A Running Duck

Book excerpt: An ordinary career woman – with a target on her back. Originally published in 1978, A Running Duck is a compulsive, vintage thriller from Paula Gosling, winner of the CWA Golden Dagger. Clare is a copywriter, working at an advertising agency in San Francisco. On a crowded street, as she helps a passing stranger pick up some dropped papers, a sniper's bullet pierces her arm. Scarred by his past, Lieutenant Malchek is a Vietnam veteran, a former sniper himself who now specialises in hunting down hitmen. He is assigned to Clare's case, tasked with protecting her life. Someone wants Clare dead – and Malchek knows how to draw him out . . . Full of suspense and romantic tension, A Running Duck has been adapted for film as Cobra, starring Sylvester Stallone.