Daniel Jacobus is a blind, reclusive, vulgar violin teacher living in self-imposed exile in rural New England. He spends his time chain smoking, listening to old LPs, and berating students in the hope that they will flee. Jacobus, however, is drawn back into the world he left behind when he decides to attend the Grimsley Competition at Carnegie Hall. The winner of this competition is granted the honor of playing the 'Piccolino' Stradivarius,' a uniquely dazzling violin that has brought misfortun...
The author's controversial series of novels about crime detection and punishment are contained in this omnibus edition. The series, shown on BBC TV, includes stories of villains, detectives and prisoners, as well as looking at the workings of the judicial system and the society which produces and condones it. G.F. Newman is the author of "The Guvnor" and "The Obsession".
"Prosecutor Dani Fox has handled some gruesome homicide cases, but her investigation into the brutal murder of a local Mafia capo's daughter goes from tricky to downright dangerous. Although the victim has ties to the New Jersey Mafia, she was also secretly engaged in an affair with someone from a rival New York crime family. As if squaring off against two powerful crime families weren't enough, Dani suspects that the murder is more than a simple crime of passion, and getting to the bottom of th...