Featured Books
NIGHT KILLS
Frank Quinn is sure he is hunting for a madman: someone who is shooting young women in the heart, defiling their bodies, leaving only the torsos to be found. Quinn, a former NYPD detective, mobilizes his team of brilliant law-enforcement misfits to track the killer. But this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different. No one knows the true motives behind a rampage of cold-blooded murder -- or how much more terrifying this is going to get...
"This book has a very different twist to it, and the author handled it quite well. The antagonist was not your everyday serial killer, to be sure, and the author did a great job of stringing you along to make sure you were guessing to the very end right along with the detectives. This is the kind of book that makes you check to see if all of the doors and windows are locked before you sit down to read. Superb suspense and a very different plot formula make this book one you will remember long after you put it down."
-- Affaire de Coeur
Retired detective Frank Quinn and his team are called back to the NYPD as special consultants in the Torso Murders (the second book featuring these characters). A series of sick murders that end up with only the torsos of the victims being found. Not only are they mutilated, but they are also defiled. Without being able to identify the victims, it’s nearly impossible for them to find a connection between the victims - until the next potential victim is approached by the only person to have escaped with her life. And in turns contacts Quinn and his team in an effort to save her own life. An extremely clever reasoning behind the murders helps the reader turn each page faster just to find out what will happen next. A chilling, thrilling story that will make you think twice about signing up for online dating services.
-- BCF Book Reviews
IN FOR THE KILL
Frank Quinn, the relentless detective who made his debut in John Lutz's acclaimed thriller Darker Than Night, faces his toughest-and most personal-case yet...
An invitation written in blood...
A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they've been dismembered with careful precision, their limbs stacked into a gruesome pyramid and completely cleansed of every last drop of blood.
To catch a killer—or die next...
Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn's nerves don't rattle easily. But when the last names of the killer's victims spell out "Q-u-i-n-n," the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine. Then a fresh victim is linked to the one woman Quinn can't stop desiring. Hunting down killers is what Quinn does best. But this time, Quinn is up against a psychopath that will test him as never before...
“John Lutz provides an exhilarating tense thriller using the old standby High Noon premise of a retired police detective in a cat and mouse struggle against a diabolical clever grandmaster killer. The cast is fully developed, especially the hero, but it is the serial killer who methodically steals the story line. Readers will enjoy this chess game between two intelligent opponents with the falling pawns being women of the city while Frank's endangered queen might be his partner or perhaps his visiting daughter.”
—Harriet Klausner
“Shamus and Edgar award-winner Lutz gives us further proof of his enormous talent for crafting great police fiction. Lutz has a thorough command of plot and character, making this another enthralling page turner.”
“Like Eric Clapton reinventing a familiar blues tune, Lutz, an award-winning master craftsman, takes a tired thriller formula and gives it fresh sizzle.”
“Lutz knows how to make you shiver.”
“Lutz is one of the masters.”
CHILL OF NIGHT
There's a twisted serial killer stalking the streets of New York City, dealing his own perverse version of justice. He kills swiftly and silently, leaving his calling card-a red "J"-on the bodies of his prey. His victims have one thing in common: they've all been jurors in the city's most infamous cases-cases in which the killer was found "not guilty." Overnight, the Justice Killer has the city in a stranglehold. And there's only one man who has a shot at finding him . . .
Homicide detective Artemis Beam made his reputation hunting down serial killers. After getting shot by an armed robber-and stepping on the wrong toes in the NYPD-he's been retired. The city needs him now, and finding the killer is his chance to get back into the life he loves. As the body count climbs and the city's legal system fails, the Justice Killer thinks he's outsmarted the cops. But Beam isn't officially a cop anymore . . . and he doesn't have to play by the rules . . .
“… the ingenuity of the plot — a showcase for the cunning methods of a serial killer taking vengeance on the foremen of juries that hand down acquittals in clear cases of homicide — shows that Lutz is in rare form..”
FEAR THE NIGHT
“Fear the Night, the latest in a long line of slick thrillers from veteran author John Lutz, is a tense, fast-moving novel, a plot-driven page-turner of the first order. The characters are well drawn, multifaceted and sympathetic (even, to some degree, the bad guy). Best of all, Fear the Night has been released in mass-market paperback—at $6.99, this great read is the suspense steal of the season!”
—Book Page
“Fear the Night is a shrewd and clever novel that delivers thrills as seen through totally believable and convincing characters. John Lutz is one of the masters of the police novel and he shows his talents to the fullest here. You are sucked into a tension-ridden story that never lets go. Highly recommended!”
—Ridley Pearson
"A twisted cat-and-mouse game . . . a fast-moving crime thriller . . . Lutz skillfully brings to life the sniper's various victims."
—Publishers Weeklyon Fear the Night
DARKER THAN NIGHT
A killer dubbed 'The Night Prowler" has turned the city that doesn't sleep into a town kept awake by terror. Unseen, he enters couples' homes. Unsuspected, he lingers until the perfect moment arrives. He leaves "gifts" for his victims—before taking their lives.
Enter ex-homicide cop Frank Quinn, still reeling in the wake of an elaborate setup that ended his career. For Quinn, this isn't just any job—it's a last chance to salvage his reputation. As the investigation proceeds, the murderer loses no time stalking new prey: a loan officer and her high-earning husband; a couple who made a killing in the stock market; a pretty actress and her prosperous lover. With the body count rising. it's up to Quinn to unlock the mystery of a madman's past and end his bloody reign. Quinn's got his work cut out—in a city the size of New York, any one of eight million faces could be that of a killer—or his next target.
“Readers will believe that they just stepped off a tilt-awhirl after reading this action-packed police procedural...”
“Lutz juggles multiple story lines with such mastery that it's easy to see how he won so many mystery awards. .A can't-put-it-down thriller, beautifully paced and executed, with enough twists and turns to keep it from ever getting too predictable.”
THE NIGHT SPIDER
The USA Today best-selling author of the Edgar Award nominee The Night Watcher is back with a lightning-paced thriller about a depraved serial killer who preys on women living in Manhattan high-rises.
“John Lutz knows how to ratchet up the terror...(He) propels the story with effective twists and a fast pace.”
“The tale is incredibly gripping when the killer takes center stage during the novel...Sub-genre fans will be elated with John Lutz's strong Manhattan police procedural.”
THE NIGHT WATCHER
NYPD detectives Ben Stack and Rica Lopez investigate the cruel deaths of wealthy Manhattanites—each discovered brutally murdered in the "safety" of their luxurious high-rise apartments. Stack and Lopez have no idea they are being observed by a cunning murderer—a killer with a personal campaign of retribution and someone who knows their case all too well.
“Compelling...a gritty psychological thriller...Lutz's details concerning police procedure, fire fighting techniques and FDNY policy ring true, and his clever use of flashbacks draws the reader deep into the killer's troubled psyche.”
“John Lutz is the new Lawrence Sanders. .a very smooth and civilized novel about a very uncivilized snuff artist, told with passion, wit, carnality, and relentless vigor. I loved it.”
THE NIGHT CALLER
When he finds his only daughter's corpse in a deserted bungalow, former NYPD detective Ezekiel Cooper vows to find her murderer. He doesn't know there are other victims—in Queens, Sarasota, and Seattle. Bent on finding the killer, Coop crosses paths with Cara Callahan, who's determined to lure in her sister's killer by using herself as bait. Just as Coop fears, the Night Caller watches Cara's every move—preparing to pounce again.
“John Lutz has written a powerful novel that grabs reader attention from the beginning and keeps readers wondering whether the hero or the villain will triumph.”
“Like Eric Clapton reinventing a familiar blues tune, Lutz, an award-winning master craftsman, takes a tired thriller formula and gives it fresh sizzle.”
THE EX
David and Molly Jones, urban professionals, live happily with their toddler son Michael on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Then Diedre Grocci moves into their apartment building. She's David's moody ex-wife, and she wants him back.
Slowly, Diedre lures David back into a world of addictive, violent sex. David is hers for keeps now -- or so she thinks. But she doesn't reckon on David's wife. To hold on to her family, her sanity and her life, Molly will go to hell and back.
“Lutz...beyond superlatives..”