Blinking Red Light was the debut of an explosive natural-born talent who set it off on the first page and never let up. Now, Mister Mann Frisby drives the urban thriller in a graphic new direction as three players cross tracks on the night streets of North Philly.

It goes like this: Sticks is a struggling single dad doing everything he can to dodge any slip-up that could give his ex-wife custody of their daughter. He needs money to keep that from happening. Then Sticks stumbles on a bootleg video of a rap star with a solid rep, caught on tape doing something that could ruin his career and send him to jail. Sticks's friend Kheli convinces him that it's the get-rich scam he needs. Blackmail the punk. But Kheli's got an agenda of her own, the rapper isn't in the mood to play, and the word on the street is Sticks is a dead man.

A nightmare of stunning reversals and violent twists of fate, Wifebeater is a thriller all right. Now there's no turning back.