Customer Reviews

Grief Street

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is suddenly unsafe to be a religious figure in new York City.
A magnetic rabbi is murdered in front of fourteen witnesses. His skin
was literally ripped off him and the members of his congregation who
saw him die could only recall a rancid odor and a shadowy figure.
Detective Neil Hockaday, whose wife is expecting a child, is assigned
to investigate the brutal killing.

Before he can dig deep into the case, a group of Catholics are
shot, and a nun is raped and left for dead. As blood begins to spill,
Hock's spouse Ruby receives the script of a play, GRIEF STREET in which
Hell's Kitchen will be turned into a hell on earth. It is up to Hock
to uncover this anti-religion murderer before he turns the streets of
New York into the Red Sea.

One thing that can be certain about the Neil Hockaday novels is
that the books are always well written mysteries and the latest tale
amplifies Thomas Adcock's well deserved reputation. The switches
between the investigation and the short short discussions by evil
beings is a well done device that adds to the story line. Hock and
Ruby remain great personas and the support cast are clearly New York's
finest. GRIEF STREET is super writing by a super star writer.

Harriet Klausner

The last book of the Hock series, "Grief Street", is a well-written thriller that ties up a few loose ends, and ends with hope restored to an area of Hell Kitchen. In this book, Hock tries to find a blaphamous killer, while dealing with some rogue "rapid" cops that hate Hock for telling on "King Kong" Kowalski. Kowalski himself finds that he finally has to come face to face with his demons. Finally, Hock finds the demented killer, and has a faceoff in a house with a bloody history, as an unexpected ally comes to his aid. Good finish.

Grief Street and the entire Neil Hokaday series, is original, compelling and completely enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the next novel. Thomas Adcock manages to tackle tough subject matter with courage, humar and heart. After reading Grief Street, I could not rest until I had read the entire series. I am now a FAN of this writer.

Grief Street is not pretty but you still should go there. Learn a little from Adcocks view of our world where things are not always what they seem and life is certainly not fair

In Congregation Ezrath Israel, called the Actors Temple (located near the Broadway theater district), the rabbi had been celebrating a midnight observance of Yom Hashoah, the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust.

Thus begins this 'holy' adventure of Adcock's erstwhile Detective Hockaday as he investigages the murder of this young rabbi before a group of fourteen elderly eyewitnesses, all proclaiming that the killer was a 'shadow' (however, this one was no ghost, as there was a distinctive smell). The figure in a dark cloak was suddenly there, then vanished into the Hell's Kitchen; like a shadow he appears and passes away, and no trace is left of his footprints.

There is a photo of the death chapel at the synagogue and also of the Holy Cross Catholic church where seven parishioners were slain on Good Friday, on "Grief Street." In a letter to a tabloid newspaper reporter, a script was anonymously sent in which these victims were supposedly the most devout and charitable residents of Hell's Kitchen -- 100 years ago.

There were also thirteen other black and white photos scattered throughout the book of this area where Al Capone had been born. The one of a partial skyline had a tall skyscraper similar to the 'Batman Building' (BellSouth) in Nashville without the two antennas. The apartment houses with the outside fire escapes were all similar, but the fenced in place called 'Bob's Park' looked like one I saw in Chicago some years ago.

Ollie's Diner, Noodle Shop & Grille on W. 44th St. was one of my favorites, as were Stardust Dine-O-Mat near Times Square on 42nd St, and the Grill at The Savoy were odd but effective. He calls the philosophical Father Morrison a hermit Jesuit priest. Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan where the 'other-worldly' crime occurred is two blocks (and a million miles) from Broadway, he says.

It is a compelling but strange story which features his Irish hero detective. For some reason, I can't picture Collin Ferrell as playing the lead if a movie had been made. He's written others featuring Hockaday, such as DEVIL'S HEAVEN, DARK MAZE, PRECINCT 19, and SEA OF GREEN.

I went into Grief Street with high expectations (I guess that's where I went wrong), but found it difficult to get involved in the book. I found the characters lacking in depth. The plot line is interesting but I found myself having a difficult time getting through the book. The action and suspense came through at times but was not enough to make me want to keep reading to find out what happens next. The action and drama picked up at the end as everything started to come together, but by than I had fallen asleep several times.