First published 1989
Detective Stuart Haydon thinks he's dealing with routine mail when four envelopes arrive at his Houston precinct. Inside each envelope sits a mysterious photograph. The images seem random at first, disconnected pieces of some unknown puzzle. Then the fifth photograph arrives. Haydon stares at an image of himself with a bullet tearing through the back of his skull, rendered in careful detail by an unknown hand. Someone has marked him for death and wants him to know it. The photographs pull Haydon into a twisted game where violence and obsession collide. Each new clue draws him deeper into a world where the line between hunter and prey blurs. The killer watches his every move, always one step ahead, turning Haydon's own investigation into a trap. In a city where danger lurks in ordinary places, Haydon must solve the mystery before the carefully drawn bullet becomes reality.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Houston
Period: Contemporary
372 pages · Paperback · Bantam Books
Content warnings: violence