Strange Embrace — Lawrence Block

When his leading lady winds up dead, a Broadway producer goes searching for a different kind of hit

In just a few hours, Johnny Lane's newest Broadway creation begins previews, and he cannot find his leading lady. Elaine is a nobody, but his show A Touch of Squalor will make her a star, and Johnny won't let her miss it. There are only a few miles between his penthouse and Alphabet City, but the short cab ride to Elaine's apartment is enough to carry this producer into New York's hellish depths.

On the top floor of a decrepit tenement, he finds the would-be diva dead on her bed, her throat slashed by a straight razor. Before he can debut his production, Johnny will avenge his murdered star. In the dark alleys of Alphabet City, he will blaze a searchlight brighter than any marquee on the Great White Way.