Bad to the Bone

Stanley Moodrow #4

by Stephen Solomita

Known for his anti-drug crusades and his founding of Hanover House, a haven for the human refuse of the city, Davis Craddock leads a double life, enslaving his followers through fear, sexual perversion, murder, and drugs. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Stephen Solomita (b. 1943) is a prolific author of thrillers. Born in Bayside, Queens, he worked as a cab driver before becoming a novelist in the late 1980s. His first novel, A Twist of the Knife (1988), won acclaim for its intimate depiction of New York’s rough patches, its gritty style, and its dark vision of urban terrorism. This debut introduced Stanley Moodrow, a disaffected New York Police Department detective. Solomita wrote six more novels starring Moodrow, moving the character into a PI practice, and concluded the series with Damaged Goods (1996).

Solomita continued writing in the same hard-boiled style, producing tough, standalone novels such as Mercy Killing (2009) and Angel Face (2011). Under the pseudonym David Cray, he writes gentler thrillers such as Dead Is Forever (2004), a traditional mystery in the mode of Ellery Queen. His most recent novel is Dancer in the Flames (2012). Solomita continues to live and write in New York City.

aka David Cray.

Reviews

[Susan Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one that has been on my shelf forever. I've never read anything of his before and now I have no idea why. This one is excellent! PI Stanley Moodrow still hasn't quite reconciled his life as a private investigator - in his mind, he's still a New York City cop. So, when an obnoxious woman hires him to find out what happened to her daughter who is now in an irreversible coma, he dogs it as if he was still on the force. It doesn't take him long to find the cult that the daughter had joined and to focus on its very creepy leader. It turns out to be far more difficult, however, to figure out the cult leader's deal and how to nail him. The plot is excellent and the characters are very credible. I'm off now to find his earlier works.

[Robert Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have rated 2.5 stars and pondered a bit before rounding up to 3 rather than down to 2. It isn't a bad book, but I think the three previous in the series were a good bit better. I will certainly give this author another shot.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good but a little drawn out.