THE BIRTHDAY GIFT IS A DEAD STRANGER. THE CARD READS, "THREE MORE BY TONIGHT. YOUR FAULT." FOR DETECTIVE CONRAD VOORT, WHAT BEGINS AS A DAY OF CELEBRATION TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE, AS HE TRIES TO STOP A KILLER AND FIGURE OUT IF HE COULD SOMEHOW BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A SERIES OF DEATHS. In the thrilling, fast-paced, and haunting Dead for Life, Voort finds himself in a deadly race against time to stop an ingenious and unsettlingly sympathetic murderer who is intent on carrying out his threat, and who has created a state of near panic throughout Manhattan. What at first seems to be a series of random killings soon takes on a diabolical pattern. Murderer Wendell Nye is a man on a mission, and as his bloody endeavor unfolds it becomes clear that this is not merely the senseless act of some criminal mind, but the impassioned vengeance of a man who has suffered loss beyond endurance. Voort and the killer must reinvent themselves in this life-and-death struggle, battle the past, and become smarter, braver, and more daring -- all by tonight. Since he first introduced the charismatic Conrad Voort in The Broken Hearts Club, critically acclaimed novelist Ethan Black has continued to shape the multifaceted detective into one of the most true-to-life and emotionally complex protagonists in contemporary suspense fiction. Voort's family members have been police officers in New York since the Dutch settled it. He has trained to be a detective since childhood, and he's head of a vast Voort cop clan. His code of honor dictates that on this day he may have to take himself down. Drawing the reader ever more deeply into the minds and hearts of two unforgettable men pitted against each other, Dead for Life hurtles toward a shattering climax that will make it apparent that few things are what they seem. The price for past mistakes may be nothing less than life itself.