Catholic Boys [Paperback]

Philip Cioffari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2007

Two years ago, when Alex Ramsey lost his son, his wife took to gin and he lost his job with the city police force. Now he's working as a security guard for a burgeoning high-rise apartment complex, figuring the worst he'll encounter will be marital disputes and drunks. But the body of a boy just the age his son would have been is found beaten, raped, and hung by a river flowing through the grounds. Graffiti in Building Five indicates more is to come. Who's responsible? A local motorcycle gang? Teenage hoodlums, the Brando's? A delusional fisherman? Or is the conspiracy more pervasive?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

English professor Cioffari has a few lyrical flashes in this 1960s Bronx thriller, but never manages to sustain them. Tormented detective Alex Ramsey is still shattered by the death two years before in a traffic accident of his 11-year-old son, Evan, a loss that also cost him his job with the NYPD. Ramsey's ghosts return with a vengeance when his current position as head of security for a Bronx housing project involves him with the investigation into a boy's murder. After Ramsey's wife leaves him and more bodies turn up, Ramsey finds himself seeking out the company of Krissie, the driver whose carelessness killed Evan. Despite some sections reminiscent of Richard Price's powerful works of urban crime, the book as a whole is weighed down by the highly implausible relationship between Ramsey and Krissie and a routine solution to the crimes.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

About the Author

Philip Cioffari is the author of three books of fiction: a story collection, A HISTORY OF THINGS LOST OR BROKEN, which won the Tartt First Fiction Prize and the D.H. Lawrence award for fiction; a crime thriller, CATHOLIC BOYS; and the thriller, JESUSVILLE. His short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Playboy, the North American Review, Michigan Quarterly and Northwest Review. His Indie feature film, LOVE IN THE AGE OF DION, has won numerous film festival awards, including Beat Picture at the Long Island Int'l Film Expo, and Best Director at the NY Independent Film & Video Festival. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Livingston Press (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931982988
• ISBN-13: 978-1931982986
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,512,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PHILIP CIOFFARI is the author of three books of fiction: a story collection, A HISTORY OF THINGS LOST OR BROKEN, which won the Tartt First Fiction Prize and the D. H. Lawrence award for fiction; a crime thriller, CATHOLIC BOYS; and the thriller, JESUSVILLE. He is also the writer/director of the Independent feature film, LOVE IN THE AGE OF DION, which has won a number of film festival awards, including Best Picture at the Long Island Int'l Film Expo, and Best Director at the NY Independent Film & Video Festival. www.philipcioffari.com