Coney Island Avenue

Coney Island Avenue begins with a man, evidently being followed, handing a small package to a busboy in a New York restaurant and slipping out through the back door only to run straight into his pursuer and his death. The rest of the story, the reader assumes, will set out what lies behind this tantalizing opening and, initially, this is what happens. Unfortunately, the telling gets bogged down in accounts of other cases being handled by the 61st Precinct — among others, an attempted suicide, a shooting, and the murder of two teenaged girls. Events in the private lives of the precinct’s detectives (alcoholism, heart attack, infant’s sickness) are also thrown into the mix, making it increasingly clear that this is not a straightforward police procedural but rather a portrayal of the professional and personal experiences of this department’s officers. The author’s heavy reliance on short, staccato sentences and quick scene changes, presumably intended to lend vibrancy to events, at times leave the reader perplexed, while the frequent use of clever one-liners adds a welcome dose of humor. All in all, this book is likely to appeal most to those interested in peering into the world of New York’s finest.