Nineteenth Precinct [Mass Market Paperback]

Christopher Newman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 1992

"Tough, gritty suspenseful...Newman is one of the best in the business."
William J. Caunitz
Author of EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE
A ruthless IRA terrorist is loose on the streets of New York City. A C.E.O. and his mistress are killed execution-style. Joe Dante has let the terrorist get away once before. This time, he's going deep undercover and into the crime-infested New York underworld ruled by the merciless Irish mob, the Westies to trab his quarry. With the mob and the terrorists calling the shots, Dante's got to live by their rules...or die by them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An innocent bystander having been killed when he gave chase during a murder investigation, NYPD Detective Lieutenant Joe Dante is forced to publicly turn in his badge and go undercover to locate IRA terrorist Billy Mannion. Mannion may have been the hit man on the double murder at an elegant New York City hotel: high-tech magnate Ralph Kane and engineer Veronica Tierny, Kane's partner in bed and on a research breakthrough that could be worth billions. Dante poses as a construction worker to penetrate the Irish working-class community that might be hiding Mannion. Dante suspects that Mannion might have stole some of Kane's research and had contact with either Kane's widow or his daughter and company sales star--but proving it while going undetected by the Irish mob is tricky and dangerous. Newman ( Midtown North ) gives information away before Dante learns it, which cuts into the suspense somewhat. But the action hums along, with the well-paced emergence of the connection between the murder and possible theft of information, and threats of terrorist acts yet to come keep the pages turning effortlessly.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

"Tough, gritty suspenseful...Newman is one of the best in the business."
William J. Caunitz
Author of EXCEPTIONAL CLEARANCE
A ruthless IRA terrorist is loose on the streets of New York City. A C.E.O. and his mistress are killed execution-style. Joe Dante has let the terrorist get away once before. This time, he's going deep undercover and into the crime-infested New York underworld ruled by the merciless Irish mob, the Westies to trab his quarry. With the mob and the terrorists calling the shots, Dante's got to live by their rules...or die by them.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (February 23, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449147320
• ISBN-13: 978-0449147320
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in San Francisco, California, Christopher Newman was educated in Bay Area Catholic schools, the University of California at Santa Cruz and Birmingham University, England. He traveled overland from Europe across the Asian subcontinent to Singapore alone in his late teens. Before he was 21 he'd worked for a year aboard a tanker plying trade between the Persian Gulf and ports around the Pacific rim. He wrote the first draft of his third published novel, Manana Man, while in residence in Cali, Colombia his senior year in college. At 27, he moved to New York City, working as a trim carpenter for five years in Manhattan before publishing his first Joe Dante novel, Midtown South, in 1985. When that title met with considerable commercial success, his publisher convinced him to turn his protagonist into a series character. Eight more Joe Dante novels followed, all making various national best seller lists. Midtown North, published in 1991, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Chains of Command, left unfinished at the time of best-selling author William Caunitz' death in 1998, was completed by Mr. Newman at the estate's request. It was named a 1999 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Mr. Newman returned to Santa Cruz in 2009, where he currently works as a pioneer in the world of aquaponic fish farming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the lover of crime fiction, this book is a great read., April 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Nineteenth Precinct (Audio Cassette)

Although this is the fifth book in the Detective Joe Dante series, it was the first I had read. And I immediately ran out to find the first four in the series. The story itself is richly plotted, with many twists that tie in together very nicely. Even when I had second guessed a few of the plot twists, the way they rolled off the page was a delight and didn't let me down at all. The book is well paced, and, unlike many books in the genre, doesn't break up the flow of the writing with obscure "cop talk" terms. I can't speak for the "realism" of the inter-departmental politics, but, like much of the book, they just feel right. The real strength of this book is the characters. Not only are they vivid and real, but the way each one is introduced gives us enough insight into their personality, that we immediately feel comfortable with them, even if the comfort is in disliking them. Newman handles dialogue especially well. Unlike some writers who use their characters' words to explain everything, the author effectively blends his with descriptive paragraphs to give the reader the impression they are watching the drama unfold in front of them, instead of in their mind.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling, with good character studies, December 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Nineteenth Precinct (Mass Market Paperback)

There may be a lot of implausible issues in this narrative, especially with the death of the Courtney Poole character, but the in-depth characterizations of Dante, Mannion, Siobhan, and even less primary characters such as McNulty and the construction crew made the combination compelling! It was hard to put down!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 19th Precinct - A Must Read!, February 9, 2011

By 

Tim the Deac - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nineteenth Precinct (Audio Cassette)

Christopher Newman does a wonderful job bringing a ruthless IRA terrorist to life in the streets of New York. He gives great insight as to the workings of the Irish Mob, "The Westies." The novel is a quick, exciting, "can't put it down" read. The characters come to life in this tough, gritty, action-packed "New York Cop Thriller!" Great plot; highly recommended!