Gilded Needles (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

Publisher Marketing: Welcome to the Black Triangle, New York's decadent district of opium dens, gambling casinos, drunken sailors, gaudy hookers, and back room abortions. The queen of this unsavory neighborhood is Black Lena Shanks, whose family leads a ring of female criminals-women skilled in the art of cruelty. Only a few blocks away, amidst the elegant mansions and lily-white reputations of Gramercy Park and Washington Square, lives Judge James Stallworth. On a crusade to crush Lena's evil empire, the judge has sentenced three of her family members to death. And now she wants revenge. One Sunday, all the Stallworths receive invitations-to their own funerals. Can even the wealth and power of the Stallworth family protect them from Lena's diabolical lust for vengeance? This first-ever republication of Michael McDowell's chilling classic of revenge features a new introduction by Christopher Fowler and cover art by Mike Mignola. "Riveting, terrifying, and just absolutely great ... Michael McDowell must now be regarded as the finest writer of paperback originals in America." - Stephen King "A big and impressive book, darkly Dickensian in its scope and complexity ... a novel of entirely human horror." - Michael E. Stamm "One of the best writers of horror in this country." - Peter Straub Contributor Bio:  McDowell, Michael Steve Wingfield is the founder and CEO of the Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association. Steve has served in ministry for more than 40 years and is now fulfilling his long-time dream of evangelizing at NASCAR races around the country through events called Victory Weekends, which also provide family-centered entertainment. As the popularity of these events becomes more widespread, the list of invitations that Steve receives from NASCAR tracks continues to grow. Steve and his wife, Barbara, live in Virginia and have two children and six grandchildren. Contributor Bio:  Mignola, Mike Mike Mignola is best known as the award-winning creator/writer/artist of Hellboy. He was also a visual consultant to director Guillermo del Toro on both Hellboy and Hellboy II: The Golden Army films. He also coauthored (with Christopher Golden) two novels, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire and Joe Golem and the Drowning City. Mignola lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and cat. Contributor Bio:  Fowler, Christopher Born in Greenwich, London, Christopher Fowler has written for film, television, radio, graphic novels, and for national newspapers. Fowler is the multi-award winning author of more than thirty novels and ten short-story collections, including the lauded Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit mystery novels. In 2010 he was nominated for eight national book awards. He is a regular columnist for both UK The Independent on Sunday and the Financial Times.