u-i-n-n", the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine.

In the year 2038, there’s only one destination that can play host to the world’s wealthiest adventure seekers: the Pengalaman Island Resort and Virtual Reality Theme Park. Located on a private South Pacific island, guests here live out their wildest fantasies in custom-made virtual reality simulations while also enjoying the usual amenities of an exclusive five-star getaway. All is relatively breezy until famed billionaire and avid guest, Mr. Wagner, goes missing within a virtual simulation. His only hope? A daring rescue led by Derek Ambrose and his ragtag search party.

Kill... or be killed. Frank Quinn is a decorated ex-cop. A former homicide detective specializing in tracking serial killers. Now his niece, Carlie Clark, needs help. Someone is stalking her, and the NYPD can’t stop him. A blonde, blue-eyed beauty, Carlie fits the victim type of the killer who’s been terrorizing women — leaving them bound, gagged, and tortured with surgical precision. To win against the most personal adversary of his career, Quinn will have to set the perfect trap. All he needs is the perfect bait….

There’s a twisted serial killer stalking the streets of New York City, dealing his own perverse version of justice. He kills swiftly and silently, leaving his calling card - a red "J" - on the bodies of his prey. His victims have one thing in common: They’ve all been jurors in the city’s most infamous cases - cases in which the killer was found "not guilty". Overnight, the Justice Killer has the city in a stranglehold. And there’s only one man who has a shot at finding him....

He mutilates his victims. Slices their throats. And carves an X into their flesh. Five years ago, he claimed the lives of six women. Then the killings abruptly stopped - no one knows why. Ex-homicide detective Frank Quinn remembers - which is why he's shocked to see one of the dead women in his office. Actually, she's the identical twin of the last victim, and she wants Quinn to find her sister's murderer. But when the cold case heats up, it attracts the media spotlight - and suddenly the killings start again....

Homicide detective Frank Quinn can't stay retired when a new breed of murdering madman is on the prowl. In a city terrorized by bloody brutality, Quinn and his team hunt a psychopath who lures beautiful women into a night of unbridled passion, then wakes them to a vicious, drawn-out death. Stumbling over a trail of horribly defiled bodies, Quinn can't seem to catch up to the killer - because the killer is about to catch up to him.

Six dead women in a hotel room. Five of them students, still in their teens. Tied up. Tortured. The NYPD recognizes the suspect’s signature - three bloody initials carved into each victim’s forehead. Ex-cop Frank Quinn has faced this madman before. Both bear scars from their last encounter. Killer and cop, hunter and prey… In a deadly game of matched wits, only one can prevail. It’s not just about who gets killed. It’s about who will survive.

Ex-homicide cop Frank Quinn is still reeling in the wake of an elaborate setup that ended his career, but a new case presents a chance to salvage his reputation. A killer dubbed "The Night Prowler" has begun terrorizing the citizens of New York City. With the body count climbing, it's up to Quinn to unlock the mystery of a madman's past and end his bloody reign of terror. But in the city of New York, any one of eight million faces could be that of a killer - or his next target.

Someone is killing wealthy Manhattanites. One by one, the victims are discovered in luxurious high-rises bound, gagged, and brutally murdered in the "safety" of their own homes, by someone whose modus operandi is as horrifying as anything NYPD Detectives Ben Stack and Rica Lopez have ever seen.

Ezekiel "Coop" Cooper is lonely. He's no longer with the NYPD due to cancer that's in remission. His daughter Bette is in New Jersey, and he doesn't talk with her about anything personal, but he loves her. He's looking forward to seeing her at the family bungalow, but when he gets there, he finds her dead, curled up in a way that suggests a ritual murder.

He comes out when the sun goes down. He delivers death from the barrel of a rifle. He's made New York City his shooting gallery. Men and women, natives and tourists, young and old, have all been his victims. The press has named him The Night Sniper. He taunts those who would try to stop him, threatening to increase the body count unless legendary retired homicide detective Vin Repetto is willing to engage him in a lethal game of cat and mouse.

She was gagged. Violated. Tortured. Nailing the killer is priority number one and only the best will do-that means Frank Quinn. And Quinn wouldn't want it any other way. Because he recognizes the victim. Years ago, as a homicide detective, he saved her young life. Now the hunt is on, and deep in his gut, Quinn welcomes it. He knows he's seeing the work of a truly twisted serial killer.

A beautiful jogger, drained of blood, dismembered, then meticulously reassembled on the grass in Central Park. Subway derailments, plummeting elevators, collapsing construction cranes, apartment explosions - all creating a bloody, senseless puzzle.

John Lutz is fascinated by the nighttime dangers that await women alone. In The Night Spider, he improvises a new variation on this theme with a thriller about a serial killer who preys upon women living in high-rises. With few visible means of entry, the mysterious stalker kills women while they sleep in their beds behind securely locked doors.

Listen to mystery stories by today's top writers and the masters who inspired them. The idea for this collection came to Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block when he was asked, "What is your favorite mystery story?" Block compiled this unique collection by posing the same question to some of today's favorite writers of the genre, including Stephen King, Tony Hillerman, and John Lutz.

Are you ready to maximize your earning potential by investing in the essentials and implementing expert advice? Are you prepared to completely transform your home to attract potential buyers? In The Smart First-Time Home Seller's Guide, you will discover how to fetch the highest price tag possible for your home in any given setting. To do this, all you need is a willingness to accept help and to apply the steps when competing against today's market.

Intrigue, crime, and murder create suspense in this edge-of-your-seat collection of cat mystery stories whose plots are all centered on a beloved feline, written by some of the finest, best-selling mystery writers of all time.

Frank Quinn is sure he is hunting for a madman: someone who is shooting young women in the heart, defiling their bodies, leaving only the torsos to be found. But in the concrete canyons of New York, this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different. Struggling against a death trap closing in around her, Jill Clark has a powerful ally in Frank Quinn. But no one knows the true motives behind a rampage of cold-blooded murder or how much more terrifying this is going to get.

Fred Carver, an Orlando cop until a gunman's bullet shattered his kneecap, acquires a cane and a new career, private investigating. From beach resorts and luxury condos, to the swamps and smuggler's coves of the Everglades, Carver looks for a man who police think committed suicide.

When the men find him, the boy’s legs look like they were run through a wood-chipper. He’s bleeding heavily and near death, but he still has strength to tell them of the monster that attacked him: a dark, massive creature that emerged from the bottom of the lake. The child dies before he can say more. Sheriff Billy Wintone has seen too much superstition, drunkenness, and rage in this small Ozarks town to believe the delirious boy’s tale of a monster lurking under the lake’s dark waters. Like it or not, however, Wintone must scour the woods for the man or beast who killed the child before the start of fishing season.