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Shepard Rifkin : The Murderer Vine

Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1970

ISBN 0396062393

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. BW4 - A first edition (no additional printing) hardcover book in very good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has wrinkling, chipping, crease and few tiny tear on the edges and corners, scattered light scratches, rubbing and scuffing, tanning and light shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, wrinkling on the spine edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. A powerful novel, full of vitality and flavor, about a man who was offered half a million dollars to kill five strangers - men who deserved to die. Although not marked in any way, this copy comes from the personal collection of Otto Penzler, legendary editor and founder of the Mysterious Press, an award-winning icon in the genre. 8.5"x5.75", 278 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Mr. Parrish of the mighty Parrish Enterprises came to Joe Dunne with an offer: one hundred thousand dollars for the execution of each of the killers of his son. The boy had been one of the three civil rights volunteers murdered in a small Southern town. Local gossip had five men present at the killings, one the sheriff. None of them had anything to fear from the law. When Dunne's mission was accomplished, the half million would be put in a numbered Swiss bank account. The payment was high, but so was the chance of failure, especially for a New York detective with a Yankee accent. Experienced and cautious, Dunne began the preparations that would allow him to strike and to survive. Shepard Rifkin has created an authentic world, from the crowded cities of the North to the deep rural South still bound to the traditions of the past. And he has filled it with a cast of superbly drawn people. There is Kirby, bright and funny, with long yellow hair and the engaging little winkle in her eyes; Gilbert, smug, well-to-do, a dangerous braggart; Moran, useful but treacherous; Foglia, who would do the impossible for Dunne; the girls, beautiful and knowing, and the men on both sides of the law. As the story unfolds, every level of the Southern town is represented; the farmers, the country club set and the blacks. And none of them, whether from fear or conviction, would help an outsider. This dramatic novel of a stranger in a hostile land is full of unforgivable scenes of comedy and love aswell as of violence. And each scene carries the reader headlong towards the shattering climax.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Very Good

First Edition

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