The Patchwork Man

by David Harper

Driver’s license, credit cards, Blue Cross registration, Social Security card, the snapshot of a pretty blonde woman hugging a young boy – these were the proofs of Bill Kirby’s identity. The day he put a match to them he ceased to exist. For his own safety the Justice Department had persuaded him to go underground. They gave him the training, a name and documents to start a fresh life in a distant state. But how long could the cleverly manufactured proof of his new existence fool the Bookkeeper – a hit man who knew how to use modern computers to home in on his target?

Kirby had made an unforgivable error. Instead of running when he heard two men quarreling in an Atlanta alley, he had stopped for a fatal instant, just long enough to see a fat man in a white suit shoot his adversary. Now he was a witness to a murder, caught between the law and the underworld. If he refused to identify the gunman, a killer would go free, to murder again. If he told the truth, he would draw everyone he loved into a circle of death. His enemies had been quick to give him a sadistic example of what would happen if he talked. Should an innocent bystander be forced to pay such a terrible price?

Here is a novel, unforgettable for its action-packed drama and for the spine-chilling questions it raises about the place of any individual in our computerized society.

Genres: Mystery

159 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

A pseudonym used by Edwin Corley


Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Patchwork Man by David Harper is a 1970s crime novel that I'd never heard of before I just happened to pick it up at a used bookstore. As it turns out it's pretty good example of an American style giallo. I'm going to have to be on the lookout for more from David Harper.

[Daniele Palma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classico giallo americano. il testo è scorrevole, con una trama piuttosto scontata. Dispiace molto che i protagonisti bevano birra come spugne, o fumino in continuazione, non so se oggi possiamo chiamarli messaggi pubblicitari subliminali o incentivo a comportamenti di un certo tipo.
Leggere romanzi gialli statunitensi degli anni 70 permette però di osservare che in quegli anni erano comuni ed accettati concetti come divorzio (pare che a questi scrittori piaccia avere dei protagonisti scapoli o divorziati ai quali piaccia fumare e bere se uomini o frequentare chiunque se donne), consumismo (supermercati, parchi divertimento, ecc.) cose che in Italia sono arrivate alcuni decenni dopo e che si sono consolidate lentamente e a fatica nelle provincie.
Questa storia si può riassumere nell'immagine dell'automobile posseduta dal protagonista, una Fury 1970, leggere questa storia ci riporta agli stili, alle immagini e agli anni di Starsky & Hutch o al dottor Qunicy.