The Good Guy

London: Harpercollins Publishers Ltd, 2007. First UK edition. Hardcover. New/new. First impression. Unclipped and in mint condition. From the dj blurb: "After a hard day's work Tim Carrier slakes his thirst at the Lamplighter Tavern, a friendly workingman's bar. But how could Tim have imagined that the stranger who sits down next to him one evening is about to enmesh him in a web of murder and deceit? The man has come there to meet someone and he think's it's Tim. Tim's wayward sense of humour lets the misconception stand for a moment and that's all it takes: the stranger hands Tim a fat manilla envelope, saying, 'Halfof it's there; the rest when she's gone,' and then he's out the door. In the envelope Tim finds a photograph of a woman, her name and address written on the back; and several thick packets of hundred-dollar bills. When an intense-looking man sits down where the first stanger sat and glances at the manilla envelope, Tim knows he's the one who was supposed to get it. Shaken, thinking fast, Tim says he's had a change of heart. He removes the picture of the woman and then hands the envelope to the stranger. 'Half what we agreed,' he says. 'For doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.' Tim is left holding a photo of a pretty woman, but his sense of fun has led him into a very dnagerous world from which there is no way back. The company of strangers has cost him his peace of mind, and possibly his life."