The city caught its collective breath when upscale couple Byrne and Susan Hollander were slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Now, a few days later, the killers themselves have turned up dead behind the locked door of a Brooklyn hellhole -- one apparently slain by his partner in crime who then took his own life.

There's something drawing Matthew Scudder to this case that the cops have quickly and eagerly closed: a nagging suspicion that a third man is involved, a cold, diabolical puppet master who manipulates his two accomplices, then cuts their strings when he's done with them. No one but Scudder even suspects he exists. And his worst fear is that the guy is just getting started ...

This is the fifteenth book in the Matthew Scudder series by Block. After reading this one, I only have a couple left to read in the series and I always look forward to reading more about Scudder, the former police officer turned PI. In this one, Scudder has lost his PI license but that doesn't stop him from taking interest in a very unusual case. A couple named Byrne and Susan Hollander are killed when they return to their upscale brownstone home and surprise a couple of burglars. Susan is brutally raped and Byrne is shot three times. The culprits walk off with two pillow cases full of stolen goods. But then a few days later, the killers turn up dead in a rundown apartment in Brooklyn, one apparently killed by his partner with three shots, similar to how Byrne Hollander was murdered, and then the partner shot himself. So case closed, right? But Scudder is drawn to the case by a niece of the slain Hollanders who feels the job was a setup, possibly by the Hollander's daughter who inherits millions. The burglars evidently had a key to the house and knew the security code to shut off the alarm. So what really happened? Well Scudder thinks there may have been a third man involved, but with what motive?

I thought this was a very compelling story with a very clever premise involving a serial killer. It was an unusual Scudder novel with Scudder acting on his own prerogative rather than being hired to look into the case. He is assisted by TJ, the young black street-wise kid who has assisted Scudder in previous novels. TJ is computer smart and his help is a big asset. This novel was published in 2001, before cell phones and PCs were prevalent and Scudder has yet to jump on board. But TJ may change his mind as he shows Scudder the benefits of both. I enjoyed this one quite a lot but maybe a little less than some of the previous novels. I will be looking forward to finishing up the series — only two books left to go!

Culling out some books for Goodwill. Hope someone will enjoy them.

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