False Testimony - A Crime Novel

At the urgent request of Harry Madigan, Marty takes on the defense of Louisa Rawlings, a woman suspected of murdering her wealthy husband. Harry is Marty's law partner. He's also her lover -- but he used to be Louisa's.

Marty is simultaneously intrigued and disturbed by her new client. Louisa Rawlings is Marty's polar opposite. Glamorous and charismatic, she's entrenched in the good life, openly coveting every luxury money can buy. District Attorney Geraldine Schilling believes Louisa was motivated by greed, and to Marty, that motive seems all too plausible. It also seems too tidy. Marty's gut tells her the murderer was motivated by something far more personal.

As the evidence against Louisa mounts, though, Marty begins to doubt her own judgment. The people she normally turns to for perspective are incapable of helping her. Her young associate, Kevin Kydd, is so bewitched by Louisa that he's in danger of jeopardizing his entire career. And Marty fears that Harry might be too....

When can a citizen become a killer? Is homicidal insanity ever a moral or legal justification for murder? And what should a jury do when the facts are clear but they don't tell the real story?

Cape Cod attorney Marty Nickerson, until recently a Massachusetts prosecutor, must ask herself those questions in her new role as defense attorney for client Buck Hammond.

The charge is murder one. When Buck's seven-year-old son was raped and killed by pedophile Hector Monteros, Buck took justice into his own hands. Unfortunately, the TV cameras were rolling as Buck aimed his hunting rifle at Monteros's head.

The only viable defense is insanity, but the grieving father refuses to say he was crazy when he pulled the trigger. Marty, teaming with Harry Madigan, her partner in love and law, has a tough case. How can the jury acquit Buck when the shooting is right there on the screen for all to see?

Marty and Harry and their young assistant, Kevin Kydd, are already stretched thin when, on the very eve of the trial, a battered and bleeding woman staggers into their office. She's in deep trouble -- her attacker's body has just been found, viciously stabbed, and he's an officer of the court. Now Marty has two seemingly impossible battles to win against her former colleagues.

But losing a verdict may be the least of Marty's worries, as her efforts soon lead to shocking revelations that bring fear to the Cape and devastating changes to Buck's trial. Well, who said being a defense attorney was going to be easy?

Fear Leaves A Mark

He mutilates his victims. Slices their throats. And carves an X into their flesh. Five years ago, he claimed the lives of six women. Then the killings abruptly stopped--no one knows why. Ex-homicide detective Frank Quinn remembers. Which is why he's shocked to see one of the dead women in his office. Actually, she's the identical twin of the last victim, and she wants Quinn to find her sister's murderer. But when the cold case heats up, it attracts the media spotlight--and suddenly the killings start again . . .

"A Heart-Pounding Roller Coaster Of A Tale." --Jeffery Deaver on Night Victims

"Lutz Is Among The Best." --San Diego Union

"Lutz Is In Rare Form." --The New York Times Book Review on Chill of Night

"Lutz knows how to make you shiver."--Harlan Coben

Urge to Kill

For A Killer, Once Is Never Enough

Homicide detective Frank Quinn can't stay retired when a new breed of murdering madman is on the prowl. In a city terrorized by bloody brutality, Quinn and his team hunt a psychopath who lures beautiful women into a night of unbridled passion, then wakes them to a vicious, drawn-out death. Stumbling over a trail of horribly defiled bodies, Quinn can't seem to catch up to the killer--because the killer is about to catch up to him . . .

Night Kills

On The Trail Of A Bloody Killer. . .

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, is called into the case by an ambitious chief of police and mobilizes his team of brilliant law-enforcement misfits. But in the concrete canyons of New York, this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different. . .

A Cop And A Victim Fight Back. . ..

Jill Clark came to the city with too many hopes and too little cash. Now a seemingly deranged woman is telling her an extraordinary story. New to an exclusive dating service, Jill is warned that other women have died on their dates-and that she could be next. Struggling against a death trap closing in around her, Jill has a powerful ally in Frank Quinn. But no one knows the true motives behind a rampage of cold-blooded murder-or how much more terrifying this is going to get. . .

In for the Kill

New York Times bestseller

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 . . .

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.