Before Father Duffy of St. Timothy's realizes that his soft-spoken, gentle confessioner has just admitted to the cardinal sin of murder, the man leaves the church -- still carrying the hammer he used in the crime. With only a half-muttered name to go on, Duffy is led half-way across the country in his attempt to find the man he realizes will kill again. With its compelling pictures of Manhattan, its fine suspense, and its compassionate insight into the tortured spirit of the guilty man, A Gentle Murderer rose to become a standard mystery writing and is considered a classic of the genre to this day.