Polo anyone? [Hardcover]

Jerry Kennealy (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: St. Martins (1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312912749
• ISBN-13: 978-0312912741
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,756,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a native San Franciscan - a rare breed nowadays; a former policeman, fireman, licensed private investigator for more than twenty years, and past Vice President of the Private Eye Writers of America.
Married to Shirley, the love of my life, also a San Francisco native, we have two sons: Frank and Steve, and a grandson, Jake.
When I was struggling to get my first mansucript finished, a friendly, established author encourged me, saying that my background should be helpful, and then he gave me this piece of advice: "Write what you know, and fake the rest."
I've been writing ever since. My first books were all first person private eye adventures, including ten in the Nick Polo series, and most of the action took place in San Francisco.
The following eight thrillers moved around from London, to Madrid, Russia, etc., but usually had a scene or two in San Francisco (write what you know).
Now I'm back in the city with a new series, stating with JIGSAW, featureing an offbeat hero, Mr. Carroll Quint, and entertainment editor for the San Francisco Bulletin.
I'm presently working on STILL SHOT, the second in the Carroll Quint series.
Thanks for reading about me here, and I hope you enjoy my novels.

Jerry Kennealy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars back to basics, June 21, 2001

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polo Anyone? (Hardcover)

One of the helpful things about the way in which modern authors have experimented with the private eye genre is that their various innovations and deconstructions have only served to demonstrate how nearly perfect is the original form. In the end, we keep coming back, and I hope always will, to the lone wolf tough guy--no girlfriend, no wife, no boyfriend, no hulking and conveniently amoral sidekick to do the dirty work, no supernatural cases, no gimmicks of any kind.

Within the select group that is still writing these throwback series, there are a few who really stand out. Loren D. Estleman (author of the Amos Walker series) is pretty much in a league of his own. Then, in the next tier, you've got Jonathan Valin (Harry Stoner), Peter Corris (Cliff Hardy), and a couple more, including Jerry Kennealy and his hero, Nick Polo.

In Polo Anyone ?, the second entry in the series, ex-cop, ex-jailbird, San Francisco private eye, Nick Polo, is hired to expose a suspected card sharp in a local businessmen's regular poker game. This proves fairly easy, but he soon finds himself embroiled in a case of industrial espionage, featuring hostile cops, a seedy fellow private eye, a femme fatale or two, and a rapidly mounting body count. It's all entirely conventional, and I mean that in the very best sense of the word.

GRADE : B+