DAMAGED GOODS **Hammett Award Nominee**

N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. 1st ed., with complete number line beginning with 1. Fine in dust jacket with protective mylar cover. HAMMETT AWARD NOMINEE for Best Novel. "Mountainous Stanley Moodrow, hero of five N.Y.C. crime thrillers (A Piece of the Action, etc.), makes a welcome return?as does Solomita's gritty sensibility. Both the series and ex-cop Moodrow (turning 60 and recovering from a prostate infection) make concessions to age here. Moodrow takes on a partner, young Guinevere Gadd, whose computer skills complement his street smarts. Pitted against the pair is a typically ferocious Solomita villain: crazed killer Jilly Sappone, a minor mafioso who, upon his unexpected release from prison, kidnaps his four-year-old daughter in order to avenge himself against his estranged wife. Hired to find the little girl, Moodrow and Gadd fail tragically, pushing them onto their own path of vengeance?against not only Sappone but also the feds who sprang him to further another case. The action here is fast and gives rise to a piercing urban melancholy. Solomita's characters seem etched in silverpoint as he once again peers into dark corners of both the city and the soul." -- Publishers Weekly. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Book.