19th Precinct

Rating:
Summary: For the lover of crime fiction, this book is a great read.
Review: Although this is the fifth book in the Detective Joe Dante series, it was the first I had read. And I immediately ran out to find the first four in the series. The story itself is richly plotted, with many twists that tie in together very nicely. Even when I had second guessed a few of the plot twists, the way they rolled off the page was a delight and didn't let me down at all. The book is well paced, and, unlike many books in the genre, doesn't break up the flow of the writing with obscure "cop talk" terms. I can't speak for the "realism" of the inter-departmental politics, but, like much of the book, they just feel right. The real strength of this book is the characters. Not only are they vivid and real, but the way each one is introduced gives us enough insight into their personality, that we immediately feel comfortable with them, even if the comfort is in disliking them. Newman handles dialogue especially well. Unlike some writers who use their characters' words to explain everything, the author effectively blends his with descriptive paragraphs to give the reader the impression they are watching the drama unfold in front of them, instead of in their mind.

Rating:
Summary: Plot rests on implausible conclusion to an occurance.
Review: I did not read the entire book and with good reason. In the aftermath of a chase which ends with the death of a child, for some reason or other the hero, Dante and his protagonists blame him. This has no relation what would really happen in real life. Because the rest of the story depends on that as a foundation and I thought it falacious, I would not finish the book.

Rating:
Summary: Plot is based on totally unrealistic conflict .
Review: Police Lt. Dante is placed in a totally unrealistic position of being held responsible for the death of a young girl, the daughter of wealthy supporter of the Mayor. Death occured when bad guy throws hostage child into street in path of auto which kills her. This happens during chase by Dante of bad guy. No jurisdiction in its' right mind would ever blame the officer for such a death. That is the opening of the plot and is necessary for the balance. But because there is such far fetched set up, anyone with common sense will put this one down. I write this as a former street cop and later my city's Commissioner of Public Safety.

Rating:
Summary: compelling, with good character studies
Review: There may be a lot of implausible issues in this narrative, especially with the death of the Courtney Poole character, but the in-depth characterizations of Dante, Mannion, Siobhan, and even less primary characters such as McNulty and the construction crew made the combination compelling! It was hard to put down!