Book editor Louise Starr, a beautiful and scheming ghost from Amos Walker's past, wants the Detroit private eye to find a missing paperback writer from the 1950s and ask him why he turned down his first book contract in 40 years. "You're perfect for this job," Louise says. "You're the kind of detective Booth wrote about; the kind they say doesn't exist in real life. Eugene Booth's trail leads to a rustic motel cabin, where the crusty old pro is hammering...

"It was a stab in the dark. On a chilly February night, during a screening of Psycho in midtown, someone sunk an ice pick into the back of Chanel Rylan's neck, then disappeared quietly into the crowds of drunks and tourists in Times Square. To Chanel's best friend, who had just slipped out of the theater for a moment to take a call, it felt as unreal as the ancient black-and-white movie up on the screen. But Chanel's blood ran red, and her death was...