Steve Carella does not fit the picture of a big city detective. Well-mannered and the consummate professional, he lacks the rough-hewn edges of the men who devote their lives to fighting crime on the streets. But there is one thing that tears him up...one thing that drives him to the edge of his much darker side.

When a madman rapes and kills his first victim in the 87th Precinct but leaves the second alive after a brutal knifing, Carella relentlessly hunts the man down. But the detective is in for a shock when the surviving victim recognizes the assailant in a police lineup...

A probing, intimate crime thriller that exposes the deeper recesses of the 87th Precinct's main character, Blood Relatives is an Ed McBain classic. His mastery of character, dialogue, and place come together in a brooding powerhouse of a novel.