In Blood Acre, Peter Landesman hones the evocative depth of his award-winning first novel, The Raven, into a magnificently noirish murder mystery -- and a shattering portrait of a deftly drawn maddened man. Nathan Stein, son and partner of a corrupt and powerful New York criminal lawyer, was once brilliant, beautiful, cultured, and sensitive. Now, on his way to one more shady deal, he wanders the wintry wastes of Coney Island, sick in body and soul, nervously checking his pager and ignoring its clamor. His career and life careening out of control, Nathan knows he is running out of time. What he does not know is that he's about to become a prime suspect in the murder of his paramour and secretary, Isabel Santos. Lurching toward redemption but stumbling into the safe haven of graft, Nathan must answer for all that he has done and for what he has left undone. Is he a murderer or the victim of an elaborate frame-up? Or do his sins go even deeper? The answer unfolds in a hard-bitten, stunningly written work sure to transfix both mystery readers and lovers of fine fiction.