In Central America, a priest, Father

Francis O Healey, is flung to his

death from a helicopter at eight hun-

dred feet, and in New York City, the

chopper pilot walks into a West Side

precinct house and confesses to the

crime. So begins a most extraordi-

nary tale by one of the finest writers

of our time. In the pages that follow,

a thoughtful, intense detective picks

up a tangled trail marked by two more

seemingly unconnected murders and

mysterious pressures put on the nor-

mal justice system. What manner of

man is Cullen, the chopper pilot ?

What are the forces attempting to

control his destiny? Detective Freed-

man s search for the answers to these

questions leads him to put not only

his career but his very life on the line.

This is another new and surprising

side of the Howard Fast who has been

entertaining readers for half a cen-

tury. The Confession of Joe Cullen

reads like a page-turning thriller, but

it is more than that. A morality tale

that cuts to the heart of our time, this

is a story about drugs, about lies and

deception within the government,

about fears, and about faith in oneself

and one s country.