Tarnished Blue

In the fourth novel in William Heffernan's series about New York police investigator Paul Devlin, a police captain is found murdered, and the case is explosive from the start. The victim is the son of Tony Battaglia, a former cop who is now a United States senator, and there are hints that the captain was leading a hidden life. Devlin, now the department's inspector of detectives, follows the trail into the city's sexual underground of hustlers and blackmailers and finds corruption that reaches far beyond the street. At his side is Sharon Levy, a sharp and determined detective who nearly steals the story. First published as a paperback original, the novel won the 1996 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.