The morning after Jonathan Parrish’s fortieth birthday party, the guest of honor is found lying dead in a pool of his own blood. Police arrive at the scene to find his older brother, Ralph, covered in red and clutching the murder weapon.
From behind bars, Ralph insists he didn’t do it. He claims he heard a scream from the other room, saw a man dressed in black running away, and rushed to pull the fatal blade from Jonathan’s chest. But his explanations don’t sway the Florida police, especially when several witnesses saw the brothers arguing about Jonathan’s homosexual lifestyle the night before.
But attorney Matthew Hope believes Ralph—call it instinct, call it a hunch, Matt’s law partner, Frank Summerville, calls it Matt’s “code.” But with Frank too distraught over his crumbling marriage to pitch in this time, Matthew enlists private eye Warren Chambers to help prove Ralph’s innocence. And with few clues to go by, the duo will have to dig through a world of closet cases, secret trysts, and a community on edge to capture the real killer.
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"Almost makes me feel like I could get interested in small town life in Florida. Smart characters; true to period."
— Rkutler (4 out of 5 stars)
" Matthew Hope "
— Hendo, 11/5/2013" I love the Matthew Hope series, set in Florida. Fun, twisty. Fox face or pig face? "
— Liz, 6/25/2013" Slightly better... "
— Sheldon, 4/29/2013Ed McBain is the most well known pseudonym of Evan Hunter (1926–2005), the author of over eighty novels and several famous screenplays. He is a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award and the Diamond Dagger Award from the British Crime Writers Association. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series to the bestselling novels written under his own name. McBain also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Luke Daniels, winner of sixteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and a finalist for the Audie Award for best narration, is a narrator whose many audiobook credits range from action and suspense to young-adult fiction. His background is in classical theater and film, and he has performed at repertory theaters around the country.