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Detective Matt Cordell was happily married once, and gainfully employed, and sober. But that was before he caught his wife cheating on him with one of his operatives and took it out on the man with the butt end of a .45.

Now Matt makes his home on the streets of New York and his only companions are the city’s bartenders. But trouble still knows how to find him, and when Johnny Bridges shows up from the old neighborhood, begging for Matt’s help, Cordell finds himself drawn into a case full of beautiful women and bloody murder. It’s just like the old days—only this time, when the beatings come, he may wind up on the receiving end...

• The New York Times on THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE: "Such a guilty pleasure. Ed McBain...always did have a great ear—the best."
• Creator of the legendary "87th Precinct" novels, the longest-running series in crime fiction
• Named a "Grandmaster" by the Mystery Writers of America, the organization’s highest honor
• First American ever to win the Diamond Dagger, the highest award of the British Crime Writers’ Association
• More than 100 million copies of the author’s books in print
• The Washington Post on THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE: "Written with verve, and its plot...is ingenious."
• Publishers Weekly on THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE: "This [book] reminds readers that the late McBain had some serious noir chops."
• Ed Gorman on THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE: "This is the best seven bucks you'll spend on a paperback this month. The good old days are here again."

"Ed McBain is, by far, the best at what he does. Case closed."

— People

"McBain tells great stories."

— Elmore Leonard

"A master...McBain gets it right."

— Time