One Police Plaza [Hardcover]

William J. Caunitz (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Crown (1995)
• ASIN: B0010H4UQ2
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest police procedural ever written. Gritty!, September 24, 2000

By 

Mary Carol Scherb (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Police Plaza (Hardcover)

The drab, dangerous and often funny details of police work give One Police Plaza a hard-boiled realism. Caunitz shows how government hacks, Mafiosi, reporters, spies and even New York's Catholic Diocese are linked to the cops and each other by a system of favors Malone's manipulation of his superiors and his relentless dedication give this novel the page-turning pull we expect from a good thriller. Its special strength is its carefully exacting depiction of what the working life of a big city police department really is like. With the same bold clarity that served him as a New York City police detective, first-novelist Caunitz delivers a powerful tale of murder and espionage. . . Caunitz expertly depicts the stark reality of the police officer's life and work, and his hard-edged prose drives the story to a stunning conclusion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thriller with an authentic feel to it., January 27, 1999

By 

David Lucas - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Police Plaza (Paperback)

When the body of Sara Eisinger, travel agent is found, it is just another homicide for Detective Lieutenant Dan Malone and his detectives. Then a few of her possessions are checked and things don't add up. A key that gives access to an exclusive sex club. Two phone numbers that are unlisted CIA. Definitely not your typical travel agent.

These cause Malone and his team to become embroiled in a mystery involving the NYPD, CIA and Mossad. His bosses try to stop the investigation from proceeding but it's already too late and the action carries on until the inevitable violent conclusion in Brooklyn.

Overall this book is a good read. As the author is a retired Detective Lieutenant of the NYPD, you can't help wonder how much of Dan Malone is based around William J. Caunitz. As would be expected, the routine police work is detailed and is interspersed well with some of the action sequences.

This is the authors first book, which is maybe why everything is oriented around the main character, whom just happens to be something that the author once was. Not that this is a negative point, the story line works well and although the main story-line itself is not too plausible, IMO, the way that it is constructed has given the book a feeling of authenticity that someone without the authors background would maybe not have been able to do.

David Lucas ([e-mail]).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Police Procedural, November 2, 2007

By 

Christopher Gwyn (over there) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Police Plaza (Hardcover)

This book was great. It felt like I was reading about 3 dimensional characters, not stereotypical cops. An excellent plot that unfolds a little at a time. I would have to say that author CAUNITZ owes a great deal to the late, great ED McBAIN. For a first novel, CAUNITZ delivers a polished product and succeeds on many different levels. I have never been a police detective so I would not really know the authenticity of their dialogue but these detectives talk like real people. All in all a great book and I am glad I picked it up at the library and am looking forward to reading more from this author.