Battling the bottle, Scudder finds that in the mean streets of New York staying sober and alive isn't easy - not for him, not for the prostitute who wanted out and got herself slashed to ribbons, and not for a pimp named Chance who's betting his life that Scudder can't find the killer.

Small-time stoolie, Jake " The Spinner" Jablon, made a lot of new enemies when he switched careers, from informer to blackmailer. And the more "clients", he figured, the more money -- and more people eager to see him dead. So no one is surprised when the pigeon is found floating in the East River with his skull bashed in.And what's worse, no one cares -- except Matthew Scudder. The ex-cop-turned-private-eye is no conscientious avenging angel. But he's willing to risk his own life and limb to confront Spinner's most murderously aggressive marks. A job's a job after all -- and Scudder's been paid to find a killer -- by the victim...in advance.

Matt Scudder returns in a tense mystery in which he remorselessly tracks downa young midwestern girl missing in the Big Apple.

Each year, for the past seventeen years, Mysterious Bookshop proprietor Otto Penzler has commissioned an original Christmas story by a leading suspense writer. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, just 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all seventeen tales have been collected in one volume, showcasing the talents of:

Charles Ardai
Lisa Atkinson
George Baxt
Lawrence Block
Mary Higgins Clark
Thomas H. Cook
Ron Goulart
Jeremiah Healy
Edward D. Hoch
Rupert Holmes
Andrew Klavan
Michael Malone
Ed McBain
Anne Perry
S. J. Rozan
Jonathan Santlofer
Donald E. Westlake

Some of these stories are humorous, others suspenseful, and still others are tales of pure detection, but all of them together make up a charming collection and a perfect Christmas gift for all ages.

愛倫坡終身大師獎得主、紐約犯罪風景的行吟詩人——勞倫斯‧卜洛克
冷硬派偵探系列代表作 

這座城市吸引追夢者投身其中，
然後吞噬他們的夢想、靈魂與肉身，不吐出一點渣滓，
除非你找對偵探，一個像條狗死命追回骨頭的偵探……

朱天心x朱天文x李桐豪x唐諾x冬陽x張國立x陳雪x個人意見 陳祺勳x臥斧x傅月庵x劉梓潔x駱以軍x顏忠賢

──齊聲推薦
 
「這樣過日子的方式真蠢──
過濾一切蛛絲馬跡，想要找到那個失蹤的女孩；
為一個死去的朋友夜不成眠，想確定他死時處於沒喝酒的美好狀態。」 
這就是酒鬼的下場。
大事情在你眼裡變得沒什麼，就是這種小事逼得你發瘋。 
懷著演員夢獨自來到紐約打拚的寶拉已經失蹤三個星期，她心急如焚的父母找上了私探史卡德，所有的資訊卻只有她的一張照片和租屋地址。他多方打聽後勾勒出的身影是個獨來獨往、時運不濟、像是準備好要離開卻也像突然消失的年輕女子，一股不祥的預感由他心底升起，他毫無把握是否能找回完整的寶拉。 
同時，史卡德在戒酒協會認識的新朋友艾迪，決定按照戒癮步驟告訴他啃噬自己良心的陳年祕密，但祕密還沒來得及說，艾迪就陳屍在租屋處，被出身六○年代共產運動團體的女房東和史卡德一起發現。史卡德不相信敷衍的驗屍報告，決心親自出馬，尋找艾迪過往的足跡，試圖拼湊他來不及說出口的心事。 
人間蒸發的寶拉去了哪裡？艾迪渴望吐露的祕密是什麼？這個城市裡飄移來去的人們，有如幽魂一般，死或沒死，差別何在？誰真正在意他們？誰記得他們？ 
在這個殘酷冰冷如刀鋒一般的世界，誰願意聽聽他們說話？
 
「史卡德不像某些系列作品的主角那樣，似乎固定停留在某段時空當中，他和作者、讀者一起活在同一個現實裡頭……他用一種與過去不大一樣的方式面對人生，但也維持了原先那些吸引人的個性特質。」──臥斧（摘自推薦序〈關於我的朋友馬修．史卡德〉）
 「史卡德依舊魅力逼人，陰鬱但深具同情心，在一個錯的世界裡努力做出對的事，卜洛克用充滿街頭風格的對話、角色和行文將之塑造得真實可信。」──《柯克斯書評》