There is a price to pay for redemption

Grabbing the reader with the opening line of Step to the Graveyard Easy, Bill Pronzini shows again why he is considered one of America's leading masters of suspense. As he did in Blue Lonesome, In an Evil Time, and A Wasteland of Strangers, Pronzini delves into character and motivation without missing a beat of the action as he portrays men and women caught up in events not of their own making. There's no time to worry about their fears: they deal with the threats they face in the manner of real people, not pawns of a plotline.

As many have been before him, Matthew Cape is confronted by the need to make a change, to go where he's never been, to do things he's never dared. That means giving up everything he has, starting fresh no matter the cost and no matter who might get hurt.

The Corvette is manageable, skydiving is fun, and gambling, well, that has always been a passion. Dealing with grifters like Boone and Tanya Judson, however, is something new, and when they try to cheat Cape in a crooked poker game in San Francisco, he begins to learn lessons that aren't part of his plan. From the City by the Bay to Lake Tahoe, a trail of deceit finally leads Cape to the peace he seeks, the freedom he wants, and the redemption he needs.