Murder on Coney Island

There is nothing better than a Michael Jahn Donovan mystery. When I finish one, I'm a little surprised to realize I'm sitting at the beach in Massachusetts and not somewhere in NYC. His characters, his plots, his descriptions all just take me to places I've never been before. And his dialog is just perfect. I've read every one of his novels twice. I'm sure I'll read them again. I can't get enough of this man. And in several books I wonder if he's a little psychic. He creates a NYC mayor who might run for president, and characters from the Middle East before 9/11 who are all too real. He's just an amazing writer.

Maybe if I started at the beginning and read all the Donovan books I'd accept some of the things that, having read only this one, seem a little too good to be true. For instance, that his wife is studying for the bar while being a black belt in Karote and raising a three-year-old disabled child. And that Donovan is the perfect dad and husband. I also thought most of what the three-year-old son did and said was more appropriate for a very smart five-year-old. (I have a four-year-old, highly verbal grandson, so I know whereof I speak.) Anyhow, I liked the plot, the NY/Brooklyn color, the relationship between Donovan and his partner Mosko, although again, Mosko was a bit larger than life and a bit too good to be true. Oh well, I read this for fun and fun it was.

It is nine months since the tragic events of September 11th and Captain Bill Donovan, head of Special Investigations, is depressed, because he isn't part of the World Trade Center investigation. To cheer him up, his wife Marcy arranges a family outing at Coney Island that includes their three-year-old son Daniel. While waiting on a line at Nathan's to buy a "world famous", he hears police sirens and decides to go to the nearby crime scene.Business mogul James Victor is found murdered in the basement of a candy store and the owner has no idea how he got there or why he would even be in the basement. The storeowner was suing the victim who wanted to tear down the block and build an expensive housing resort. Donovan doesn't really suspect him because everything is too pat and there are plenty of other suspects who wanted the man dead. Imagine Donovan's surprise when the killing is tied to the September 11th attack, and the captain is able to contribute to the bigger inquiry while trying to nab the killer.Every time Michael Jahn writes a police procedural starring Captain Bill Donovan it turns out to be an exciting page-turner and MURDER ON CONEY ISLAND is no exception. The author humanizes the protagonist by escorting the audience into his personal life and showing how the World Trade Center disaster hurt him personally and makes him want to be a part of the war on terrorism. The interesting twists that the plot takes will keep readers interested to the point that they finish this electrifying novel in one sitting.Harriet Klausner