In the last days of World War II, a sailor discovers a transcontinental conspiracy in this classic from "the greatest mystery novelist of his age" (John Connolly, author of Every Dead Thing).
It is February 1945, and the war in the Pacific is nearing its climax. In Hawaii on his way to a new post, US Navy ensign Sam Drake stumbles across the girl of his dreams. Mary is a disc jockey, with a voice that's famous across the islands for playing late-night jazz that no young lover can resist. Before he can follow this modern siren home, they go to check on Mary's coworker Sue--but that lovely young lady will never spin another record. They find her strung up and dangling outside the window of a bathroom, her face twisted into an ugly mask. The police call it suicide, but Sam is not so sure. Few beautiful women, even suicidal ones, are willing to be so hideous in death. Looking into Sue's past, he finds another corpse--and a dangerous conspiracy that stretches all the way back to his Motor City home.