Double

"THE DOUBLE is as good as it gets. The writing is taut, the violence is graphic, and the characters are so well-drawn that they step off the page and into your life." - Associated Press

Every man has his dark side. Spero Lucas confronts his own in the most explosive thriller yet from one of America's best-loved crime writers.

The job seems simple enough: retrieve the valuable painting-"The Double"-Grace Kinkaid's ex-boyfriend stole from her. It's the sort of thing Spero Lucas specializes in: finding what's missing, and doing it quietly. But Grace wants more. She wants Lucas to find the man who humiliated her-a violent career criminal with a small gang of brutal thugs at his beck and call.

Lucas is a man who knows how to get what he wants, whether it's a thief on the run-or a married woman. In the midst of a steamy, passionate love affair that he knows can't last, in pursuit of a dangerously vicious killer, Lucas is forced to decide what kind of man he is-and how far he'll go to get what he wants.

"It's astonishing all the good stuff Pelecanos can pack into one unpretentious book: meaty substance, multiple story lines, vital characters, choice dialogue and all those descriptive details ... that make the story so rich."--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"Pelecanos' work has antecedents in the books and films of Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), John D. MacDonald, Elmore Leonard and Don Siegel but also a spooky magic all his own -- thanks to the utter believability he maintains."--Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

Every man has his dark side . . . Spero Lucas confronts his own in the most explosive thriller yet from one of America's best-loved crime writers.

The job seems simple enough: retrieve the valuable painting -- The Double -- Grace Kinkaid's ex-boyfriend stole from her. It's the sort of thing Spero Lucas specializes in: finding what's missing, and doing it quietly. But Grace wants more. She wants Lucas to find the man who humiliated her -- a violent career criminal with a small gang of brutal thugs at his beck and call.

Lucas is a man who knows how to get what he wants, whether it's a thief on the run -- or a married woman. In the midst of a steamy, passionate love affair that he knows can't last, in pursuit of a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, Lucas is forced to decide what kind of man he is -- and how far he'll go to get what he wants.

George Pelecanos is the author of 19 highly praised and bestselling novels set in and around Washington, DC. He is also an independent film producer. He lives in Maryland.