Rizzo's War

Joe Rizzo, a veteran of the NYPD, passes on the knowledge of his years of experience to his ambitious new partner, Mike McQueen, over a year of riding together as detectives in the Sixty-second Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. His refrain: 'There is no right. There is no wrong. There just is.'





Whatever case they're facing, whether a street robbery or a murderous assault, Rizzo's saying always seems to bear out.





When the two detectives are given the delicate task of tracking down the runaway daughter of a city councilman, who may or may not be more interested in something his daughter has taken with her than in her safety, the situation is much more complex, and potentially much more dangerous, than it first appears.



Lou Manfredo served in the Brooklyn criminal justice system for twenty-five years. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Brooklyn Noir. This is his first novel. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now lives in New Jersey with his wife.



As a depiction of the Byzantine, politicized existence of a working American police department, Rizzo's War stands as a valuable primer.



As stark and true as David Simon's faultless depiction of the Baltimore PD in The Wire...



Brooklyn, as the portrayal in Manfredo's excellent debut makes clear, is a different world. Rizzo's War is a police procedural of more than usual intelligence.



Riveting... dealing with every aspect of American policing from dirty politics to the intricate hierarchy of biker gangs.



Rizzo's War is exceptional. Most urban crime novels do not tell it like it is. But this is a bold adventure... a terrific debut and Lou Manfredo is a writer to watch.