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Praise for John Lutz
“Lutz’s skill will keep you glued to this thriller.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Night Kills
“Brilliant…a very scary and suspenseful read.”
—Booklist on In for the Kill
“Shamus-and Edgar award–winner Lutz gives us further proof of his enormous talent for crafting great police fiction…another enthralling page-turner.”
—Publishers Weekly on In for the Kill
“Since Lutz can deliver a hard-boiled P.I. novel or a bloody thriller with equal ease, it’s not a surprise to find him applying his skills to a police procedural in Chill of Night. But the ingenuity of the plot shows that Lutz is in rare form.”
—The New York Times Book Review on Chill of Night
“Lutz ranks with such vintage masters of big-city murder as Lawrence Block and Ed McBain.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Chill of Night
“A fast-moving novel, a plot-driven page-turner of the first order.”
—Book Page on Fear of Night
More Praise for John Lutz
“John Lutz is one of the masters of the police novel and he shows his talents to the fullest here. Highly recommended!”
—Ridley Pearson on Fear the Night
“A twisted cat-and-mouse game…a fast-moving crime thriller.”
—Publishers Weekly on Fear the Night
“The Night Spider is compelling, suspenseful and creepy. John Lutz knows how to make you shiver.”
—Harlan Coben
“Lutz offers up a heart-pounding roller coaster of a tale.”
—Jeffery Deaver on The Night Spider
“I’ve been a fan of John Lutz for years.”
—T. Jefferson Parker
“John Lutz is a major talent.”
—John Lescroart
More Praise for John Lutz
“Compelling…a gritty psychological thriller.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Night Watcher
“John Lutz is the new Lawrence Sanders.”
—Ed Gorman in Mystery Scene on The Night Watcher
“Complex, riveting, and chilling.”
—Jonathan Kellerman on SWF Seeks Same
“John Lutz just keeps getting better and better.”
—Tony Hillerman on SWF Seeks Same
“Lutz is among the best.”
—San Diego Union
“Lutz is rapidly bleeding critics dry of superlatives.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“It’s easy to see why he’s won an Edgar and two Shamuses.”
—Publishers Weekly
“For a good scare and a well-paced story, Lutz delivers.”
—San Antonio Express-News
ALSO BY JOHN LUTZ
Urge to Kill (forthcoming)
Night Kills
In for the Kill
Chill of Night
Fear the Night
The Night Spider
The Night Watcher
The Night Caller
Final Seconds (with David August)
The Ex
From Kensington Publishing and Pinnacle Books
DARKER THAN NIGHT
JOHN LUTZ
PINNACLE BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
PINNACLE BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Copyright © 2004 John Lutz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
Pinnacle and the P logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7860-2712-5
For the Royal Aardvarkians,
first among many
For he being dead, with him is beauty slain,
And, beauty dead, black chaos comes again.
—William Shakespeare, “Venus and Adonis”
See my lips tremble and my eyeballs roll,
Suck my last breath, and catch my flying soul.
—Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter
