PAYBACK

Los Angeles experiences a string of chilling homicides in which the killer taunts police, leaving behind strange literary messages that baffle investigators until Detective Tom Briggs is asked to take charge and follows clues all the way to Hemingway's 1920s Paris. On the surface Payback is the story of bizarre deaths in a fantastic murder plot, and if you will, of extrajudicial vengeance. Yet, the author has also crafted a tale of incredible human heartache - a father's love for his mentally ill son and hatred for his rich mother. It's a novel bursting with oddballs, eggheads and bimbos, all anchored by the intricate police detail and twists and turns readers expect from R.D. Byron-Smith.