Joe Leland, war hero, career cop, private detective, is a public tough guy whose private world is coming apart. When a wartime acquaintance is killed in a fall from a race-track roof, his young widow hires Leland to investigate. As the search progresses, Leland is drawn into the shadows of Colin MacIver's life and into the black areas of his own past—the war, his troubled marriage, the brutal murder case that ended his police career. Made into a classic film starring Frank Sinatra, The Detective is a psychological thriller as well as a portrait of a man confronting violence and horror—and himself.

This bestseller was the basis for the blockbuster film Die Hard starring Bruce Willis. High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all. A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed all according to plan. But they haven't counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight to the death. Ho ho ho!