Ed McBain

In this city, you can get anything done for a price. If you want someone's eyeglasses smashed, it'll cost you a subway token. You want his fingernails pulled out? His legs broken? You want him hurt so bad he's an invalid his whole life? You want him...killed? Let me talk to someone. It can be done. The hanging death …

When Michael Barnes's wallet and rental car are stolen in New York City, the Florida orange grower unwittingly becomes entangled in a brutal world where he is framed for murder and must run from both the mob and the police. Reprint.