McCafferty's nine

the long version

In a mid-size city in Southeastern Minnesota, Chief of Detectives Jake Hines has all his investigators working at top speed. Somebody's stealing cash and charging merchandise to dozens of local credit card holders, in the same month when a purse-snatcher is assaulting women. Jake recruits two teams to run stings in the mugger's favourite hunting-grounds. One of the teams attracts a hit and catches the mugger, but at the same time Jake is confronted with an identical-seeming crime in another part of town.