Chasers

by Carcaterra Lorenzo

From the bestselling author of Sleepers and former writer/producer of Law & Order comes another high-octane New York City crime drama pulsing with energy. In Lorenzo Carcaterra’s Chasers, the street-smart and highly specialized cadre of renegade NYPD cops last depicted in his acclaimed novel Apaches returns in a new tale of action and suspense.

It’s 1985, and the city that never sleeps is about to wish it had stayed in bed. The heinous machine-gun murder of innocent bystanders in a Manhattan restaurant shocks all five boroughs. The brutal slaying propels the surviving members of the Apaches–controversial, take-’em-down, outside-the-law ex-cops–into investigating a Colombian drug cartel responsible for distributing millions of kilos of cocaine on American shores.

Along for the harrowing ride with Boomer, Dead-Eye, and Reverend Jim are three new Apaches: Ash, a wounded female Hispanic cop who specializes in arson investigations; Quincy, an HIV-positive recruit who’s a forensics expert; and a retired police dog named Buttercup, a Neapolitan bullmastiff who is no ordinary animal but a gold-shield detective, highly decorated for his skills at sniffing out illegal drugs. Now this dedicated team will become Chasers, working multiple cases that will converge into one explosive, all-out street war.

They will face a gallery of formidable enemies: Quinones, a mysterious and deadly assassin; the Boiler Man, a killer as ruthless as he is cunning; Angel, a former priest turned cartel boss, determined to end his career as the richest drug baron in the world; and the G-Men, a band of dealers and doers determined to maintain their iron grip on the cocaine trade–no matter how much blood is spilled.

Fueled by Lorenzo Carcaterra’s adrenaline-rush prose and peopled with uncommon heroes and merciless crime lords tearing through city streets, Chasers proves to be this acclaimed author’s most intense novel to date.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Action, Thriller, Police

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Days after the book came out I wrote the following on the author's MySpace page:

"Bravo Lorenzo, you have done it again!

I was hooked on page 1 and every page thereafter. You have a wonderful ability to create characters and scenes that become vividly real in the readers eyes. I always feel as if I am standing only feet away from where its happening.

Chasers, as with Apaches, is filled with exciting, fast paced twists and turns. And don't worry, I won't give away all the surprises, suffice to say that I am always on the edge of my seat when reading your books, never wanting to put the book down. The only drawback is that when I finally finish your latest book, I am hungry for the next one!"

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, Chasers did not measure up to my expectations after reading the first book, Apaches: A Novel of Suspense. The "Apaches" are reconstituted with new members, injured on the job but still able and willing to go after bad guys. Drug lords and their gangs are the targets in this one. The action is disjointed, not realistic and the over-the-top "street talk" just annoys.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit to big bang gangster for my taste but I enjoyed the overall message of the book, that no matter what the odds, if you really care about something you should never back down, and never lose sight of what's important to you. The characters are lovable and strangely obsessed with dieting, and the main guy is clearly a man anyone would love as an uncle.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorenzo Carcaterra writes crime novels as if he himself was a criminal gang member an/or a cop fighting the mob. Realism and gore is prevalent in this tale of a group of 5 ex-cops (Apaches) and a very large dog vs a variety of gangs in New York City. Like the movies Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, and Godfather, CHASERS puts the reader right in the midst of the action.
Each of the 5 members of the Apaches, working the streets of NYC without interference from the police, is dedicated to working as a group to destroy one gang at a time. The bad guys include an assassin (Robles), a brutal killer (Boiler Man), a cartel boss (Angel), and a vicious group of drug dealers (G-Men). The goal of the Apaches is to "disrupt and disarm" these gangs "and get away with it enough times that" they(gangs) "lose their cool and focus."
In gritty language, Carcaterra writes a dark novel of violent NYC gangs and the ex-cops who work together to make a dent in the gangs' riches, as well as their lives.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was hard for me to get into and through. Boomer and Dead Eye put together a new team to avenge the murder of Boomer's niece, a by product casualty of a hit as she waitressed in a diner.

At least 4 groups attempting to run drugs and maintain their turf, and Boomer and Dead Eye add ot their team with Rev Jim, Ash and Quincy, along with their restaurant friend's assistance.

Who put the hit out and killed Boomer's niece?

[Richard Sharp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't even finish this thing. It was actually destroying brain cells. This thing that very nearly raped my mind is a crime against the crime novel genre. Stephen Chandler is turning in his grave.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but all the characters speak the exact same way. and can you say metaphor, simile, and analogy? I feel like Mr Carcaterra had a long list of these and just added them to the book. I was going to read all his books but the writing is so annoying. Sleepers is an exception

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this a 5-star, but Mr. Carcaterra got carried away with using way too much street-lingo talk (or whatever you call it). It got so annoying that, at the time, I thought I would be giving it a 3-star rating. The storyline was great, so I stuck with 4-stars.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Good; sequel to Apaches, former cops look to take down a drug kingpin responsible for the death of an innocent bystander, a niece of the leader of the group

[Shantelle Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action-packed with a hint of romance and humor. I pray The Aoaches will turn into a trilogy.

[Bill Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty

What a great story. Retired Cops, Evil uncovered, drug crews, murder - mayhem, revenge, justice, sadness got it all here. Great book. I will read more.

[Oscar Maquito · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4/5

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great but fitting sequel to Apaches. Probably makes a bit more sense if you read Apaches first.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chasers has all the problems of its predecessor, Apaches, plus a whole bunch of new ones to boot. The nice thing about sequels is that we already know the characters and shouldn't have to spend a whole lot of time introducing new ones. At least, that's how it works in theory. But that's not how it is with Chasers. Since half the characters in Apaches were killed by its end, Chasers must once again jump through all the familiar hoops of introducing new team members who have been previously injured in the line of duty as cops, as well as the new line-up of villains. Unlike Apaches, however, there really isn't much of a pay-off at the end of it all. For someone trying to write all gritty and realistic, the action sequences seem entirely too much like stuff that might have come from a rejected Lethal Weapon script. Large amounts of the plot don't even make sense, like why a cop devoted to hunting down drug dealers would fall in love with one of the most sadistic and powerful ones in the business. The police dog's ability to do whatever the heroes want--in spite of their having had no real training in dealing with police dogs--seems way too far-fetched. Then, most importantly, there's the dialog. It's some of the worst I've ever read. Carcaterra tries to be cool and impress his readers by injecting as much slang and hip street talk as he possibly can into every single line--so much so that they no longer sound even remotely like stuff real people would say. And the worst part is, all the characters talk almost exactly alike. This could have been a three star novel if all the characters just refrained from speaking. I don't know what happened; I usually like Carcaterra a lot. But almost everything about this novel is disappointing, boring, and/or downright annoying. Just the author lamely trying to pull rabbits out of an empty hat.

[Tom Gase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book by Lorenzo Carcaterra. Although I liked epic books like Sleepers, Gangster and Street Boys a lot more, this book is classic Carcaterra and a good crime drama. Chasers is the sequel to the author's book, Apaches. The apaches are a group of castaways or misfits of ex-cops that can no longer work for the NYPD for multiple different reasons that I won't give away here. Instead, they take to the streets on their own to deliver justice for a horrible crime that takes a relative of Boomers, the leader of the group, at a young age in a shooting of a restaurant.

This book has the familiar characters of Boomer, Dead-Eye and Rev. Jim, along with some new great characters such as Ash, Quincy and a police dog named Buttercup. If you liked the first book, you'll probably enjoy this second book. The novel, which takes place three years later in 1985, takes awhile to get going, but I actually enjoyed the character development, which Carcaterra is very good at. Carcaterra used to write some episodes for Law and Order, and some of this book reads like a Law and Order episode.

A fun read, but the only problem I had with the book is that some of the lines used by the ex-cops are a little over the top and something you might see in a terrible Arnold or Stallone movie from the 80's. Also, Carcaterra uses a lot of the same phrases over and over again, like "I give a fuck" from a bad thug when listening to the ex-cops. Mix it up a little Lorenzo, you're better than that.

This book is basically all action and drama, but it does make your eyes water at times. Good stuff, I look forward to reading Carcaterra's books for years to come.

[Barbra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the predecesor to this book, Apaches, but I wasn't so keen on this one. I kind of lost where the whole book was going and found my attention wandering so wasn't overly impressed.

Back Cover Blurb:
It's 1985 - and the city that never sleeps is about to wish it had stayed in bed. The heinous machine-gun murder of innocent bystanders in a Manhattan restaurant shocks all five boroughs. The surviving members of the Apaches - controversial, take-no-crap, outside-the-law ex-cops - swear to hunt down those responsible.
Along for the harrowing ride with Boomer, Dead-Eye and Reverand Jim are three new Apaches: Ash, a wounded female Hispanic cop who specializes in arson investigations; Quincy, an HIV-positive recruit and forensics expert; and a retired police dog named Buttercup. Now this dedicated team will become Chasers, working multiple cases that will converge into one explosive, all-out New York City street war.

[Jayne]

I'm not sure what category this story fits into. I really enjoyed it. It was well-paced, had strong characters who weren't exactly angels but they were reconciled to their choices/decisions which I much prefer to all these "self-doubting heroes" which seems to be populating far too many new novels. Plus, what I really liked was that, there was an obvious way to resolve the conflict, and instead of ignoring it(as so many authors do, so that they can somehow work it into a big finish which actually just makes the story a bit silly.), we are given a plausible reason for the inaction.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good action book, plenty of bodies as a group of ex-cops take down the drug barons of NY. Not as good as his "Sleepers" but still a good read.

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tightly woven exciting story. A lot of plot threads to follow but worth it in the end.

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is not the masterpiece that "Sleepers" was it was still a straight forward and interesting story.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one action packed novel! My only disappointment was the constant overpowering flow of profanity. But the story was superbly told and the mystery of it excellently woven.

[Anna Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book , kept me hooked through out the read,