Saturday, January 30, 2010

RIZZO'S WAR by Lou Manfredo **

Just opened the book will continue when I've gotten into it. It's a debut novel takes place in Brooklyn. 


It's very engaging. I get lost in the story and follow the novice detective with his veteran partner. The older guy is very smart and knows a lot about being a cop. Mr. Manfredo (writer) wrote what he knows and it shows. He gets into politics, the secrets to keep, the favors to put on others for the future and knows the way around the city. 


Surprise, the younger cop meets his dream girl with 'skin almost translucent' (gross?) and 'sapphire eyes'. Most beautiful woman he's ever seen! zowee carumba...it never ends. And she "smiled deeply into his eyes" wonder if it's painful having a smile deeply embedded in your eye.


I still like it and didn't think I would because the title has little to do with the story. Rizzo is the veteran detective. With the word "war" I was thinking some personal vendetta or mafia crime stuff and I don't particularly care for those topics. But this isn't either. I think the 'war' refers to his job solving each crime. War against crime?


Well written, everything flows smoothly along. There are a couple abrupt endings, like they're on the way to an interview but you don't get to the interview right away, later on the character reflects back and that's how you get the interview. I get involved and don't really like being blown off for a few pages but otherwise it's readable. The descriptions are great, the dialogue and personalities seem as if they're real. 


It's not really about one specific incident. It's generally about going on detective grade police calls with some in-depth cases. Nothing is predictable or cliche so far.


I didn't like the base line of the story. Mostly political crap, ass-kissing, personal gain over laws. These are COPS. No wonder people hate them if they are like these. Also in dialogue, Joe, they keep using the name, Joe, all the time in every sentence, Joe, and it's a pet peeve, cuz IRL no one does that, Joe.


At the end the cops are assholes. Both are criminals and I felt like an accomplice for reading this. No matter what the justifications for stealing stolen money from your own partner, using blackmail to further your career and enjoying it all, the reader has been raped. No one is a hero in this book, they're all jerks with an agenda. No happy ending. I ended up disgusted.

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