Line of Sight

"Jack Kelly writes like a man ready for a rumble." -New York Daily News

"One of the rules... You don't mess with married women. It's tempting, sure. Forbidden Fruit. He got, I want. But you're only buying trouble and there's enough trouble to be had for nothing."

So says police officer Ray Dolan. But when the sultry Sheila Travis moves in next door, the rules go out the window.

Line of Sight is a stunning example of the neo-noir genre, complete with breathtaking plot twists, crackling dialogue, and sizzling eroticism. It promises to establish Kelly as one of the most stylish writers of crime fiction, on a level with Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, and Walter Mosley.

Ray Dolan is a man haunted by looking. He spends his days keeping watch over a decaying rust-belt city, his nights peering at the stars. Then the seductive glimpse of a woman's shape in a window draws him into a nightmare of murder and accusation.

Dolan knows who's innocent and who's guilty. But does he know how to escape from a terrifying sexual and moral labyrinth The story unfolds in prose that has the glint of a knife blade in the dark.

The explosive novel reminds the reader that each of us walks through a minefield of hidden obsession and unexpected passion. A wrong step, a wrong look, can transform our desires into violence with lethal suddenness.

Line of Sight brings to mind noir classics like Double Indemnity and Body Heat. At the same time, the novel goes beyond the hard-boiled genre to explore the moral and emotional dimensions of obsession, crime, and police power in American society.

Jack Kelly is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Apalachin, Protection, and Mad Dog. He has also written screenplays and articles on history. He lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.