Lethal Purpose — Carter Swart

Lou Corso, the tough ex-LAPD detective and owner of the busy Peck Security firm, is wrestling with the issue of turnover at work, a host of new employees and the need for new quarters. The whole office is stressed. So imagine how Lou feels late one evening when the plaintive cries of an animal in distress take him outside his home to find a kitten nailed to his front door. Lou is too late to save the poor creature, but as he is absorbing the threatening implications of the act, he receives a phone call. The voice is low and crazy. It is obvious that a seriously deranged person has targeted Lou for violence. Lou's work with battered women has made him a target of angry husbands in the past, but only a few seem psychotic enough to pull such a sick stunt. As Lou's family and friends become victims of violent attacks, Lou must figure out the real motive. Is it an abusive husband taking revenge or are the attacks connected to one of the cases his firm is handling? Lou knows that his life and the lives of his loved ones depend on finding the truth and finding it fast!