Homicide detective John Corey's convalescence on Long Island from a bullet wound is cut rudely short when his new neighbours are found shot dead on their patio. It doesn't take long for Corey to get involved, not least because the detective in charge of the case is single, blonde and female. The dead couple were leading research scientists at the top secret biological research site on nearby Plum Island, so the fear that their murders are bound up in a biological warfare plot adds an extra frisson to the case. But Corey doesn't buy this theory as readily as everybody else and within two days he has fallen out with his colleagues and fallen in love with someone else. His natural cop instincts lead him to investigate his own theories, and, well, the rest is history. It's a wisecracking American detective classic well told through the words of tough guy Corey. The plot ducks and dives in the most exhilarating of ways, and dialogue exchanges such as "I'm a credit to my gender"..."Only your gender would think so" typify the banter. Not a book to mull over, but then this type of fiction is always at its best when consumed in the same quick-fire way it is delivered. --Claire Allfree
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