Murder in Coney Island: A Bill Donovan Mystery [Hardcover]

Michael Jahn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2003 | Series: Bill Donovan Mysteries

It is now almost a year after the World Trade Center attacks, and New York City is still struggling with the horrible aftermath. For Captain Bill Donovan, Chief of Special Investigations for the NYPD, watching helplessly as his beloved city was torn apart was painful and heartbreaking.

Therefore, when the body of notorious real estate developer James Victor is found in the basement of a Coney Island candy store, Donovan throws himself into the investigation as a way to ease the pain. Victor certainly has not been endearing himself to the local blue-collar Coney Island crowd in the recent months - he is the driving force behind a multimillion-dollar urban renewal project aimed at tearing down the old charming buildings and storefronts near the boardwalk in favor of erecting lavish condos. Soon, Donovan and his friend and associate, Brooklyn's massively muscled Brian Moskowitz, enter a world where the financial stakes are high and the emotional stakes are even higher.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his ninth Bill Donovan mystery (after 2001's Murder on the Waterfront), Edgar-winner Jahn joins the ranks of those attempting to use the attacks on the World Trade Center as a plot device, with indifferent results. Murder interrupts NYPD captain Donovan's quiet day at the beach with his wife and son: the battered corpse of a Donald Trump-like developer surfaces in the basement of an old-fashioned candy store, whose future has been jeopardized by the developer's gentrification scheme. The captain interviews the many who wished the man dead, including an ex-wife, his mistress and members of the Coney Island Committee for Common Sense, which hoped to preserve the community. The superficial depiction of New York City, the one-dimensional characters and the almost arbitrary solution, which offers little room for Donovan to exercise his skills, fail to engage the reader.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Some writers write for the eye; others, for the ear. Jahn writes for the nose. His latest police procedural, set on and around Coney Island's boardwalk, constantly delivers healthy whiffs of sea air, sand, sunblock, and hot dogs smothered in onions from Nathan's Famous Hotdog Stand. The Edgar-winning Jahn's emphasis on the smell of places is part of what gives his New York City procedurals such immediacy. His latest (the ninth in the series) places NYPD captain Bill Donovan on a rare day off at the Coney Island beach. Donovan's idyll is broken by a summons to a crime scene at a candy store just off the boardwalk. The body of a real-estate developer who has been threatening to tear down the old Coney Island buildings has been discovered in the basement. Although the tour through the suspects is a bit predictable, Jahn's dead-on cop patter and in-depth characterization make this fascinating. And it smells great, too. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312308019
• ISBN-13: 978-0312308018
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,504,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of he best police pocedural series on the market today, August 5, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder in Coney Island: A Bill Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

It is nine months since the tragic events of September 11th and Captain Bill Donovan, head of Special Investigations, is depressed, because he isn't part of the World Trade Center investigation. To cheer him up, his wife Marcy arranges a family outing at Coney Island that includes their three-year-old son Daniel. While waiting on a line at Nathan's to buy a "world famous", he hears police sirens and decides to go to the nearby crime scene.

Business mogul James Victor is found murdered in the basement of a candy store and the owner has no idea how he got there or why he would even be in the basement. The storeowner was suing the victim who wanted to tear down the block and build an expensive housing resort. Donovan doesn't really suspect him because everything is too pat and there are plenty of other suspects who wanted the man dead. Imagine Donovan's surprise when the killing is tied to the September 11th attack, and the captain is able to contribute to the bigger inquiry while trying to nab the killer.

Every time Michael Jahn writes a police procedural starring Captain Bill Donovan it turns out to be an exciting page-turner and MURDER ON CONEY ISLAND is no exception. The author humanizes the protagonist by escorting the audience into his personal life and showing how the World Trade Center disaster hurt him personally and makes him want to be a part of the war on terrorism. The interesting twists that the plot takes will keep readers interested to the point that they finish this electrifying novel in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothin' Better, May 8, 2008

By 

P McG "Boston Rock Girl" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Coney Island: A Bill Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

There is nothing better than a Michael Jahn Donovan mystery. When I finish one, I'm a little surprised to realize I'm sitting at the beach in Massachusetts and not somewhere in NYC. His characters, his plots, his descriptions all just take me to places I've never been before. And his dialog is just perfect. I've read every one of his novels twice. I'm sure I'll read them again. I can't get enough of this man. And in several books I wonder if he's a little psychic. He creates a NYC mayor who might run for president, and characters from the Middle East before 9/11 who are all too real. He's just an amazing writer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Readable, February 9, 2004

By 

bill runyon (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in Coney Island: A Bill Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

This mystery falls short because it just doesn't quite have
the ability to engage the reader and make us feel part of the investigation. The characters seem a little shallow, and they
aren't quite fleshed out enough to seem real. The reader will
not quite be able to identify with any of them.

The publisher makes much of the fact that this author is a native of NYC, but that is apparent without being reminded.
The writing uses a lot of "inside" references that most readers
will not fully understand, especially when presenting information relating to streets and businesses.

The story's frequent use of incomplete information, that only a
NYC native would get, will makes most readers feel like an outsider.

The basic story here is that a body is found in the basement of
a local store on Coney Island, and the hero, a police captain,
happens to be nearby, and he is able to insert himself into the
investigation and take it over. The man killed inside the little store turns out to be a rich real estate developer, and
no one can figure why he would be in the basement of a small, uninteresting store in the first place, let alone why anyone would want to kill him.

It turns out the guy is cheating on his wife with a young "starlet," so the motives begin to unfold. His real estate speculations have angered many local residents, and
the suspects multiply. Plus, the captain begins to wonder if there is any connection between the present crime and the FBI
shooting of a terrorist suspect nearby a couple weeks earlier.

The plot and story are interesting, and this is readable, but
many readers will find it difficult to really get into these
characters and their story.