Love and Death in Brooklyn

Rating:
Summary: FIRST-RATE THRILLER PLUS BRILLIANTLY PAINTED SETTING
Review: When Barbados born writer Glenville Lovell departed from the literary genre that had earned him much acclaim, he moved clear across town to crime fiction with "Too Beautiful To Die" (2003). This was a sensation, surprising some by Lovell's deft switch, delighting many with his pictures of Caribbean immigrants and his creation of hot tempered black ex-cop Blades Overstreet.

In "Too Beautiful To Die," Overstreet is in the middle of a nasty lawsuit with the NYPD. He accused a fellow policeman of shooting him on purpose and claiming it was accidental simply because of the Overstreet's color. His wife leaves him, driven away by his almost uncontrollable rage. He agrees to help a soap opera star siren get information about her wherever-in-the-world-can-he-be father. Ooops, an FBI agent turns up dead, and Overstreet is suspected. Now, he has both the NYPD and the FBI on his back.

As "Love and Death in Brooklyn" opens Overstreet is in church. After all, this is Brooklyn, the "Borough of Churches. He and his wife, Anais, have reconciled and he's grateful for a warm relationship with the eight-year-old daughter he didn't know he had. Perhaps most of all he's grieving for the pain of his friend and mentor, university professor Noah Plantier.

It was supposed to have been a celebratory evening, a birthday party for Noah. But, in the midst of dinner brilliant, Harvard educated Ronan, Noah' son, is gunned down leaving "a hole you could put a fist through in the back of his head." Not only was Ronan a beloved son, he was also a hero in the Black community and a first year city councilman.

Ronan, of course, had many friends but he also had a few enemies. Overstreet can't figure out if his death was politically motivated - could it have been arranged by Baron Spencer, Ronan's former adversary in the city council race, a man who seeks to revive the Black Panthers in a different mold? Or, was the shooting perhaps motivated by a gone sour affair of the heart?

Obsessed only mildly describes Overstreet's state of mind. He's determined to find the killer but the more he probes the more he places his life and the lives of his family at risk.

Set against the atmospheric backdrop of multi-racial Brooklyn Lovell presents one more thriller to keep readers up all night.

- Gail Cooke



Rating:
Summary: Drama In Brooklyn
Review: Blades Overstreet, the street smart ex-cop from Glenville Lovell's Too Beautiful To Die, has returned with a vengeance. IN LOVE AND DEATH IN BROOKLYN, he is fighting for the lives of his entire family. Blades feels as though everything in life is finally falling into place, and he's beginning to think that leaving the danger of the New York City Police Department was the best decision. He just wants to live a nice quiet life with his family, but try as he might, his desire to right wrongs will always be in his blood.

Blades is a successful businessman, he owns a music store and is co-owner of a hot reggae nightclub. River Paris, the nightclub manager, is a beautiful and mysterious woman who has captivated Blades, but he has a nagging suspicion that she is hiding something. When people start to die, and his family is threatened, Blades' suspicions are not unfounded.When an important politician is killed, the victims' family looks to Blades for help. He is then thrown back into the dangerous world he thought that he'd left behind.

LOVE AND DEATH IN BROOKLYN by Glenville Lovell is a heart stopping action thriller that kept me guessing. With the themes of friendship, lust and the need for revenge, this is an exhilarating novel. I love fast paced crime novels with a hero for who I can root and Blades Overstreet, who serves up a hefty dose of drama and sex appeal is quickly becoming my favorite mystery man. For excitement and adventure with a sexy backdrop, I recommend that you invest in a copy of this book.


Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Reminiscent of Walter Mosley
Review: Ex NYPD cop Carmen "Blades" Overstreet returns, and is thrust back into crime solving mode in this murder mystery, Love and Death in Brooklyn. The unofficial case surrounds the murder of his best friend Noah's prominent politician son Ronan, and intricately weaves a myriad and quite extensive list of characters with their own personal struggles. Although Blades is a return from Lovell's first work, Too Beautiful to Die, this book is a stand-alone novel.

Blades has become a successful entrepreneur since retirement. He has ownership in a music store and nightclub in his beloved Brooklyn. He's over the animosity caused over his departure from the force and is comfortably settled with his wife and newly discovered nine-year-old daughter. Life is going good. He attends a birthday party for Noah, where his estranged son Ronan decides to make amends with his father. A moving public display of love and forgiveness is shattered in the split second it takes for a bullet to end Ronan's life. Naturally Blades can't sit around and do nothing. The cop instinct is too strong plus his loyalty to his friends, and he feels it is his duty to discover who or what is responsible for this heinous crime. As the reader is drawn further into this tangled web, people close to Blades are intricately woven into the murder. I wondered how he trusted anyone, but his intuition and uncanny ability to stick with his feelings sees him through.

I was struck with the similarities of writing style between Glenville Lovell and Walter Mosley. I can see Blades reaching the status of Easy Rawlins if he continues on this writing level. Blades is memorable, an active participant in the drama and cognizant of his influence in the lives of those he is surrounded by. Both writers tend to use a lot of characters to illuminate the plot and build a healthy anticipation level. No ends were left undone, which is remarkable with such a large cast. Whatever Mr. Lovell is working on in the future will be added to my list of books to read.

Reviewed by Sharon Hudson of Loose Leaves Book Review

Rating:
Summary: terrific urban private investigate tale
Review: Several years have passed since the "friendly fire" bust nearly cost the former NYPD African-American Officer Blades Overstreet his life. He became so acrimonious in his thirst for vengeance his beloved wife Anais fled across the country to California. His friend Noah helped Blades release some of his anger, but what helped most was winning his lawsuit against the NYPD last year for 2.5 million and getting Anais and their preadolescent daughter back living with him in Brooklyn. Much of the bitterness has left Blades though he can still taste some bile.

Blades attends Noah's sixtieth birthday party held at a South African restaurant when Ronan, the son of the guest of honor, arrives in spite of a rift wider than the Grand Canyon between father and son. The joy is short-lived when thugs appear and kill Ronan in front of the ecstatic party attendees. Perhaps he has a compulsive personality that makes Blades obsess over the homicide and makes inquiries, but soon finds his life and loved ones threatened by the Brooklyn-based Russian Mafia. Ignoring the police warning him to stay out of this and driving Anais crazy, Blades continues his private investigation.

LOVE AND DEATH IN BROOKLYN uses the same theme of a fanatical angry Blades seeking resolution but driving his wife crazy and the police confrontational as he did in the wonderful TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE yet the plot is wrapped around an entirely different delightful plot. While Blades stays true to character, the fast-paced story line takes readers throughout Brooklyn. The delightful secondary ensemble enables readers to see inside Blades and his co-star, the largest borough, to the heart and mean streets in a terrific urban private investigate tale.

Harriet Klausner