Bronx Requiem


Book Description

The death of Paco "Packy" Johnson shouldn't have surprised anyone. Paco Johnson spent a lifetime in the system -- starting in juvie at age 10, then prison for most of his adult life. But he managed to make some real friends in prison, friends who helped him get parole, a place to stay, and plans to help him adjust to a life outside prison after seventeen years behind bars. But only seventeen hours after he was released, he was found dead -- murdered -- in the streets of the Bronx. James Beck can't save Packy any longer -- but he can try to find out what happened to Packy, and why, and exact a measure of justice. Beck, ringleader of a tight clique of ex-cons based in Brooklyn's Red Hook section, is determined to accord Packy at least some dignity and a measure of justice. But what drove Packy out onto the streets of the Bronx his first night back? Who did he run into that hated him enough to viciously beat him before executing him, and yet left behind his wallet full of cash? But what at first appears to be a simple, if tragic, street killing, quickly becomes something much more difficult and complex. And it will take all the skills, connections, and cunning of Beck and his team not only to learn the truth but to survive the forces they've unwittingly unleashed.




Bronx Requiem


Book Description

The NYPD has a secret they'd like to keep in the past. Detective Jack Kenny doesn't like keeping secrets. Conservative, stubborn, and frustrated by institutional red tape, Detective Jack Kenny solves crimes the old-fashioned way. If there's anything that thirty-plus years in the NYPD--or being born into a family of Irish Catholic cops--teaches you, it's that good police officers need little more than a badge, a six-shot revolver, and some seasoned street smarts to get the answers they need. Kenny's partner, the young, beautiful, and technologically savvy Carmen Romero, believes that computers--not hunches--are the key to identifying and catching today's toughest criminals. Together, Kenny and Romero make a pairing as fiery as it is effective. But when a new witness to the grisly, thirty-year-old "Bronx Barber" murder comes forward, linking the brutal slashing of a prostitute with an NYPD stag party gone wild, the duo's skills and loyalties are put to the test like never before. Suddenly, Jack's long-deceased first partner is implicated in the crime, and an unpaid debt drives the veteran detective to get to the heart of a secret that the NYPD would prefer to leave in its past. With pressure escalating and time running out, Kenny and Romero's frantic search for truth will put their careers, reputations, and lives at stake. Along the way, they'll learn just how strong the ties that bind New York's Finest really are.




Bronx Requiem


Book Description

The death of Paco "Packy" Johnson shouldn't have surprised anyone. Paco Johnson spent a lifetime in the system -- starting in juvie at age 10, then prison for most of his adult life. But he managed to make some real friends in prison, friends who helped him get parole, a place to stay, and plans to help him adjust to a life outside prison after seventeen years behind bars. But only seventeen hours after he was released, he was found dead -- murdered -- in the streets of the Bronx. James Beck can't save Packy any longer -- but he can try to find out what happened to Packy, and why, and exact a measure of justice. Beck, ringleader of a tight clique of ex-cons based in Brooklyn's Red Hook section, is determined to accord Packy at least some dignity and a measure of justice. But what drove Packy out onto the streets of the Bronx his first night back? Who did he run into that hated him enough to viciously beat him before executing him, and yet left behind his wallet full of cash? But what at first appears to be a simple, if tragic, street killing, quickly becomes something much more difficult and complex. And it will take all the skills, connections, and cunning of Beck and his team not only to learn the truth but to survive the forces they've unwittingly unleashed.




Among Thieves


Book Description

Like Ocean's Eleven meets Mystic River, Among Thieves is a high-octane thriller from a writer at the top of his game. 'Hardboiled urban noir from the pen of a master' Lee Child ***** Unfairly imprisoned by the State of New York, ex-con James Beck is a man with a keen sense of right and wrong. But when a friend's niece turns to him for help, he soon discovers that the men at whose hands she's suffered are more dangerous than he could possibly have imagined. In order to prevail, he and his gang of friends will have to outwit, out-flank and out-fight a formidable array of opponents the like of which they've never before encountered. Or die trying . . . Praise for John Clarkson: 'The legendary Jack Reacher may just have met his match in ex-convict James Beck, star of this sensational thriller ... The action is relentless, twist turns upon twist as the intricacies of an exceptional plot unfold, revealing Beck as a man never to be underestimated. This is an outstanding thriller from a writer at the top of his game' Daily Mail 'An adrenalin fuelled rush. James Beck is one of the baddest, boldest, brashest creations ever seen in the pages of any thriller. You can't ask for more out of a crime novel, Among Thieves is as good as it gets' Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers 'An outstanding thriller ... for fans of' Publishers Weekly 'John Clarkson's Among Thieves is an intense, well-written thriller about tough, cunning men whose conflicting schemes turn Brooklyn into a battlefield' Thomas Perry 'Fans of the great Lawrence Block and Lee Child will get their money's worth and then some' Peter Blauner, author of Slow Motion Riot and Slipping into Darkness 'Among Thieves is fabulous, pure and simple' Book Reporter 'Strong storytelling. Highly entertaining' salon.com




The Manhattan Quarterly


Book Description




Brooklyn Noir 2


Book Description

This anthology of classic noir set in NYC’s County of Kings features stories by Thomas Wolfe, Lawrence Block, Maggie Estep and more. On the heels of the award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir—a collection of all-new Brooklyn-based crime fiction—this second volume digs deeper into the criminal history of New York's punchiest and most alluring borough. Brooklyn Noir 2 offers classic short stories by the authors who blazed the path for the success of the first volume. Each story is set in a distinct Brooklyn neighborhood and mixes masters of genre with some of the best literary fiction authors to ever set foot in the borough. These brilliant and chilling stories explore crime among Brooklyn’s Russian, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Italian, and Irish, communities, among other enclaves in this diverse and distinctly crooked borough. Brooklyn Noir 2 features entries by H.P. Lovecraft, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, Pete Hamill, Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, Carolyn Wheat, Thomas Wolfe, Hubert Selby, Jr., Stanley Ellin, Gilbert Sorrentino, Maggie Estep, Salvatore La Puma, and Irwin Shaw.




Where It Hurts


Book Description

Nominated for the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel From the critically acclaimed and award-winning author comes a gritty, atmospheric new series about the other side of Long Island, far from the wealth of the Hamptons, where real people live—and die. Gus Murphy thought he had the world all figured out. A retired Suffolk County cop, Gus had everything a man could want: a great marriage, two kids, a nice house, and the rest of his life ahead of him. But in the course of a single deadly moment, his family is blown apart, and he is transformed from a man who believes he understands everything into a man who understands nothing. Now divorced and working as a courtesy van driver for a run-down hotel, Gus has settled into a mindless, soulless routine. But his comfortable waking trance comes to an end when ex-con Tommy Delcamino asks him for help. Four months earlier, the battered body of Tommy’s son TJ was discovered in a wooded lot, yet the Suffolk County PD doesn’t seem interested in pursuing the killers. In desperation, Tommy seeks out the only cop he ever trusted—Gus Murphy. Gus reluctantly agrees to see what he can uncover, and as he begins to investigate, he finds that Tommy was telling the truth. Everyone involved with the late TJ Delcamino—from his best friend, to a gang enforcer, to a Mafia capo, and even the police—has something to hide, and all are willing to go to extreme lengths to keep it hidden. It’s a dangerous favor Gus has taken on as he claws his way back to take a place among the living, while searching through the sewers for a killer.




The Hollow Girl


Book Description

The final novel in one of the most critically acclaimed PI series in the annals of crime fiction! "Few writers working in any genre offer tales with such moral complexity, dark humor, and, most of all, heart." --Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me Drunk, alone, and racked with guilt over the tragic death of his girlfriend Pam, Moe Prager is destined for oblivion. But destiny takes a detour when a shadowy figure from Moe's past reappears to beg for Moe's help in locating her missing daughter. As a reluctant, distracted Moe delves into the case, he discovers that nothing is as it seems and no one involved is quite who or what they appear to be. This is especially true of the missing daughter, an early internet sensation known ironically as the Lost Girl or the Hollow Girl. The case itself is hollow, as Moe finds little proof that anyone is actually missing. Things take a bizarre twist as Moe stumbles across a body in a trendy Manhattan apartment and the Hollow Girl suddenly re-emerges on video screens everywhere. It's a wild ride through the funhouse as Moe tries to piece together a case from the half-truths and lies told to him by a fool's parade of family members, washed-up showbiz types, uncaring cops, a doorman, and a lovesick PI. Even as the ticking clock gets louder, Moe is unsure if it's all a big hoax or if someone's life is really at stake. The question isn't whether or not Moe can find the Hollow Girl, but whether the Hollow Girl was ever there at all.




Tin Badges


Book Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sleepers and The Wolf, hailed as “simply the best” (Steve Berry) and “one of the most intriguing writers around” (Newsweek). . . . A top NYPD detective is pulled out of retirement to take down a notorious drug dealer. But will he risk the only family he’s ever had to crack the case? As one of the NYPD’s most trusted “tin badges”—retired detectives brought in to solve cases that are beyond the reach of the everyday force—Tank Rizzo has faced off against some of the city’s toughest criminals without breaking a sweat. To tackle a case involving a dangerous kingpin known as Gonzo, Tank turns to his best friend and ex-partner, Pearl; a former mobster living out a seemingly quiet retirement as the owner of Tank’s favorite Italian restaurant; and a team of expert misfits he would trust with his life. But Gonzo will stop at nothing to defend the empire he's built, and won't hesitate to make it personal. Then Tank gets a call telling him that his brother and sister-in-law, estranged from him for many years, have been killed in a horrific car accident. Tank is the only family left for his orphaned teenage nephew, Chris, although he knows his lifestyle is ill-suited to win him father of the year. Chris moves in with Tank, and the two circle each other warily. It’s only when Chris reveals an interest in true crime and a genius-level skill with computers that they begin to bond. Chris’s skills may be exactly what Tank’s team needs to take Gonzo down—but getting him involved could put his life at risk. Advance praise for Tin Badges “Carcaterra capably combines his trademark adrenaline-fueled action with the emotion involved in Tank taking on a parental role for a sometimes surly teen. All this needs, after a cliff-hanger close, is a sequel, and, fortunately, one is promised.” —Booklist “Another gem from a writer who has earned his spot at the top echelon of suspense masters . . . Everything here leaps from the page, never stinting on the harsh reality, delivering a spicy, smart, and entertaining adventure.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series




Blind to Midnight


Book Description

When you’re in trouble, you call 911. When cops are in trouble, they call Nick Ryan. Every cop in the city knows his name, but no one says it out loud. He doesn’t wear a uniform, but he is the most powerful cop in New York. Nick Ryan can find a criminal who’s vanished. Or make a key witness disappear. He has cars, safe houses, money, and weapons hidden all over the city. Nearly three thousand New Yorkers died on 9/11. But in the entire city on that tragic day, only one murder actually took place. Now, over two decades later, Detective Nick Ryan must dig beneath the official report—and into his own past—to find the truth. Working again for the mysterious power broker “Joe,” Nick finds a link between an airman, a billionaire, a trove of Nazi gold, and a crew of killers, but gets sidetracked when his dear “uncle” Tony and Tony’s wife are murdered in a professional hit. Nick’s investigations uncover a tangled web of corruption and blood money, and as the horrifying truth emerges, he finds himself outgunned, on the run, and trusting no one. With professional killers on his trail, will Nick Ryan be able to end the violence before he loses everything that matters to him—including his own life?