In the wake of a chilling attack, an ordinary man decides to take revenge. When his wife and daughter are attacked in their home, Paul Benjamin is enjoying a three-martini lunch. A professional man, soft around the middle, Paul lives happily isolated from the rougher side of New York City. As he nurses his gin headache, a call comes from his son-in-law asking him to come to the hospital. In a few hours, his world will collapse around him. As Paul slurped down his lunchtime gin, drug addicts broke into his cozy Upper West Side apartment. For a handful of money, they savagely beat Paul's wife and daughter, leaving his wife dead and his daughter comatose. After his shock wears off, and Paul realizes the police department is helpless, his thoughts turn to revenge - not just for him, but for every decent family broken by the dark forces of society.



Written as "penance" for the DEATH WISH movie, Brian Garfield's novel DEATH SENTENCE picks up Paul Benjamin as he arrives in Chicago. He feels compelled to continue avenging on his family, who were the victims of senseless vicious attacks. Now he learns that his vigilante behavior is not a solution. Instead, it's a terrible new problem that becomes a dreadful menace, to him and to the woman he loves. . . .