Nobody knows better than Matthew Scudder how far down a person can sink
in this city. A young prostitute named Kim knew it also--and she wanted
out. Maybe Kim didn't deserve the life fate had dealt her. She surely
didn't deserve her death. The alcoholic ex-cop turned p.i. was supposed
to protect her, but someone slashed her to ribbons on a crumbling New
York City waterfront pier. Now finding Kim's killer will be Scudder's
penance. But there are lethal secrets hiding in the slain hooker's past
that are far dirtier than her trade. And there are many ways of dying in
this cruel and dangerous town--some quick and brutal ... and some
agonizingly slow.