Customer Reviews

Man With a Gun

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

 

 

An exciting story centered around the high echelons of the NYPD. The author, a former New York Deputy Police Commissioner, took me inside the stress, politics and drama of Police Headquarters. Daley's characters are all flesh-and-blood, caught up in circumstances beyond their control. The story centers around a new Deputy Police Commissioner that finds his well-intentioned plans go awry, placing him in great peril. A good read for those that demand more than simply a good plot.

Ok - picture this: Reform minded big city police commissioner selects a trusted policy wonk to aid him in cleaning up the force. Wonk, the "Man With A Gun," dives in with both feet, and finds himself immersed in the jealousy, intrigue, and bureacracy that is a force filled with career officers. Wonk screws up by forgetting that he is not a cop, and it takes more than a badge and a gun to become one. Suspicious career officers don't help him, and set him up for failure instead. Add a streetwise police sargent as advisor, a hot and experienced mistress, and some political intrigue, and you've got yourself the makings of a great book. Someone besides Daly should have written it. I picked this up on the strength of the excellent movie Prince of the City (starring Treat Williams), which was based on a Daley novel. Well, one movie doesn't mean that the other book is so hot. Great plot and ideas - just embarrassingly stupid storytelling in places. Skip it.

A Man with a Gun is a fine read! The characters are developed well, the story is gripping and the look inside the walls of a large city Police Department is revealing and fascinating. If you want a thought provoking book that will carry you along, spellbound, to the end, get Daley's top notch book.