Partners: A Novel of Crime (Otto Penzler Books) [Hardcover]

David Cray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Otto Penzler Books | Publication Date: December 30, 2003

On July 8 Jorge "Finito" Rakowski is released from the Otus Bantam Correctional Center on Rikers Island, where he has served ninety days for Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree; he's a thief. Nine months, thirteen victims, and several Latino aliases later, the handsome, sandy-haired Finito, whose magnetism only begins in his penetrating green eyes, has with deadly invention raised his criminal stakes. He has become a serial killer. In this gripping, new police procedural, the enthusiastically reviewed David Cray again lays bare the ambitions and betrayals among New York City's police detectives at the same time that he explores the darker side of the criminal mind. For NYPD's Belinda Moore—confident, cool, professional, black—and her dogged, promotion-hungry partner, Pudge Pedersson, find themselves not only baffled as to the identity of the notorious, slippery, and increasingly desperate Break-In Killer, but also battling, and defying, their superiors in the police bureaucracy. More and more, Belinda and Pedersson realize they can't crack the case and play by the book. What they don't realize is where the case—and a perp who's on to them—is dangerously, maybe even fatally, taking them.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

NYPD detectives Belinda Moore and Pudge Pedersson are partners with decidedly differents agendas. She wants to retire soon with a good pension, and Pudge wants to get promoted. Both are good detectives, a quality that becomes obvious when they pull two seemingly disparate killings: a female street hooker and an upper-middle-class businesswoman. Their concerns of a serial killer fall on politically sensitized ears, but as the bodies continue to accumulate, Moore and Pedersson's superiors grudgingly form a task force. As the case progresses, so does the killer's depravity and cunning. Inflicting death is like no drug he's ever known; he'll either keep killing or die trying. Cray, a pseudonym for a "well-known mystery writer," will draw comparisons to Ed McBain. He has a similar sense of the street cop's ceaseless conflict between home and profession as well as the struggle to do a job well in a highly politicized environment. An outstanding procedural, both for its chilling portrayal of the killer's dementia and for its prickly view of a bureaucracy's painfully slow attempt to contend with it. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; First edition. edition (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786712929
• ISBN-13: 978-0786712922
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,900,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insider's View of Crime, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Partners: A Novel of Crime (Otto Penzler Books) (Hardcover)

This tight, dark, authentic police procedural matches two very human detectives with a worthy opponent, a serial killer who is so creepy yet believable that you won't stop reading until he's been caught. A terrific insider's view of NYC, police work and the criminal mind.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two detectives go after a serial killer., January 12, 2004

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Partners: A Novel of Crime (Otto Penzler Books) (Hardcover)

David Cray's new police procedural, "Partners," is a gritty look at how a petty criminal becomes a cruel predator. Twenty-seven year old Jorge "Finito" Rakowski is a small-time hood blessed with startling good looks but little else. Recently released from Rikers, with a long rap sheet, no education, and no job prospects, Finito relies mostly on theft to keep him afloat financially. Finito soon discovers, much to his surprise, that he derives enormous satisfaction from killing women.

New York City police detecives Belinda Moore and Pudge Pedersson are partners. As friends, they discuss their hopes, fears, and disappointments, and as professionals, they work well together. Pudge and Belinda are convinced that one man is behind the murders of quite a few young women in recent months. Their bosses do not agree with this theory, and they make Moore's and Pedersson's lives increasingly difficult. However, Belinda and Pudge are old-fashioned cops who care about the victims, and they are determined to catch the killer any way they can.

Cray has done an excellent job of getting inside the minds of both a serial killer and the detectives who seek to bring him down. We get to know Finito Rakowski, who is equal parts con artist, immature little boy, and sociopath. We also become well acquainted with the two detectives, Moore and Pedersson, who have the same irritating personal problems that everyone else has, but who are focused on getting results when they are on the job.

Cray's writing is smooth and occasionally darkly humorous, his plotting is fast-paced and exciting, and his depiction of police procedure is authentic and engrossing. I highly recommend "Partners" for an inside look at the grim world of two homicide detectives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anatomy of a serial killer, May 7, 2004

By 

Sherrie Martin "sherchez" (Roanoke, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Partners: A Novel of Crime (Otto Penzler Books) (Hardcover)

This novel follows the evolution of a serial killer. The first murder is almost happenstance. The killer, however, quickly realizes that he has a taste for blood and sets out to refine his methodology. It is horrifying to watch the handsome Finito Rakowski hone his "skills" and choose his victims.

At the same time, police partners Belinda Moore and Pudge Pedersson must refine their investigatory skills and flout the rules to catch this guy before he claims another victim.

While we know "who" done it, the suspense level is terrific as the beleaguered cops try to run him to ground. It's a real page-turner and a "must read" for mystery/suspense aficionados.