A detective crime investigation novel. First book in the Mark Guilardi Investigation series by Montreal-based author Valerie Drego. Story based in Montreal, Quebec. Private Investigator Mark Guilardi is handed a go-nowhere case: the murder of semi-recluse Cedric Allard, his death apparently collateral damage from a vicious break and enter. The drab murder is transformed into a chilling threat with the discovery of a disk at the crime scene. On it is a mocking little rhyme - A is for ace, B is for ball, C is for cat, D is for doll... Is a homicidal maniac on the loose? Guilardi finds himself part of a massive police manhunt, chasing a madman with an alphabet fetish and a liking for progressive math. But as he follows the trail from the quiet by-lanes of LaSalle to the mansions of Westmount and finally to a sex bar on Ste-Catherine Street, Guilardi realises he is not hunting a maniac on a murder spree but a killer with a plan...