A Killer's Kiss

by William Lashner Narrated by William Dufris

Overview

There's nothing easier than falling in love with an old girlfriend. That's what Philly lawyer Victor Carl finds out when he hooks up again with a femme fatale who's definitely bad for his health.

In the middle of the night, a knock on Victor's door can only mean trouble. Two cops invite themselves in, asking where Victor has been. They also ask him about a doctor named Wren Davis. Victor sends them packing. As soon as they leave, a beautiful woman steps out of Victor's bedroom, a towel around her naked body. “Who was that?” she asks. “The cops,” says Victor. “What did they want?” she asks. “To tell me that your husband is dead.”

Her name is Julia. She's ridiculously lovely. Women like her date athletes and marry tycoons. They don't hang out with second-rate lawyers on the edge of insolvency. But back in the day, Julia had agreed to marry Victor Carl. Then she deserted him, running off to marry a doctor. Now she's back and she's trouble with a capital T. Her husband has been murdered, Julia's incriminated, and there are big bucks at stake. Naturally, Victor is on the case.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

"There was this girl." Old love dies hard, and who better than Philadelphia defense attorney Victor Carl to share with us the familiar tale of passion, murder, and greed? When former fiancée Julia shows up at his apartment one night, Victor is not really surprised to find two police detectives right behind her. Although Julia's urologist husband was murdered that very evening, our hero, ever loyal and valiant, desperately wants to find her innocent. Not surprisingly, drug addiction, Jamaican drug dealers, embezzled funds, and a Russian gangster complicate the search for justice. With $1.7 million missing, soon Victor is caught up in a lively pursuit. Where's the money, and who's the murderer? Without much courtroom action or former partner Beth's earnestness, the book lacks the sparkle of Marked Man, and Lashner hints that Victor might take a break for a while. Still, as Victor muddles through, the humor keeps his seventh appearance appealing. Lashner's style fits some quirky niche between Carl Hiaasen's capers and standard legal thrillers and certainly brings Philadelphia to life. Recommended for all popular fiction collections.
—Teresa L. Jacobsen

Kirkus Reviews

This time out, Victor Carl, that lesser light of the Philadelphia bar, counts the ways an old flame can be too hot to handle. She's a piece of work, that Julia Denniston, nee Julia Crenshaw, the name she was answering to on the day she left Victor Carl "bare and broken at the altar." Left him without explanation, without consolation, without anything he could use to bolster a battered psyche when she dumped him for Dr. Wren Denniston, urologist. Years pass and Julia suddenly makes contact again, resulting in a Victor re-smitten, a romance rekindled. Then, just as suddenly, married Julia becomes widowed Julia, Dr. Denniston having suffered homicide. It's a most opportune development, the cops maintain, while firing accusing glances at Victor, who has not the smidge of an alibi. The cops like Victor a lot, and soon it's clear that he's the fall guy. But who is it that's trying to frame him? Could it be . . . could it possibly be that sweet, sexy, maddeningly enigmatic Julia has a secret agenda? In the days that follow, as the cops rev up their rush to judgment, Victor learns the hard way that he who takes up with an old flame risks getting fried. The lively wit that's served to redeem Victor throughout this series (Marked Man, 2006, etc.) seems tired and forced here, leaving the reader to make do with a lovelorn shyster short on appeal. Agent: Wendy Sherman/Wendy Sherman Associates

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173678614
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/18/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

A Killer's Kiss

Chapter One

They came for me in the nighttime, which is usually the way of it. They knocked so loudly the walls shook. Two men in ties and raincoats. I could see them through the peephole in my door. They weren't wearing fedoras, but they might as well have been.

"It's late," I yelled without opening the wooden door. "And I don't need any magazines."

"We're looking for Victor Carl."

"Who's looking?"

The shorter one leaned toward the door until a walleye filled the peephole. Then he pulled back and reached into his jacket. The badge glinted like a set of freshly sharpened teeth.

"I'm naked," I said.

"Then put something on," said the guy with the badge. "Our stomachs are strong, but not that strong."

In the bedroom I slipped on a pair of jeans and a shirt. I knew who they were before the badge was flashed. I had seen the two of them prowling the corridors of the Criminal Justice Building, where I plied most of my trade these days, defending the riff and the raff. You can always tell the cops in the courthouse, they're the ones laughing and rubbing their hands, talking about where they are going to eat lunch. While they waited in the hallway, I took the time to put on socks and a pair of heavy black shoes with steel tips. When dealing with the police, if you don't protect your toes, they are sure to be stepped on.

I closed the bedroom door behind me before I opened the front door. They strolled in like they were strolling into an art gallery, hands behind their backs, leaning forward as they examined the walls.

"Nice place," said the one who had shown mehis badge.

"No it's not," I said.

He stopped and looked hard at me. He was slim and sharp-faced, with clever eyes. "You're right. I was just being polite. But the furniture's not bad. My wife's looking for some new pieces. Is that couch leather?"

"Pleather," I said.

"Well, you certainly can't tell unless you look. You mind if I sit?"

I shrugged.

"I'm Detective Sims," he said as he carefully lowered himself onto the couch and lifted one leg over the other. Sims's suit was freshly pressed, his shoes were shiny and thin-soled. "This is my partner, Hanratty."

"A pleasure," I said.

Hanratty grunted.

"He's big, isn't he?" I said to Sims.

"But a surprisingly nimble dancer for his size," said Sims. "You alone?"

"Not anymore."

"Why is your water running?"

"I was about to shower when you guys knocked."

"We'll wait while you turn it off."

"It's all right. You won't be staying long."

"I don't know," said Sims. "Hanratty might want some tea."

"Do you want some tea, Hanratty?" I said.

Hanratty stood like a block of cement and glowered. He was the size of a linebacker, with thick knuckles and a closely mowed patch of blond hair. The bridge of his nose was crushed like a beer can. I tried to imagine him dancing nimbly and failed. But he sure could glower. I got the feeling if he smiled, his face would shatter.

"Where were you tonight, smart guy?" said Hanratty. Each syllable was like a punch to the kidneys.

"Home," I said. "I don't get out much."

"Spend your nights on your pleather couch, do you?" said Sims. "Eating cheesesteaks, watching that big television set you got there. That's a lonely kind of existence for a man your age."

"Not as lonely as you would think. Every once in a while a couple of cops stop by and chat amiably about my taste in furniture. What division within the department did you boys say you were in?"

"We didn't," said Sims. "You wear any rings, Victor?"

I lifted my hands and showed him. They were free of jewelry.

"How'd you get the cut between your forefinger and thumb on your right hand?"

"I was slicing onions."

"Care if I look at it?" he said.

"That's not necessary. I'm sure it will heal on its own."

"Give him the hand," said Hanratty.

I stared at him for a moment, saw the violence behind his eyes, and then brought my right hand closer to Sims. Sims grabbed it, examined both sides, brought it up to his face as if to kiss it, and then took a sniff.

"That was weird," I said after I jerked it away.

"Yet strangely thrilling," said Sims. "I smelled soap. Always lather up your hands before you shower, do you?"

"Cleanliness is a virtue," I said.

Sims looked around at the disordered mess that was my apartment. "Ever been married, Victor?"

"No."

"Good for you. Trust me when I tell you, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Ever been engaged?"

"Once."

"What happened?"

"It didn't work out."

"Care to spill the details?"

"No."

"Still hurts, is that it?"

"Ancient history."

"Oh, six or seven years is not that long a time. McDeiss says you were pretty broken up about it."

A chill shivered up my spine at the name. I tried to work my jaw but it was frozen. McDeiss was a homicide detective. I put a hand to my jaw and rubbed it back to life. "McDeiss?" I managed to say. "You guys work with McDeiss?"

"You're pretty close with him, from what we hear."

"Not really."

"You've broken bread together, haven't you? Worked a couple of cases together." "On different sides."

"He's the one who suggested we stop by, ask a few questions, see what you—Wait. Did you hear that, Hanratty? The water just turned off. All by itself."

"The water pressure in the building is erratic," I said.

"Maybe our friend here is not as lonely as he lets on. Why don't you invite your guest out so we can have a little party?"

"Maybe you should mind your own damn business."

"Getting testy, are we, Victor? Got something to hide? Embarrassed by your partner? Or maybe your visitor is somebody's wife."

A Killer's Kiss. Copyright © by William Lashner. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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