CRIME

Saints of New York

By R. J. Ellory, Hachette, $25

.. .. .. .. .. .. Saints of New York builds steadily but isn’t really a page turner. In Detective Frank Parrish we’re deep inside the NYPD as his career is often overshadowed by that of his late father who, on the surface at least, achieved sainthood status in the New York force.

Frank knows better than the reputation that echoes through the watch houses. Frank knows first hand, as well as anecdotally that his father John was a corrupt cop, and also a second rate father. His job is to find the perpetrators of a drugs cartel which is claiming a growing litany of lives on his patch, his teenage sister included. His own life is a mess but he is determined to honestly serve his shield, pretty much as a reaction to the continuing revelations he learns about his father.

This isn’t a fast read book, but it’s satisfyingly okay. — Tony Nielsen