Silent Kills, A New York City Story
923249
Silent Kills promises to be a bit creepy but is not at all gory. The story, like a tapestry, is woven much like the tales of Charles Dickens, as the writer moves between crime scene, investigation, and  personal tragedy.  Bit by bit throughout the book we learn more about three men - the killer, the profiler, and the detective. Their characters and relationships are defined to some extent by their responses to women and the resolution of both the mystery and their potential entrapment come in tandem as the end flows organically from what has gone before. The reader is left with the same sense of melancholy relaxation that the profiler - Lee Campbell - feels as his tension eases in the wake of the capture of a strangely demented serial killer and takes stock of where he is in his own life.

Another star of this book is New York City. The action takes place a year after 9/11. Where these New Yorkers were and what happened to them and their loved ones in that national tragedy is a thread running throughout the story.  Readers are treated to some of the history of this multi-faceted metropolis where Washington fought for a new concept of freedom and Poe is honored among the devotees of the somewhat weird Steampunk movement.

This mystery buff found Silent Kills a satisfying read. No pages are missing in the Kindle Edition.
1350798
Jonathan Dee's novel, "The Locals," is an engrossing story that begins in Manhattan on the days following the devastation I assumed that could have been  9/11. Mark Firth, an architect, and contractor from Howland, Massachusetts in the Berkshires, finds himself in Manhattan to meet with a lawyer handling a case of investment fraud in which he has lost a substantial amount of his investments to a scammer. He meets up with another man who has been scammed and also has an appointment with the same lawyer. This man turns out to be a common thief who steals the contents of his wallet while they are having drinks in the hotel they are both staying in to have the meeting with the attorney. The meeting cannot take place, no one is around. Firth returns to hHowland and finds work building a security fortress in a home under construction by a NYC hedge fund billionaire who has escaped the city to live in the peace and quiet of Howland. The story involves different members of the Firth family, their occasional employees, the history of this municipality, the local government that sudden;y is enjoying low taxes and a booming amount of money after it elects Hadi, the hedge fund billionaire as First Selectman or mayor, the development into a benevolent dictator, Mark Firth's brother Gerry Firth who decides to become a secret b;logger and try tries to criticize the way the government is being run, facts about the secret history of one of the town's main tourist attractions and its impact on a teenager Haley, Mark and Karen's daughter. The thread of this novel is about power, who has it, how is it used, how it is perceived, how are people pushed around by those who are subjected to it and so much more. It is a gripping story, beautifully written and destined to become a novel many will find engrossing. I found this book to be quite amazing and it drew me into Howland and the lives of the characters who inhabit Dee's story.
3706079
An exciting and literary good read. As a former New Yorker moved to Los Angeles in the 80's, I felt right at home and felt some nostalgia from the excellent and accurate prose on Manhattan. "This would make a wonderful motion picture", stated Edward Lozzi. It is a detective story with a bit of the macabre for those who need that. I understand the author was trained as a writer early on by attending a breeding ground for good scribes at a private school called Delbarton. I didn't think the book was long enough.
1332724
I'm a big Reggie Nadelson fan and so I got my hot little hands on her latest Artie Cohen thriller even before its official publication date.  I set aside a few hours in my most comfortable chair for an initial dip back into her and his world.  And was not disappointed.  By remarkable coincidence I worked on Staten Island some years ago but hadn't been back for quite a long time.  But Nadelson took my right there, and it felt as if I had never left.  She does a remarkable job of getting it right--SI is a place full of contradictions.  Tony Soprano, if he hadn't chosen to settle in New Jersey, would have lived contentedly up on one of SI's hills where he would have felt right at home among neighbors in the same business as his; while out in the farther reaches are the city workers--police and firemen, many of whom were among the first responders killed on 9/11.  So Staten Island is a place for fresh kills.  Thus Nadelson's title--which by the way is a real place right in the middle of the island not far from the world's largest landfill.  That's SI too.
3261285
In 1917, a woman was killed by an unknown assailant in Linden, New York. The killing was a sensation because Linden was a quiet rural town where nothing, much less murder, happened. The murder was never solved, but over a period of several years, a number of other murders occurred in Linden all attributed to the same killer.

In Shadow by the Bridge the author has fictionalized the story of Linden during the period of 1917 through about 1924. It told through the eyes of a young boy growing over the period of years to become an adult; a young boy who was an unintentional eye-witness to the first murder and who suffered as some of the best known and closest friends of his family fell victim to the murderer. The reader is treated to the turmoil, grief and unease caused by such events in the community, and to the burden of grief, regret or even guilt some of the participants carry throughout their lifetimes.

Shadow by the Bridge is an engrossing and grim reminder how far criminalistics has progressed since 1917. The author appears to have diligently researched the story to ensure as much historical accuracy as possible. The reader is invited to share the confusion and lack of closure with the residents of Linden of the timewho had no idea which one of them may be next.
3150057
Tess Gerritsen's "The Silent Girl" is the best Rizzoli and Isles novel I've read to date.  It is  extremely well-written, one of those tense "compulsive reads", and  really eerie in spots. In case I'm being obscure:  I really, really like this book.

Billy, the guide of a ghost tour in Boston's Chinatown, leads a group to the Red Phoenix, a restaurant that has been closed for years, a restaurant where one evening the chef murdered four people, then killed himself. Billy shivers as the group enters the area thinking "Even on warm summer nights, he always felt cold here, as if a chill had long ago settled in the alley, never to dissipate." Then, while Billy tells the story of the Red Phoenix, a young boy in the tour group finds a severed body part. The discovery leads to the body of a new victim, unearths questions about what really happened at the restaurant on that night long ago, and opens a new murder investigation for Detective Jane Rizzoli and her partner, Barry Frost.

The enigmatic young Detective Johnny Tam, "the generic Chinese guy", is pulled into the investigation to help Rizzoli and Frost navigate through Chinatown and its residents. The three of them encounter the relatives of the Red Phoenix murder victims as they look into the new murder, and soon they realize other victims and other crimes might be attached to both the abandoned restaurant crimes and their current case.  Along the way, Rizzoli educates herself on Chinese mythical figures and finds herself in several dangerous situations that involve, well, involve, something that is just out of their sight. The detectives are perhaps haunted, perhaps stalked, by a ghostly presence: "It was merely a flutter of black on black, like the wing of a giant bird flapping against the sky."

In addition to the Chinatown murder investigation, Dr. Maura Isles must deal with being ostracized by police officers she has worked with for years after she will not compromise forensic pathology testimony in the trial of a policeman accused of murdering a suspect. She has violated the rules of the thin blue line. In this thriller, both Rizzoli and Isles must make decisions about loyalty, right and wrong, and keeping silent or speaking up. The ethics of their choices are nearly as interesting as the central plot.  Don't miss this novel.  And if you don't want to say, "It's Chinatown, Jane" after you finish reading it, you haven't watched all the Jack Nicholson movies you should have.
3613244
Set in northeast Manilas Quezon City, a district called Payatas with a 50-acre dump is home to thousands of people who live off of anything and everything they can find and scavenge there. It is one of the poorest neighborhoods that is overlooked by law enforcement already stretched thin. A perfect dumping ground for the eviscerated bodies of teenage boys.

Enter two Jesuit priests that take the matter of protecting their flock into their own hands. Father Saenz has been a priest for almost three decades and is a respected forensic anthropologist. He has been asked by the Director of the National Bureau of Investigation to help the police on this case. He and his protg Father Lucero, a psychologist, work together to track down the monster that is preying on these boys.  Neither is prepared for what they find.

There are so many aspects of this book that I didn't expect.  The setting is unique along with the characters and all that they do. A very interesting story to say the least. One thing that I enjoyed was the fact that even though the matter being discussed could have gone very gruesome, gory and even vulgar, it didnt. The story let itself steer its own course, it didn't seem to be forced. Both Father Saenz and Lucero brought the story to life and worked together smoothly.  Towards the end things tended to jumble together and it was hard to tell who was talking and at what point in time the story was at.  It didn't last long, but it did confuse me just a little bit.

For crime novel enthusiast this is a must read. I enjoyed this one much more than anticipated and wouldnt hesitate to recommend to others.
2283513
One of the most frightening aspects of these ten true-crime stories is that the early release dates for many of the perpetrators have already passed.  I would hate to think that any of these particular criminals are free to kill again.  Ann Rule has selected gruesome cases to include in "A Rage to Kill."

Fortunately a few of the most vicious killers did not survive their capture.  Unfortunately one of them was never identified, and some of the stories have had to have their body count revised upward.

Ann Rule, a former policewoman writes about the victims with a compassion that sometimes ventures over the border into clich.  Many are described as stunningly beautiful, innocent, soft-spoken, harmless, well-loved, kindhearted creatures who would certainly have qualified for sainthood if their lives had not been cut tragically short.

The killers are more interesting, as in that old Vaudevillian clich, "the snake has all the lines."  A transvestite prostitute stabs his customer to death when the john discovers his true sex.  A prison official must decide whether this particular killer should be incarcerated with other men or put in a prison for women.  Spree killer Chris Wilder drives one of his victims cross-country, then puts her on a plane back to California instead of murdering her.

Rule's homicide detectives are all a heroic blend of hard work, perseverance, and courage.  They do not stand out as individuals as they would if say, Joseph Wambaugh had written this book.  I will remember the murderers in "A Rage to Kill" much longer than the bland policemen or the saintly victims, because they are the characters upon which Rule lavishes her most original prose.

Most of these cases took place in the Seattle area, and only one that I know of has received extensive, nation-wide media attention.  True-crime aficionados will appreciate Ann Rule's meticulous attention to detail, and the extensive contacts with law enforcement officials that give her a unique perspective into each of these ten stories.
3116996
Men are being murdered  shot in the chest and head, and some are brutally tortured. Because of their backgrounds, police think they are gangland murders. But, police detective Frankie Bugs Donovan is convinced that its something more sinister, and personal.
In Murder Takes Time, Giacomo Giammatteo takes us into the depth of the human mind and heart, and onto the mean streets of our cities in a chillingly realistic tale of murder, revenge, friendship, and honor.
I received a free review copy of Murder Takes Time, and once I started reading, I missed a meal to finish it. Giammatteo is a master of suspense and mystery, with compelling dialogue and credible description of people, places, and events  all tied together in a tale that begins on a high note, and then soars to even higher altitudes as we follow Donovan and his friend Nicky the Rat Fusco from their childhoods in Philadelphia to the New York underworld in a confrontation that will catch you looking the other way. The life and death struggle as these two childhood friends play cat and mouse with each other gains momentum with each new corpse, and Giammatteo knows how to tease  and keep the reader guessing. A breathtaking read.
4899514
Thanks to James Thane for recommending the 87th Precinct series - - Ed McBain is my kind of writer - short, concise sentences and always to the point - with rapid fire delivery. He knows about cops and how they go about solving various crimes. This story is about a double murder - its a tough one - the two protagonists are detectives and partners - they each have a private life but its in the background - the crime comes first. There's only one thing that made me choose four stars instead of five - - McBain doesn't use a real city as the locale - - its a made up city - large and on the East Coast.  Ok, maybe its New York, but he uses some other made up name. I'm a reader who likes the city be one of the story characters - - I think its important to the story. So, four stars.  But, I loved everything else - - looking forward to reading the series.
3659193
BAD BLOOD is a police procedural wrapped around a nice account of what goes on "down under" the streets and buildings of New York City.
I thought the underground portion of the story was very informative and very well described to the point of being chilling. It certainly added atmosphere to the action above ground.
The story proceeds along at a nice pace, and there are a reasonable number of characters introduced. A slight dislike was the brief chapter that dealt with the wedding in the Vineyard and the subsequent discussion about it for a few pages in a later chapter. This was totally unnecessary and unrelated to the rest of the book. Perhaps it was used to project a more feminine side to the heroine, but it seemed out of place. Luckily, I saw reference to it in another review and skipped over most of it. The ending and the wrapping up of all the loose ends was a bit rushed, but these two issues were very minor and did not impact my overall enjoyment of the book.
2371161
"LIAR!!!!".  And then shots rang out in the courtroom.

Tannenbaum's New York City legal thriller's plot somewhat resembles John Grisham's A Time to Kill except the victims' and the perpetrators' skin color has switched.  Loved both books.  The Coney Island five, not the Coney Island four that the press touts, had been in reality the Coney Island six when the brutal beating, near murder, and gang rape of the victim occured 12 years ago.  That all changed when one of the accesories to the crime confessed and told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The six became 5 when this brave soul was shot dead in California, 3000 miles away in a "gang related incident" some years after, of course.  The camera loving prosecutor Hugh Louis resurrects this case so that 4 of the "victimized" can walk free and urges everyone to love justice, and be color blind.  Well, if one had all the facts, no one in their right mind, black, white, blue or green would want these thugs back in their neighborhoods.  Enter Manhattan District Attorney "Butch" Karp to set the record straight.  The plot in this is so thick, with plots and subplots and subsubplots.  In the end you'll be furious, but you'll love the ending.  Probably doesn't happen in reality, especially in New York City, that in all cases, right and truth win and liars, murderers, perverters of justice are had.  I imagine that maybe Robert K. Tannenbaum is hoping that the power of suggestion put to good use will turn some tables in people's minds.  I devoured this book and I haven't even mentioned half the people or cases that come Karp's way in the one month and a half, near 500 page book covers.

At his twin sons' bar mitvah training, Karp thinks to himself: "but old Pontius Pilate was just the most famous judge who gave into popular sentiment rather than doing the right thing.  There would be many others."
664694
An anonymous author's tell-all manuscript about a powerful media mogul endangers a book editor and others with access to its explosive revelations. A satisfying thriller set in the publishing world, and a worthy follow-up to The Expats. New Yorkers in particular will appreciate the author's biting observations about life in Manhattan!
2193658
704 pages. 76 characters. Brief history.
The novelists interviews revealed that he struggled to write everything through a single narrative.  I also learned that he had to write this novel while staying far away from the actual scenes.  Among all these unstructured attempts, one good thing I noticed was the listing of the characters right at the beginning.  It helps to understand the plots, different locations, and the roles.  The story broadly covers the locations of Jamaica, Florida of USA, and New York of USA.

Local.  Urban.  Jamaican English.
The book is full of text using Jamaican English.  The English well used and well familiar to the people of Jamaica, others would struggle worldwide.  That spiced up the novel quite a bit.  It reminded me the writing style of Amitabh Ghosh in The Sea of Poppies, where he abundantly used the words picked up from Indian language, mostly Bengali and to some extent Hindi.  It is always good to get some exposure to the English spoken in different parts of the world.  That way, this book is quite interesting.

Killing.  Killing.  More killing.
The book in fact describes killing of more than seven persons.  Most of the killing carries a graphically thorough narration.  Most of the killings were done through gunshots.  There were killings by burying alive, and burning alive too.  That made me tired while reading through the book.  There might be some historical connection to describe so many killings, but could have been avoided in the novel.

Start.  Read.  Continue reading.
Imagine you live in the far suburb of a large city.  You commute to your work in the central part of the city by train.  You bought this book and started reading it only when you are on the train commuting to work and back from work.  At a decent reading pace, you would probably take 3 months or more to finish it off.  The novel seems to be too long for urban readers.
2091499
Book Title: Fatal Rejection
Author: Bob Moats
Publisher: Magic 1 Productions
Reviewed by Michele Tater For The Couch Tater Review

A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success. ~Bo Bennett

Derek Harcourt is an author of a book that tells of the horrible crimes committed by a killer known as the NY Slasher. Liking the notoriety of the first book, Derek decides to write another one as he walks in the footsteps of the Slasher. As he moves from state to state he writes chapters that are sent to his editor Sarah Keller to edit and where his journey will end. As Derek travels from the East coast to the West coast, it seems that there are killings being committed with a eerie similarity to the murders that the NY Slasher was known for. The disappearance of this murderer many years ago may have just been a break for him and now he is back.

This book made me say "What?" "Really?" "No Way!" quite a few times. It puts the reader in the middle of a cat and mouse game where you are not sure who the cat and mouse are. With an unusual and unpredictable plot the reader must keep reading. I would dare to call it a first rate thriller from an author that has found another way to pleasantly shock me. Especially with the mentioning of Buffalo, New York, which I have lived in at one time, very cool. Looking for a good mystery to pass the time, this one will not disappoint. The reader is rewarded with the greatest of endings.
2076000
Great mystery with a link between current day NYC and a past based in Bollywood. The sub cultures the story touched on added density to the story. Highly recommended.
3221726
Wonderful portrait of New York during the Guilded Age.  The 'savage girl' is a fascinating character, submits on the surface to Mr. Delegate's experiment in 'civilizing' what he believes to be a child raised by wolves.  But did she commit those shockingly brutal murders?  A must read!