Synopses & Reviews
Ordinary people do not understand Oscar Stone. Everything he does, he does impeccably. He is a profound student of his art, completely versed in its traditions over the centuries. He is a student of ropes and their properties, a master of the latest scientific knowledge about the human neck, a careful calculator of weights and drops, and an exacting observer of results.
For more than a quarter of a century he has worked to create a reputation as a man peerless in his craft: the master executioner.
Yet he is utterly alone: His devotion to his work costs him his marriage. Suddenly, one day, a piece of his past catches him unawares, and Oscar comes to a moment of devastating truth and for the first time knows himself.
Review
"The tale of a master executioner written by a master storyteller: What more could you ask for?"-Elmore Leonard
"One feels and smells the gallows and hears the snap of the second cervical vertebrae. It is a remarkable book and one I would urge you to read."-The Amarillo News & Globe-Times, Texas
"This is definitely a novel worth reading."-The Roanoke Times, Virginia
Synopsis
Ordinary people do not understand hangman Oscar Stone or his motives. For more than a quarter of a century he has been a man peerless in his craft, the master executioner. One day a single piece of knowledge brings Oscar to a moment of devastating truth, and for the first time, he knows himself.
About the Author
Loren D. Estleman was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a BA degree in English Literature and Journalism in 1974. In 2002, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters for his contribution to American literature.
He is the author of more than fifty novels in the categories of mystery, historical western, and mainstream, and has received four Western Writers of American Golden Spur Awards, three Western Heritage Awards, and three Shamus Awards. He has been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Britain's Silver Dagger, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2003, the mammoth Encyclopedia of Detective Fiction named him the most critically acclaimed writer of U.S. detective fiction. Estleman lives in Michigan with his wife, author Deborah Morgan.