Force of Nature

Stanley Moodrow #2

by Stephen Solomita

Long-time New York City police detective Stanley Moodrow "selects" a suitable partner to succeed him as he nears retirement. He and Jim Tilley, only 27 and an ex-boxer, search their precinct for crack-crazy Levander "Kubla Khan" Greenwood, inveterate drug dealer, wife-abuser, thief, and cop-killer. As the two proceed, Moodrow teaches Tilley how he operates so successfully, Tilley falls for Greenwood's beautiful wife, and the intricate plan to trap Greenwood evolves.

Genres: Thriller

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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

[Robert Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first time reading this author, and I was well pleased. The characters were believable, and the story proceeded at a nice pace. I looked forward to the times I could read. Not sure how I managed to do it, but I read this, his second book, before I read his first book. Now I'm reading his first book.

[Mya R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Force of Nature is the 2nd book in a series. I didn't enjoy the first title in the series (A Twist of the Knife) and I finished it largely out of a sense of duty. However, since Twist was the author's first book, and authors do grow & change, I thought it worth continuing on. I'm glad I did. In Force of Nature many of the things that bothered me in the first book were repaired or minimized. I found the characters more appealing, the ethical issues of interest to me, and the pacing more engrossing. With one book on each side of the scale, I'm curious to read some of Solomita's other books, whether from the same series or his stand-alone novels, and see which way it tips.