Suspense

This one should have been renamed 'Tin Ear". A passable police yarn rendered nearly unreadable by the lack of authentic dialog. Lorenzo Carcaterra is a veteran writer who's books often find themselves on the best sellers list. To his credit, previous efforts, Sleepers and Apaches, were markedly better than this outing.

Tin Badges tells the story of a group of retired police officers who handle the hard cases for the NY Police Department. Cases that for whatever reason, the NYPD couldn't bring to resolution. A sub-plot involves the nephew of the teams's leader Tank Rizzo, who suddenly finds himself an orphan and forced to move in with Rizzo when his parents are killed in a mysterious car crash.

Rizzo speak in a manner familiar to anyone who's ever watched an episode of Hillstreet Blues or Law and Order. Rizzo is meant to be one of those gruff, tough guys with a heart of gold characters, but on more than one occasion I found myself thinking, "What a dick."

Proceed with this one at your own risk, just know that there are much better crime novels available and while spending time with this pedestrian read, you are not enjoying them. ( )

Embarrassingly enough, I will admit that I have not read any of the previous novels by Lorenzo Carcaterra. I have very clearly been missing out. Tin Badges is his 10th novel. I am uncertain if the characters have made prior appearances in other stories, but this definitely has a vibe of being an ongoing storyline. This is a cop story with a lot of heart. Tank and his best friend Pearl took early retirement after a gunfight with neighborhood drug dealers leaves Tank wounded and Pearl paralyzed. Not content to live retired from the job, Tank and his civilian team stay busy taking cold cases that have failed to be solved. The latest case, a violent break in/ assault that left two women physically and emotionally damaged, reeks of something more than an innocent break in. Just as Tank starts to dive into his new case, word comes through that his brother and his wife have died in a car crash, leaving their 15 year old son without a guardian. Despite a rift between Tank and his deceased brother, Tank offers to take Chris to live with him. While they bump heads at first, it becomes apparent that Chris has some tech savvy that may come in handy in Tank’s new case. A case that is evolving into a complicated mess involving a high level drug dealer moving drugs across the city. It isn’t long before the drug dealer takes notice of Tank and his team, and threats are exchanged. After a vicious physical assault leaves a close friend in the hospital, Tank is unable to leave such an aggressive dealer on the streets. He concocts an elaborate plan to take the dealer out or die trying. With the help of all of his friends, Tank moves forward to close the books on one of the most dangerous cases he has taken. A perfect blend of thrills and heart, you wont be disappointed. Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy. ( )

Bottom Shelf

I really disliked this book. It's about disabled cop (although one never hears that his wound bothers him) who occasionally takes on consulting work for the police department. For each assignment he pulls together a team of oddballs and misfits to pull off an improbable heist. Sound like a movie franchise we all know???

The writing is stiff and bland. Themes, settings, jokes inserted only to allow Mr. Caracterra to use historical details to add "color" to what is really basic, plot-driven writing. This happens, then that happens and then they do this other thing in this church that was built in XXX and used by XXX and decorated by XXX. The jokes are stupid.

My reading notes highlights improbable happenings, behaviors, and dialogue I consider way out of reality for the actors (can't say "characters" because there are no characters here, only automatons).

And every good thing in the book is "top-shelf", a writing tic that is irritating as hell.

As far as I am concerned, this book isn't worth reading even as a freebie. You have much better things to do with your life.

I received a review copy of "Tin Badges" by Lorenzo Carcaterra from Random House – Ballantine through NetGalley.com. ( )

Lack of attention to details ruined this book for me. From the book's description, we know Tank gets custody of his nephew. But here's the problem: there is no will naming Tank, or anyone else, as the child's guardian. And yet, there is no social worker, no hearing, no legal proceedings at all. Tank simply tells the kid he gets to decide where he wants to live, and then the kid packs a bag and off they go.

Attention to detail doesn't get better as the story moves along. Issues were either ignored, such as the child's family home that was simply abandoned, or they were completely implausible in how they played out.

The genre's tone is hard-boiled, in that way of a tough, morally ambiguous main character with a lot of grit. Tank is interesting in that sense, if not slightly overdone. The female characters are largely absent. The bad guys are total stereotypes.

And then, after unrealistic action scenes, we come to the end, where we're left with a cliffhanger. I dislike cliffhangers.

You might love this book if you're a fan of the old pulp fiction detective stories, and if you're not concerned about details making sense. I won't be continuing on with this series.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine.* ( )