Skells (Midtown Blue Series, Book 3) [Paperback]

F. P. Lione (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

The NYPD has a name for the perps who live on the streets. They are called skells, people who cause trouble for cops trying to keep the peace. Night after night of run-ins with the skells takes its toll on NYPD cop Tony Cavalucci, who's just trying to see them as people who need compassion. But with his co-workers mocking his newfound caring attitude, Tony is finding it hard to keep up with a job that too often drags him down. Meanwhile, Tony finds little solace from his family, which is at war with itself, creating wounds that will be hard to heal. Seeing the mess his family has become, Tony's determined not to make the same mistakes. But after he learns of events from his father's past, will Tony change his perspective? Book 3 in the Midtown Blue series, Skells combines grit with an unexpectedly engaging vulnerability to make this story of a rugged cop a captivating read.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

There's no Easy Street in Midtown Manhattan. The NYPD has a name for the perps who live on the streets. They're called skells, people who cause trouble for cops trying to keep the peace. And night after night of run-ins with skells is taking its toll on officer Tony Cavalucci. He's trying to see them as people needing compassion, but without the support of most of the force, Tony's finding it hard to keep up with a job that's dragging him down. Even his family seems against him. Hating the person he's becoming and blaming the people who turned him around are now favorite pastimes of the feuding Cavalucci family. With the support of his partner, Joe Fiore, and his fiancée, Michele, Tony's trying to rise above family history and make a good life for himself. But will a dark family secret change his perspective? Raw, honest, and written with a cop's eye for detail, Skells vividly highlights the real world of life on the beat. Native New Yorker F. P. Lione is a veteran of the NYPD and a child of NYPD detectives.

About the Author

F. P. Lione is actually two people-a married couple by the name of Frank and Pam Lione. They are both Italian-American and the offspring of NYPD detectives. Frank Lione is a veteran of the NYPD, and Pam is a stay-at-home mom for their two sons. They divide their time between New York, New York, and Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, in the Poconos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Revell (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800759621
• ISBN-13: 978-0800759629
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,621,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic portrayal of an NYPD cop learning to walk with Christ, July 11, 2006

By 

Sheryl Root (Pompano Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skells (Midtown Blue Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

"Skells" is the third book in the Midtown Blues series written by husband and wife team F.P. Lione. It continues the story of Tony Cavalucci, 11 year veteran of the NYPD and recent convert to Christ.

The title comes from the term NYPD cops use for the addicts, homeless, prostitutes and others who live on the streets and cause them problems. It's easy for Tony and the other officer's hearts to become hardened to them. But now Tony, through the example of his partner, Joe Fiore, is learning to see each person through the eyes of Christ as the lost and wounded souls they really are.

Tony and Joe run into some colorful characters, as well as tragic situations, during their patrols. But what makes the series so compelling is not the external conflict they face as police officers. Instead, it is the internal conflict Tony faces as a new believer in Christ. He is finding every belief he previously took for granted challenged by his new faith. Many writers might gloss over these challenges by using clichés or having Tony become an "instant" Christian, but not the Lione's. They have handled every aspect of Tony's walk of faith--from the path that led to his decision to follow Christ in "The Deuce" through the gradual changes God has made in Tony's thoughts and actions through "The Crossroads" and "Skells"--with authenticity and realism.

I am hoping there will be additional books in the Midtown Blues series. "Skells" ends in May 2001, just a few months before the tragic events of September 11. There seems to be some foreshadowing (such as rookie cop Nick Romano, whom Tony and Joe had befriended, transferring to the fire department) that suggests we might get to see how the events at the World Trade Center affect Tony and Joe. I, for one, certainly hope so.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw, honest portrayal of a New York City cop, June 13, 2006

By 

C.J. Darlington "Author of Thicker Than Blood... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skells (Midtown Blue Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

Most NYPD cops think skells are the scum of the earth. They're the crackheads, homeless, prostitutes, and other lowlifes who can make an officer's job a nightmare. Eleven-year veteran Tony Cavalucci's midnight tour is full of skells. He used to consider them discarded trash worth no one's time. But lately the skells seem different to Tony--they look lost and wounded.

But the beat goes on. Trouble is always brewing in Midtown Manhattan, and Tony and his partner Joe Fiore confront it all. From the man who accidentally blows himself off the toilet (yes, you read that right), to the discovery of a loft packed with hundreds of marijuana plants, this ain't no nine-to-five desk job. Sure, there are days nothing happens. Those will be the days Tony's dysfunctional Italian family will provide enough drama to match what the streets throw his way. Has his family always been like this, or is he seeing them differently too? Tony's definitely changed in the last few months. He's stopped drinking, goes to church, and is engaged to a nice Christian girl.

There are some days Tony still longs to head on down to his old bar haunts and pound down a few cold ones. But he always stops short. What God thinks matters to him now. Yet whether on patrol or visiting his family, temptations abound. Is it really possible to be a good cop and a Christian?

Skells is not necessarily a plot-driven story. In many ways, reading it is more like reading the memoirs of a cop than reading a novel (think Blue Blood by Edward Conlon without all the family history). This speaks volumes for the realism Frank and Pam Lione (writing as F.P.) manage to convey through its pages. It's like you're tagging along in the backseat of Tony's cruiser. You can almost feel the dirt grinding under your shoes, the adrenaline pulsing through your veins. As Book #3 in the "Midtown Blue" series, Skells was preceded by The Deuce and The Crossroads. It isn't required to read them first, but they cover Tony's life consecutively and will bring a deeper understanding of the characters.

This isn't your grandma's Christian fiction (unless she happens to be an ex-cop). There's definitely some real-life grittiness here. People get drunk. People die. Tony and his partner stop a rape in progress. But through it all there's always hope. The Lione's don't drag you through the dirt of a cop's life without picking you up, dusting you off, and sharing the truth: Everyone needs God. The skells and the cops.

Fiction needs more of what F.P. Lione offers. Refreshingly honest, Skells is the raw portrayal of a NYPD cop's struggle to live out his faith through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for Infuze magazine

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The third, and best installment in the Mystery Blue series, July 10, 2006

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skells (Midtown Blue Series, Book 3) (Paperback)

In their third installment of the Midtown Blue series and their best book to date, the husband and wife team of F. P. Lione (Frank and Pam) offer an absorbing look at the New York Police Department while continuing the story of Tony Cavalucci and his new walk of faith.

Cavalucci, a recovering alcoholic, is still on the wagon, although his dysfunctional family and the party-hard group of cops he works with make it difficult. He and his fiancée, Michele, are building a new house together and trying to work out the snags in their relationship before the wedding. Michele and Tony are waiting to have sex until they tie the knot, but Tony is impatient and turns on the pressure. However, Michele is a single mother who knows the price of impatience. Their relationship is well-developed by the Liones in this installment.

But most of the book is devoted to Tony's life on the job. His time with his partner, the scripture-quoting Joe Fiore, is slowly changing Tony for the better, and he's on a more even keel --- spiritually, emotionally and physically. (When he first met Joe, Tony had been "flirting with the idea of eating my gun.") But Cavalucci's hard-drinking Italian family sees Joe as a threat; he's the reason Tony is going to a different church, is marrying a woman they don't approve of (a single mom with a young son), and has quit drinking. His father's venomous second wife seems poised to wreak new havoc on the family, and Tony is concerned about his sister Denise dating a police officer Tony knows only too well.

As Tony tries to get along with his family and seeks to understand what his father's problems are, he discovers a secret from his father's past that helps him understand what has made him the difficult man he is today. He also battles his grandmother's superstitions, which the Liones flesh out with some nice details.

The "skells" of New York City --- the drug addicts, bag ladies, prostitutes, the homeless --- keep Tony and his department busy in this installment. Cavalucci used to look at them as the dregs of society, but recently "they just look lost and wounded to me." Part of this is Joe's influence; Joe tells him, "If you get down deeper into a person, you'll see there's a reason...Nobody wants to be a drunk or a crackhead --- they're struggling, just like you were struggling."

There are some memorable encounters, including a fairly violent rape scene and a domestic abuse situation, as well as some unusual offbeat calls that are by turns funny and sad. The Liones show how police officers are always just a step away from a lawsuit, even when they are only trying to come to the assistance of someone in trouble.

If you haven't read the first and second books in the series, THE DEUCE and THE CROSSROADS, you'll want to go back and read them in order. Although the first two are highly enjoyable, SKELLS is the Liones at their best. They've smoothed out some of the rough spots in the first two novels and strike just the right balance of faith and the gritty work of Manhattan's finest police officers. There's plenty of character development, mouth-watering food details, and interesting inside information on law enforcement to keep the pages turning. Fans of the series will not be disappointed.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby. Contact Cindy at [e-mail].