Instruments of Night - Softcover

Paul Graves is a crime writer obsessed with a single crime--the murder of his own teenaged sister on their Southern farm almost 40 years before. To work out his guilt and fear, he has created a series of mysteries set at the turn of the century, in which a dedicated detective pursues a fiendish killer called Kessler--the real name of the man who slaughtered his sister. His obsession has made Graves a sad, lonely man, "living thinly, without connections," already preparing to kill himself when he can no longer write his books.

Keeping readers interested in a dark and brooding character like Graves is no easy task, and Thomas H. Cook--who won an Edgar for his superb The Chatham School Affair--needs all his narrative skills to avoid sinking us in a sea of gloom. Invited to Riverwood, a Hudson River Valley estate turned into a writers' retreat, to help solve a 50-year-old mystery involving the death of a young woman, Graves is assisted by a shrewd and sympathetic playwright, Eleanor Stern. Together, they sift through all the clues linking the dead girl to the wealthy family who owned the estate. Old-fashioned detective work plays a large part in discovering what really happened, as well as the too-convenient appearance of files and live witnesses from the period. As for Graves and his disconcerting habit of slipping back into the past at more and more frequent intervals ("You're always imagining things, aren't you? Terrible things," one character says to him), a final revelation about his personal demons turns out to be no surprise at all. Other, more satisfying Cook books available in paperback include Evidence of Blood and Breakheart Hill. --Dick Adler

"Powerful...No other suspense writer takes readers as deeply into the heart of darkness as Cook."
--Chicago Tribune

"Haunting...The denouement took me by surprise and disturbed me for days."
--Los Angeles Times

"Hypnotic...If you've not yet been haunted by a Thomas Cook novel, now is a fine time to start."
--Star Tribune, Minneapolis

"This is not a novel for the faint of heart."
--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Another indelibly haunting tale that once again demonstrates that Cook is among the best in the business."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Disturbing."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Enthralling."
--Seattle Times

Don't miss Thomas H. Cook's other brilliant works of suspense:

Evidence Of Blood:

"A highly satisfying story, strong in color and atmosphere, intelligent and exacting."
--The New York Times Book Review

The Chatham School Affair, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel:

"A seductive book."
--The New York Times Book Review

Breakheart Hill:

"Expert storytelling...haunting... gains power and resonance with each twist."
--Publishers Weekly

Mortal Memory:

"Don't pick this up unless you've got time to read it through...because you will do so whether you plan to or not."
--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Available wherever Bantam Books are sold