Ed McBain's astonishing 87th-Precinct series continues with a hard look at what passes for love in a city grown used to crimes of passion. When a beautiful blonde tells Detective Steve Carella that her husband's former chauffeur has made two attempts on her life, Carella immediately begins tracking her assailant -- only to find him far uptown, hanging from a basement pipe, a bullet in his head. Who killed the chauffeur? And why, now that her would-be murderer is dead, does the blonde's wealthy husband insist on retaining the services of the private eye from Chicago? He loves me, she insists, but Carella has his doubts. It appears the husband is involved with another blonde, also from Chicago. Can Carella prevent another murder-before someone else is betrayed with a kiss?