Newest Release: now available

Broken and Profane

a crime novel

Buffalo, New York, in the fall of 1980: a white supremacist embarks on a killing spree, targeting black people... one every day.  His first murder — from City Hall’s balcony twenty-eight stories high — becomes his signature.

The case is assigned to Mark Bennett, a new detective whose father was a police legend.  Ken Connell, the department’s star investigator, is angry to learn he is passed over.  Bennett owns a pedigree, but lacks experience solving homicides.  Bennett grapples with secrets: conversations with his dead father, and a burgeoning affair he must keep quiet, because Alison is separating from a husband who doesn’t want her to leave: Ken Connell.

Bobby Bennett, Mark’s younger brother, is a rookie patrolman learning the job.  His partner is George Pope, a veteran street cop who once paired with Bennett’s father.  Pope is wise but crusty, determined to mentor a stubborn young man, no matter how much resistance he faces.

        For several days, victims keep coming.  Against a backdrop of crooked cops, drug dealers, prostitutes and transvestites, tension mounts as the net narrows on the killer while Connell learns the truth of his wife’s affair.  These events converge in a darkened basement with two cops, a killer, and three guns trained in different directions.

Rich in characterization, Broken and Profane is crime fiction that resonates with authenticity, a taut thriller portraying the underbelly of life and the men who are entrusted with keeping society’s order.

writer

Photo by Steven D. Desmond

Upcoming Event:

•10 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, book discussion and signing at the Orchard Park Senior Center.