Alone with the Dead (Joe Keough Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert J. Randisi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Joe Keough Mysteries | Publication Date: December 1999

A brutal serial killer stalks young women in New York City as Joe Keough, a detective with nothing to lose, challenges the system to get to the truth--and risks failure that could leave the city in the grip of fear.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Moving his readers along at a breathless pace (and keeping them one step ahead of the boys in blue), Randisi renders the mad ramblings of a pathetic young man who follows a series of sexual murders in the New York City tabloids and determines to copy, and finally to surpass, the murderer's work. For a number of sinister reasons, detective Joe Keough's superiors are determined to pin all the killings on the man the papers call "the Lover." But Keough isn't convinced: the earlier killings occurred in Manhattan and the later ones in Brooklyn, a change of venue that matches subtle alterations in MO. Keough has a reputation for trouble, but so do a few of his superiors?and they hold the face cards. Randisi power-shifts this work from the start, slowing only to provide procedural detail before resuming speed, even on the brave narrative detour in which the Lover, concerned about his reputation, makes phone contact with Keough. As one killer comes to the surface, the other's rage intensifies. This is top-notch suspense, right from the chilling prologue to the brutal conclusion.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The Lover is terrorizing New York City. He strangles and rapes women, and he leaves a rose protruding from their lifeless bodies. Lieutenant Joe Keogh, a renegade cop banished to Brooklyn, believes there are two Lovers out there, but when he tries to advance his theory, he's summarily ignored. A politically connected Lover Task Force is closing in on the killer and doesn't want to hear Keogh's strident cries of "copycat." The reader knows the truth because Randisi inserts brief chapters presenting the points of view of both killers, who soon come to resent sharing the limelight and plot to eliminate each other. Meanwhile, Keogh, with the help of crime reporter Mike O'Donnell, tries to convince an unyielding bureaucracy that it should be looking for two killers. This is an entertaining, well-written crime novel that stands out on the basis of its shifting points of view, sharp dialogue, humor, and bang-up conclusion. Wes Lukowsky --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Leisure Books (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843946415
• ISBN-13: 978-0843946413
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,139,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Formulaic, but Good, October 25, 2005

By 

Gerald Browning (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone with the Dead (Joe Keough Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Alone with the Dead is a police procedural that follows all the rules. We have a working class detective named Joe who is ruled by a moral compass that few people in his department have. When Joe Keough finds the body of a young high school student, brutally raped with a rose inserted inside of her, he has a feeling that the death was committed by a copycat of a notorious serial killer named "The Lover." Others within the department, however, do not share his theory and are quick to lump the killing with the others.

This, however, does not sit well with the actual serial killer, who goes out of his way to absolve himself from the blame. Joe, goes against his superiors, The Lover Task Force, and the copycat killer himself, to reveal to the public that there are in fact two serial killers.

But when a friend of Joe's is brutally stabbed to death in his own home, the finger points to a boss within the NYPD. It is then that Joe realizes that he has made enemies both within the department AND outside in the mean streets of New York. The interesting part of the story is when one of Keough's few supporters in his investigation is The Lover himself!

If you are a fan of police procedurals, this is a good one. It has a solid (but thinly veiled) mystery, very appealing characters, and a pacing that keeps you reading from the prologue to the epilogue.

I did think the characters were quite clche, but it only added to the realism of the voice that Randisi creates. I previously knew Randisi by the anthologies that he put together, finding his tastes in the crime/noir literature to be quite phenomenal, however, I was impressed by his writing style.

I thought the story was very realistic. It is something that I could actually see happening and could make a very good film (or at least a made for TV movie). Being a fan and writer of the mystery/crime genre myself, I love a good story and this one was pretty good.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good concept,but what happened?, June 2, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone With the Dead (Paperback)

This is an incredible for a book. You have one serial killer called "The Lover", who places a rose on his victims body. Someone reads about it in the local paper, and he wanted to "give hornors" to the "Lover", by being a Copycat killer. Just one problem, the Lover isn't flattered, he's mad. Sounds like a *great* idead for a book, right? Well somewhere alone the way, it falls apart. I guess the biggest problem I had was how the "Lover" was caught. There was very little cat and mouse play between Keough (the lead detective) and the Lover.

Randisi has a decent wrtiing style that will probally keep the reader hooked, but I feel that so much more coulde have been done with this book.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad read, I just expected a bit more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Formula, May 23, 2001

By 

Kernel Mojo (Herndon, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone with the Dead (Joe Keough Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maybe I'm getting tired of the Detective Mystery Thriller formula containing one dimensional characters - hero detective with unwavering integrity, inept face-saving looking-to-get-ahead police sergeants captains and commissioners, an available lovely single mom next door with adoring daughter.

There's a deviant named "Kopykat" introduced in the book's prologue who is salivating over newspaper articles about gruesome murders - hmmm...wonder what this guy's all about? <sarcasm>

I actually like the characters in this book better than those in Randisi's "The Sixth Sense", but because the story isn't as good I rate it 2 instead of 3.