Joe Keough Series by Robert J. Randisi
Joe Keough #1
Alone with the Dead
Robert J. Randisi
A brutal serial killer stalks young women in New York
City as Joe Keough, a detective with nothing to lose, challenges the system to
get to the truth-and risks failure that could leave the city in the grip of
fear.
***
From Publishers Weekly
Moving his readers along at a breathless pace (and
keeping them one step ahead of the boys in blue), Randisi renders the mad
ramblings of a pathetic young man who follows a series of sexual murders in the
New York City tabloids and determines to copy, and finally to surpass, the
murderer's work. For a number of sinister reasons, detective Joe Keough's
superiors are determined to pin all the killings on the man the papers call "the
Lover." But Keough isn't convinced: the earlier killings occurred in Manhattan
and the later ones in Brooklyn, a change of venue that matches subtle
alterations in MO. Keough has a reputation for trouble, but so do a few of his
superiors-and they hold the face cards. Randisi power-shifts this work from the
start, slowing only to provide procedural detail before resuming speed, even on
the brave narrative detour in which the Lover, concerned about his reputation,
makes phone contact with Keough. As one killer comes to the surface, the other's
rage intensifies. This is top-notch suspense, right from the chilling prologue
to the brutal conclusion.
***
From Booklist
The Lover is terrorizing New York City. He strangles and
rapes women, and he leaves a rose protruding from their lifeless bodies.
Lieutenant Joe Keogh, a renegade cop banished to Brooklyn, believes there are
two Lovers out there, but when he tries to advance his theory, he's summarily
ignored. A politically connected Lover Task Force is closing in on the killer
and doesn't want to hear Keogh's strident cries of "copycat." The reader knows
the truth because Randisi inserts brief chapters presenting the points of view
of both killers, who soon come to resent sharing the limelight and plot to
eliminate each other. Meanwhile, Keogh, with the help of crime reporter Mike
O'Donnell, tries to convince an unyielding bureaucracy that it should be looking
for two killers. This is an entertaining, well-written crime novel that stands
out on the basis of its shifting points of view, sharp dialogue, humor, and
bang-up conclusion.
***
"Forget comparing him with Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh.
From now on Robert J. Randisi is the yardstick against which all books of this
type must be measured."
-Loren D. Estleman, author of Edsel
"I've been telling people for years that Bob Randisi will
someday be a name to reckon with. Alone With the Dead marks that day.
Randisi has arrived!"
-Ed Gorman, author of Black River
Falls
"Randisi deftly creates characters, gets the reader
hooked by the third paragraph, and fashions a plot that encourages readers this
highly recommended book in one sitting."
-The Armchair Detective
"Bob Randisi keeps on getting better. This one's a
piplean, tough-minded and right on target."
-Lawrence Block, author of Eight Million Ways to
Die
"This is a major step forward in a career that's been
paid too little attention. Randisi is now a contender."
-Mystery Scene
"Alone With the Dead is tough, gritty and
grippingly realistic. Randisi knows which button to press-and how to press them.
This one hits hard and on target."
-John Lutz, author of Single White
Female
"Robert J. Randisi successfully combines dry humor and
suspense to come up with one heckuva read.
-Rave Reviews
"Brooklyn is one of America's most famous regions, and
Randisi is one of its best chroniclers."
-Rocky Mountain News
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Joe Keough #2
In the Shadow of the Arch
Robert J. Randisi
Joe Keough, formerly a New York City police detective,
has moved to St. Louis to get away from the mayhem of the Big Apple and start
over. Transferred from the energized streets of his hometown of Brooklyn, Keough
is expecting anything but the twisted trail of abductions and murders that await
him. He barely has time to acclimate himself to his new home and job before two
cases capture his attention, his imagination, and-in the case of a little
boy-his heart.
Five minutes into Detective Keough's new life,
four-year-old Brady Sanders walks into his St. Louis police station, leaving
behind a trail of bloody footprints. So begins a riveting tale of murder and
mystery, from Brady's missing parents and their blood-soaked house, to the
kidnapping of beautiful mothers and their small children.
Are these events a series of unrelated coincidences, or
is there a serial killer on the loose, stalking and killing the citizens of St.
Louis?
Keough is forced to realize that life and crime in the
Midwest is no different from life and crime New York. Death is death, no matter
where you live.
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