Red Cat

This riveting mystery finds Private Investigator John March descending into Manhattan’s dark and scandalous underworld to help a member of his own family.

David March, John’s brother, has been having affairs with anonymous women he meets on the internet. Now one of these women is stalking him. David knows her only as Wren. She, however, knows everything about David—and she's threatening to tell his wife and colleagues, ruining his life. With his marriage, career, and reputation at stake, David asks John to find her. What John discovers is there is more to Wren than David knows. She’s an intriguing mystery, an internet pornographer and video artist with a penchant for turning the tables on her subjects. But when she turns up dead, John finds he's no longer searching for a stalker—now he's looking for a murderer, and the clues keep leading him back to his older brother’s doorstep.

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About the Book

If Peter Spiegelman’s story of sibling entanglements and an internet hook-up gone bad didn’t yank me right in—which it did—and if his characters weren’t vivid and his dialogue pitch-perfect—which they are—I’d still read him for his chisel-sharp prose. In Red Cat Spiegelman reaches a new peak. Don’t miss it.

– S.J. Rozan

Red Cat is the best mystery I’ve read in a long time. Taut, gritty, and beautifully written, the story moves along at a relentless clip. But Spiegelman’s greatest talent—and what sets him far above his contemporaries—can be found in his evocation of character. John March is one of the great fictional PI’s of the past decade. Conflicted, sympathetic, and brilliantly brought to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it is my pleasure to heartily recommend it.

– Christopher Reich

Peter Spiegelman is one of the finest PI writers around, and Red Cat is his edgiest and most accomplished work yet. The plot unfolds at breakneck speed, the twists are startling, the climax wrenching, and the writing is flat-out beautiful. But beyond these considerable pleasures, Spiegelman has crafted a nuanced and satisfying novel about siblings, marriages, and self-created prisons. It’s a story that stays with you, and if you haven’t discovered Spiegelman and PI John March yet, you’re missing something great.

– Joseph Finder

Red Cat is totally seductive—smart, sharp, with an undercurrent of tension that runs like a subterranean stream beneath the city.

– Don Winslow

In Red Cat, Spiegelman has created the ultimate femme fatale. Wren is one of the most alluring, lethal, fascinating women to come along in over a decade. The novel is also a heart-wrenching study of family dysfunction with all its twisted love, buried simmering resentment and misplaced loyalty. This novel literally seethes. The third outing of John March moves Spiegelman into the top bracket of mystery’s elite, the rare number who are indeed a must read.

– Ken Bruen

…call[s] to mind the work of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Gritty atmosphere and clever plotting enhance a fine addition to the noir tradition.

– Kirkus Reviews

[Spiegelman] continues to be one of today’s best practitioners of neo-noir.

– Publishers Weekly

Spiegelman stakes a strong claim to Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder turf.

– Booklist

…believably complex and full of shocking twists. Highly recommended.

– Library Journal

Sexy and sophisticated. . . . One of the most interesting crime novels you're likely to encounter this year.

– The Washington Post

Lustrous. . . . Elegant. . . . The fashionable aesthetics of 'noir porn' are presented here in high style.

– New York Times

Chillingly dark. . . . Peter Spiegelman [is] among the best of today's writers of noir.

– South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Spiegelman doesn't waste a page in this viciously intelligent thriller.

– New York Daily News

Preview

Other Books in the "John March"

Black Maps

Death's Little Helpers

Details

Series: John March, Book 3
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Year: 2007
ASIN: B000OI0G98
ISBN: 9781400097043