Angel of Death

This first novel by Joseph Bruno is set in New York City in the 1980swhen the crime rate was at an all-time high and the crack epidemic wasrunning rampant. Against this background, Detective Bill Kelly islooking for a serial killer who is specifically targeting drugdealers.This is a fast and easy read with a variety of stockcharacters that readers will find familiar. In addition tohard-drinking cops, priests, corrupt officials and drug addicts, thereare the really bad guys whose acts of violence made me wince.Ifound myself caught up in the story as it moved along, reading quicklyto see what would happen next. The reader knows who the killer isearly on but it is interesting to see how he will be caught as thetension mounts.I do wish that the book had been edited better; Ifound the typos distracting. And it even made a difference in myunderstanding of the plot.Police procedural fans might enjoy thisbook. And Mr. Bruno is certainly an author to watch as he developshis craft.

I know Mr. Bruno's writings from his boxing columns .... His boxing columns are always caustic and quite funny. In Angel of Death, Mr. Bruno writes about a serial killer loose in New York City. This killer is unique in the fact that the victims are all drug dealers. Bill Kelly, the detective in charge of finding the killer, has a daughter whoÕs a drug addict and the implication here is that Detective Kelly may not try too hard to find the killer after all. That is, if Kelly isnÕt the killer serial himself. The brilliant cast of characters range from KellyÕs mentor, Catholic priest Father OÕBrien, a crusty old coot for sure, to NY City Police Commissioner Abraham Williams, a man obsessed with becoming the next mayor. The bad guy drug dealers may be the most interesting characters in the book. They including Willie Boy Walker, a stone killer from the island of Jamaica, to Lily Tang, a bisexual Asian beauty with a heart of stone. I highly recommend this book to mystery lovers, and the laughs Mr. Bruno injects throughout the book in no way takes away from the horror and the suspense.