Crime and Punishment #1 (1948)

In the 1930s, a self-proclaimed genius artist named Rosso claims his priceless collection of masterpieces was destroyed in a suspicious studio fire, but when fire marshal investigations uncover inconsistencies in his story—from missing details in a postcard to forged credentials—the truth begins to unravel. As evidence mounts that Rosso never studied in Europe, never painted for the Pope, and that his lost works still exist, the authorities close in on a man whose entire identity may be a lie.

In the shadow of Düsseldorf’s terror, a man known only as the Butcher strikes with chilling randomness, leaving a trail of fear and violence that grips the city. After a series of brutal murders, the police close in, but the killer’s release from prison only fuels his descent into ever more heinous acts. As the citizens plead for justice and the authorities race to stop him, the line between predator and prey blurs in a city on the edge.

In 1948, in the town of Allendale, New Jersey, two longtime rivals in the underground world of game cock fighting—Happy McNulty and Fancy Campbell—find their bitter feud reignited when McNulty shows up at Campbell’s secret cock fight, only to discover Campbell’s prized birds have vanished. As tensions escalate and the law closes in, the night’s events set off a chain of suspicion and consequences neither man expected.