Criminal Conversation Hardcover – May 1, 1994 by Evan Hunter 
 
An ambitious district attorney wiretapping conversations between a top mobster and his mysterious mistress records incriminating evidence about a murder but also learns that his wife is that mysterious woman. National ad/promo. Tour.
 
From Publishers Weekly
Hunter's latest--his 19th since The Blackboard Jungle in 1954--shows a master's hand at popular fiction, as he employs engaging characters in a riveting plot that leads to an operatic, cathartic climax. Sarah Welles, 34-year-old wife, mother and schoolteacher, falls in love with 28-year-old Andrew Farrell, a suave, mysterious businessman. We know that he's really Andrew Faviola, scion and acting boss of a Mafia family with plans for massive profits from a new smokable opium-cocaine drug. He's also the target of the New York DA's special rackets squad headed by Sarah's husband Michael. Electronic eavesdropping shows Andrew, a seasoned rake, dropping all amours but Sarah, moving from cynical opportunism to true love. Meanwhile, the DA's focus turns to the unknown "blonde." Sarah and Andrew's steamy sex scenes are caught on audiotape, and when her husband learns the blonde's identity it's only a question of when and how disaster will strike. We learn a lot about mob "loyalty" (Andrew is betrayed by his favorite cousin) and ignorance (a capo ponderously intones: "The Chinese have a saying, 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs' "). Hunter can write funny dialogue, and he also wrenchingly portrays the desperate struggle of a sweet, very bright black girl--Sarah's favorite student--in a terrifying environment. As the prolific Ed McBain, Hunter writes the 87th Precinct novels; here he has fused his skills in bravura fashion. Film rights optioned by Tom Cruise; Mystery Guild main selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc
 
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