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''Death Wish'' is a 1972 crime novel by Brian Garfield.

After his wife and daughter are attacked in their New York City apartment, leaving the former dead and the latter mentally incapacitated, previously-liberal CPA Paul Benjamin starts resenting how "softly" crime is being handled, and decides to take a more direct approach on law enforcement in his neighborhood.

A successful [[Film/DeathWish film adaptation]] was made in 1974, directed by Creator/MichaelWinner and starring Creator/CharlesBronson. In 1975 Garfield wrote a sequel novel titled ''Death Sentence'' (itself adapted [[Film/DeathSentence into a film]] in 2007), while 2018 would see the original novel get [[Film/DeathWish2018 adapted again]], this time starring Creator/BruceWillis but moving the location to Chicago instead of New York.

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!!This book has the examples of:

* AngstComa: The trauma that Carol went through eventually puts her into a vegetative state.
* TheBigRottenApple: New York is portrayed as a scum-infested city full of crime.
* KarmaHoudini: The perps that assaulted Paul's wife and daughter are never caught.
* MercyLead: A policeman runs into one of Paul's vigilante acts, but he gives him time to leave the crime scene.
* NoEnding
* SockItToThem: Paul initial choice for self-protection is a sock with a roll of quarters in it.
* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: Paul notes to himself how often this trope is used to defeat the "blackhats" in movies.
* VigilanteMan: What Paul becomes one by the end of the book.

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