Saving Room for Dessert

I've read every single one of 'em, all of Constantine's work, been following him all these years. I have to admit I miss Balzic and his wife, Marie. Rugs Carlucci succeeded Balzic as Rocksburg's Chief of Police, and those books were just as good. But those scenes with Mario and Mo Valcanas trading truths at Dom's - hard to beat. Saving Room for Dessert somehow does it, it's the best to date. Somehow Constantine brings characters who were buried in the background all these years into the lead roles, and it's a fresh new look at the seemingly drab and monotonous life of Rocksburg, PA. How Constantine does it is simple - he's simply a masterful writer who has a keen ear for dialogue and is spot-on when it comes to understanding the human condition. I'm not sure how this book reads not knowing about Rocksburg, or Balzic, Rugs, Valcanas, or any of these wonderful characters. My guess is that great writing is great writing, and Saving Room for Desset is the best of all. Steve Alpert

I admit that I'm a long-time fan of KC Constantine's Rocksburg novels. Saving Room for Dessert is a continuation of Constantine's usual strengths: pitch-perfect dialogue, REAL characters, indelible sense of time and place, subtle social commentary, etc. If you're looking for a police procedural in the vein of, say, Ed McBain or Wambaugh (both of whom are outstanding), you'll probably be disappointed. However, Constantine's work truly transcends the genre, and Saving Room is as wonderful as the rest of the Rocksburg novels.

In a small town in Pennsylvania there is a small-town police department serving a small-town population. The main figure is Sargent William Milton Rayford, the only person of color within sight. We have James Resata, who went through his year in Viet Nam the hard way, and the gigantic Robert "Booboo" Canoza.The play within the town of Rocksburg is also limited mostly to three neighboring families who are at each other throats almost daily. Once it is dog poop smeared on the neighbors door knob. Then it is threatening the neighbor with a knife.The war in Nam is described in chilling detail. The neighborhood fights, however, develop into satire. That does not mean that they are not dangerous. But it means that the police officers have to summon all the accumulated wisdom of their many years on the force to keep the situations from exploding.Mr. Constantine has everything under control.He gives us a picture - sometimes funny, and then brutally direct - of the cosmos of life in a small town. He has written a wonderful book that celebrates the simple cop on the beat.To serve and protect - and they live by it.

In Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, no police officer likes working the Flats, a dangerous part of the city that can go from a quiet neighborhood into a war zone in nanoseconds. Things may seem serene for the moment, but any veteran cop knows that in the Flats a moment is all it takes to get killed.Working the Flats this evening are the Rocksburg Police Department's only African-American William Rayford, giant Robert "BooBoo" Canoza, and Nam vet James Reseta. Each has personal problems they bring to the job, but all three dedicated men know they must not allow their troubles to interfere with the beat if they want to live another day. Quickly the three officers are going to learn first hand how the Flats is different from any other neighborhood in town because the incident seems trivial, but the aftermath explosion proves dangerous and life threatening.Once series fans understand that Mario is not making a comeback and Rugs is not the headliner, the readers will quickly comprehend that SAVING ROOM FOR DESSERT is a gourmet feast for the police procedural crowd. The story line follows the three officers on routine patrols that turns nasty. The story line focuses more on the trio than on what they face as each has their moment of introspection involving their personal woes as much as their professional troubles. K.C. Constantine changes direction with this tale in which the crime activity is interesting, but the up front look at the three stars is fascinating and fabulous.Harriet Klausner