Twenty-three Shades of Black [Paperback]

K. J. A. Wishnia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

NYPD cop Filomena Buscarsela has pretty much seen it all in her five years on the force. But after she recognizes the victim of a fatal toxic leak, which occurs outside her jurisdiction, her instincts tell her that something is not what it seems to be. From her run-down Bronx apartment to the way-out clubs of the Lower East Side, Filomena's investigation leads her to suspect that a group of high-powered corporate executives has turned to murder as a way to protect its bottom line.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451197488
• ISBN-13: 978-0451197481
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air in the female detective genre., January 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twenty-three Shades of Black (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great change of pace after reading books by Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, etc. The main character's is tough and knows how to hold her own with the male Police officers.

This is a great read after reading a lot of (although enjoyable) "formula" books. Her world is not pretty and she exhibits many of the character flaws of someone constantly dealing with the "scum of the earth", as well as the pressures of being a minority in a man's world. Her toughness reminds me of the first time I read V.I. Warshawski.

I liked the grittyness and unexpected references to world events and history. I can't wait to read the next book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Character, Nice Details, Flat Ending, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Twenty-three Shades of Black (Paperback)

Filomena Buscarsela is an interesting protagonist, one of themore convincing female characters created by a male author that I'verecently read. Intriguing tidbits about her Central American homelandare inserted throughout the story, along with a critical dissection of the political, musical, artistic and social trends in the early 80's, when the story takes place.

The plot itself is fairly convoluted, and while Mr. Wishnia excels in dialogue, scene descriptions and the protagonist's wry fourth-wall commentary, I found the rambling storyline hard to follow after a while. The subplots (especially Filomena's stint with the INS and her relationship with her French lover) were often more interesting than the main plot, but many of them were left hanging, unresolved, as the story progressed.

Finally, the dots are connected in the last few chapters with lightning speed, with that "uh-oh, better wind this up in a hurry" je-ne-sais-quoi that plagues many otherwise enjoyable books...The ending really fell flat for me. END

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine, gritty cop novel, October 4, 2006

By 

Ed Lynskey, "author of ASK THE DICE and THE Z... (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 23 SHADES OF BLACK (Hardcover)

This title involves an American-Ecuador police officer in

NYC named Filomena Buscarsela. My reading experience is Fil grows on

you as a character. She's a tough, tenacious, and independent lady who

aspires to become a detective. There's enough police work given here

to make this a semi-procedural. Fil's unsettled past in Ecuador is

given via her long, frequent musings. The pace picks up near the end

with a satisfying climax. I'll read more in the series to follow her

interesting character development.