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Raymond Donne Mystery #1
Sacrifice Fly
Raymond Donne wasn’t always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York’s Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray’s class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie’s father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can’t believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn’t know, but if he’s going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he’s going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray’s class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie’s father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can’t believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn’t know, but if he’s going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he’s going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2012
10 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Tim O'Mara
15 books164 followersTim O’Mara has been teaching math and special education in the New York City public schools since 1987, 12 of them in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sacrifice Fly, his first novel, introduces schoolteacher/ex-cop Raymond Donne and was nominated for the 2013 Best First Novel Barry Award. Other Donne mysteries: Crooked Numbers, Dead Red, Nasty Cutter, slated for release in the U.S. January 1, 2017. His short story, "The Tip," is published in Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns and his novella, "Smoked" is available in Triple Shot: 3 Authors, 3 Novellas. Tim O'Mara lives and teaches in Manhattan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
September 7, 2017
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Raymond Donne wasn’t always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York’s Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray’s class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie’s father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can’t believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn’t know, but if he’s going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he’s going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
My Review: It's a first novel. It's got holes...the techie dude has a disk drive in his computer? like a desktop? no way...it's got people who disappear for good in unceremonious ways...a first date ends in a cop call, the lady gets in a cab and *piff* never heard from again?...and the baseball angle isn't particularly well integrated into the story...we never see or experience Frankie anywhere near a baseball and it's his future we're supposedly believing is in the Majors? Plus the author appears to be a Yankees fan. Strikes one and two. He's two fouled-off pitches into strike three for being nasty about the Mets.
But it's got something, it's got some verve and energy that I like, and it's set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where I've had some ties for quite a while, so I'm as happy as the problems will let me be that I got this book as a gift.
The resolution to the death of Frankie's father is less a story of murder than of an unregrettable death. Ancillary violence is overplayed a bit to give things a noir feel. It works pretty well. The cop-world feels authentic, and the inhabitants of Ray's former life are like the cops I've known in the past. His schoolteaching life, mercifully, isn't a lot in evidence. The idea of it is enough to make the point that this isn't a man who takes the easy way through life.
A snippet of smile-inducing chit-chat between Ray and his physical therapist, whose tender ministrations to Ray's badly damaged knees he spends the entire book avoiding. It's this sort of throwaway moment that marks a writer to watch. It's natural, it's funny, and it's well played for a smile when one's needed.
Sing it, soul brother! I testify! Speak the truth!
So yeah, I'll be picking up the next book in hopes that some of the apostrophized plurals and the whack-a-mole character vanishings and the like will be smoothed out. Because this is one promising debut and one interesting series character.
The Yankees shit's gotta go, though. Me and my voodoo dolly are at the ready, should it prove necessary.
The Publisher Says: Raymond Donne wasn’t always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York’s Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray’s class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie’s father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can’t believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn’t know, but if he’s going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he’s going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O’Mara’s Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
My Review: It's a first novel. It's got holes...the techie dude has a disk drive in his computer? like a desktop? no way...it's got people who disappear for good in unceremonious ways...a first date ends in a cop call, the lady gets in a cab and *piff* never heard from again?...and the baseball angle isn't particularly well integrated into the story...we never see or experience Frankie anywhere near a baseball and it's his future we're supposedly believing is in the Majors? Plus the author appears to be a Yankees fan. Strikes one and two. He's two fouled-off pitches into strike three for being nasty about the Mets.
But it's got something, it's got some verve and energy that I like, and it's set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where I've had some ties for quite a while, so I'm as happy as the problems will let me be that I got this book as a gift.
The resolution to the death of Frankie's father is less a story of murder than of an unregrettable death. Ancillary violence is overplayed a bit to give things a noir feel. It works pretty well. The cop-world feels authentic, and the inhabitants of Ray's former life are like the cops I've known in the past. His schoolteaching life, mercifully, isn't a lot in evidence. The idea of it is enough to make the point that this isn't a man who takes the easy way through life.
Muscles reached into his pocket and took out two white pills. "Take these," he said.
"Ibuprofen?"
"Wintergreen. Every time you exhale, I get hit with a faceful of vodka. Where the hell'd you go last night?"
A snippet of smile-inducing chit-chat between Ray and his physical therapist, whose tender ministrations to Ray's badly damaged knees he spends the entire book avoiding. It's this sort of throwaway moment that marks a writer to watch. It's natural, it's funny, and it's well played for a smile when one's needed.
"The mayor has little interest in abandoned pools. Or abandoned people."
"You're preaching to the choir," I said.
"Do you know, when they decided to shut this pool down, when they decided they could spare no more resources for the maintenance and security? That same year the millionaires running this country announced massive tax cuts. The federal government paid billions of dollars to the arms builders to produce weapons they told us they hoped to never use. They even found enough money to help other countries buy weapons and train soldiers and contribute to the culture of death."
Sing it, soul brother! I testify! Speak the truth!
So yeah, I'll be picking up the next book in hopes that some of the apostrophized plurals and the whack-a-mole character vanishings and the like will be smoothed out. Because this is one promising debut and one interesting series character.
The Yankees shit's gotta go, though. Me and my voodoo dolly are at the ready, should it prove necessary.
July 30, 2012
Wow, how thrilling that I get to be the first reviewer of this great debut novel!
My husband picked up an ARC for me at ALA for me thinking it was my kind of book. He knows my taste; urban police procedurals and thrillers are my go-to light reading, especially if they are about cities I love and speak to social/race/class/cultural issues in these rapidly changing areas.
This is the first novel from O'Mara and I really hope there are more!
Set in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, this novel follows Raymond, an ex-police-officer-turned-public-school-teacher, whose favorite student goes missing. (not to mention this student is an ace ball player and Raymond just helped get him into private school). When he looks for the student, he finds the student's father dead. Raymond finds himself drawn further and further into the investigation, as he keeps receiving information and knows from experience how overburdened the police are.
Many interesting themes come up-- the dynamics between the Puerto Rican community members and the police, baseball, trust, race, religion (and church as trusted community infrastructure), urban change (with Raymond's students reading Whitman).
At first I was skeptical because it was clear to me that O'Mara really apes Richard Price. And undoubtedly he's read Price and must know he has similar themes and style. I forgave him for this because there are worse authors to emulate, and "Sacrifice Fly" was simply a joy to read. I liked Raymond and his world, all the characters felt real to me. O'Mara possesses that rare but crucial quality in an urban writer to describe characters of another race and culture in a way that feels authentic and not cloying/condescending/racist (see also Pelecanos George P, who is a new novelist but also was a writer for The Wire).
My only complaint is that I wish the female characters had been a bit more developed, but this is a common beef with this whole genre. One female character (Elsa) had a lot of potential to be pretty badass; if this turns into a series I hope to see more of her.
I hope O'Mara has some good marketing people at his publisher-- I really hope this takes off and no goodreads reviews yet worries me!
My husband picked up an ARC for me at ALA for me thinking it was my kind of book. He knows my taste; urban police procedurals and thrillers are my go-to light reading, especially if they are about cities I love and speak to social/race/class/cultural issues in these rapidly changing areas.
This is the first novel from O'Mara and I really hope there are more!
Set in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, this novel follows Raymond, an ex-police-officer-turned-public-school-teacher, whose favorite student goes missing. (not to mention this student is an ace ball player and Raymond just helped get him into private school). When he looks for the student, he finds the student's father dead. Raymond finds himself drawn further and further into the investigation, as he keeps receiving information and knows from experience how overburdened the police are.
Many interesting themes come up-- the dynamics between the Puerto Rican community members and the police, baseball, trust, race, religion (and church as trusted community infrastructure), urban change (with Raymond's students reading Whitman).
At first I was skeptical because it was clear to me that O'Mara really apes Richard Price. And undoubtedly he's read Price and must know he has similar themes and style. I forgave him for this because there are worse authors to emulate, and "Sacrifice Fly" was simply a joy to read. I liked Raymond and his world, all the characters felt real to me. O'Mara possesses that rare but crucial quality in an urban writer to describe characters of another race and culture in a way that feels authentic and not cloying/condescending/racist (see also Pelecanos George P, who is a new novelist but also was a writer for The Wire).
My only complaint is that I wish the female characters had been a bit more developed, but this is a common beef with this whole genre. One female character (Elsa) had a lot of potential to be pretty badass; if this turns into a series I hope to see more of her.
I hope O'Mara has some good marketing people at his publisher-- I really hope this takes off and no goodreads reviews yet worries me!
November 9, 2012
A surprisingly good book by a new author. The book captures the cynicism and gallows humor of people in law enforcement and at the same time the special caring that some teachers have for kids in special education. The principal character is a once policeman turned teacher and his tenacity in searching for a truant student. This quest leads him into contact with shady characters involved in Medicare Fraud. The story has a variety of twists and characters from all walks of life.
Mr. O'Mara does a wonderful job of describing the Williamsburg section of New York and some of its history. He also captures some of the essence of the different ethnics groups which occupy this section of the city. This is especially true of the Puerto Ricans. I wish he would have spent more time with the character of Elsa and maybe he will in future episodes of Mr. Donne. There are some confrontations between the main character and others that are as vivid as any I have read in the past. I think you will enjoy this book.
Mr. O'Mara does a wonderful job of describing the Williamsburg section of New York and some of its history. He also captures some of the essence of the different ethnics groups which occupy this section of the city. This is especially true of the Puerto Ricans. I wish he would have spent more time with the character of Elsa and maybe he will in future episodes of Mr. Donne. There are some confrontations between the main character and others that are as vivid as any I have read in the past. I think you will enjoy this book.
April 20, 2016
PROTAGONIST: Raymond Donne, 8th grade teacher
SETTING: Brooklyn, NY
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 4.0
Raymond Donne is an eighth grade teacher in Brooklyn. When one of his students, Frankie Rivas, misses several days of school, he decides to pay him a visit at home to see what is going on. Frankie is a baseball phenomenon and Donne has arranged for him to attend a private high school on scholarship and further develop his talent. He will lose that aid if he becomes truant. Frankie lives in an apartment with his grandmother and younger sister. When Raymond calls upon them, he finds that both children have gone to stay with their father. When he goes to the father’s place, he finds him dead and both children missing.
Donne was formerly a cop who left because of an on-the-job injury; his uncle is still high in the ranks in the department. He starts checking into things on his own, sharing what he finds with the lead detective on the case, Royce. However, Raymond often feels that the police aren’t doing enough and looking into obvious leads and becomes more and more engaged, to the point where several people warn him about his over-involvement. It is no longer his job to be a detective; he steps way over the line as he moves forward. The fact that he continued to investigate despite being told directly not to was the one thing in the book that really bothered me. It could be said that he is only doing what needs to be done; however, it is not his responsibility to bring the case to a conclusion. In fact, he engages in quite a bit of illegal activity—breaking and entering, withholding evidence from the police, impersonating a cop, and so on.
Although Donne is a talented teacher who obviously cares about the students in his class, he can be quite abrasive at times. He has a lot of issues from his time as a cop, and he’s had a hard time living a fulfilling life as a result. The other characters in the book are similarly well drawn, from his unlikely sidekick in the investigation to an obnoxious cop who plagues Donne.
SACRIFICE FLY is Tim O’Mara’s first book. Despite the title, the book is not focused on baseball at all. It seems that this is destined to be a series, which makes me wonder how he will handle the issue of Donne’s career. He cannot play the role of cop without being one. O’Mara does a fine job of depicting life in Brooklyn, and the dialogue is very authentic. He is an excellent writer who, in addition to creating an intriguing protagonist, has developed a fine plot in a well-drawn setting.
SETTING: Brooklyn, NY
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 4.0
Raymond Donne is an eighth grade teacher in Brooklyn. When one of his students, Frankie Rivas, misses several days of school, he decides to pay him a visit at home to see what is going on. Frankie is a baseball phenomenon and Donne has arranged for him to attend a private high school on scholarship and further develop his talent. He will lose that aid if he becomes truant. Frankie lives in an apartment with his grandmother and younger sister. When Raymond calls upon them, he finds that both children have gone to stay with their father. When he goes to the father’s place, he finds him dead and both children missing.
Donne was formerly a cop who left because of an on-the-job injury; his uncle is still high in the ranks in the department. He starts checking into things on his own, sharing what he finds with the lead detective on the case, Royce. However, Raymond often feels that the police aren’t doing enough and looking into obvious leads and becomes more and more engaged, to the point where several people warn him about his over-involvement. It is no longer his job to be a detective; he steps way over the line as he moves forward. The fact that he continued to investigate despite being told directly not to was the one thing in the book that really bothered me. It could be said that he is only doing what needs to be done; however, it is not his responsibility to bring the case to a conclusion. In fact, he engages in quite a bit of illegal activity—breaking and entering, withholding evidence from the police, impersonating a cop, and so on.
Although Donne is a talented teacher who obviously cares about the students in his class, he can be quite abrasive at times. He has a lot of issues from his time as a cop, and he’s had a hard time living a fulfilling life as a result. The other characters in the book are similarly well drawn, from his unlikely sidekick in the investigation to an obnoxious cop who plagues Donne.
SACRIFICE FLY is Tim O’Mara’s first book. Despite the title, the book is not focused on baseball at all. It seems that this is destined to be a series, which makes me wonder how he will handle the issue of Donne’s career. He cannot play the role of cop without being one. O’Mara does a fine job of depicting life in Brooklyn, and the dialogue is very authentic. He is an excellent writer who, in addition to creating an intriguing protagonist, has developed a fine plot in a well-drawn setting.
November 10, 2012
I don't read mysteries alot, so when I do, they have to grab me pretty early -- and this one did!
I love reading things set in NYC, and this author does a great job with the setting -- very authentic Brooklyn. The other thing that I particularly appreciated was the protagonist -- he is an incredibly likeable character -- in fact, I hope the author turns this into a series as I want to spend more time with him.
I love reading things set in NYC, and this author does a great job with the setting -- very authentic Brooklyn. The other thing that I particularly appreciated was the protagonist -- he is an incredibly likeable character -- in fact, I hope the author turns this into a series as I want to spend more time with him.
October 26, 2012
Tim O'Mara does a wonderful job enticing the reader into the story and leading them on a roller coaster of exciting twists and turns as the protagonist tries to solve the mystery of who-done-it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes murder-mysteries, criminal justice stories, and baseball. A great break-out book for this mystery novelist!
September 25, 2020
This is the first book in a series by this author and the first one I have read by him. It is an interesting mystery read with a different slant, a former police detective injured while on duty is now a school teacher. The pull of the former police procedures overrides his teacher habits and when a student is missing and then the student's father is murdered and discovered by the teacher while looking for the student. A lot of twists and turns and a good story.
Raymond Donne wasn't always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York's Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray's class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie's father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can't believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn't know, but if he's going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he's going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O'Mara's Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
Raymond Donne wasn't always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York's Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.
Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray's class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie's father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can't believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn't know, but if he's going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he's going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.
Intense, authentic, and completely gripping, Tim O'Mara's Sacrifice Fly is an outstanding debut from a stellar new voice in crime fiction.
September 17, 2017
Raymond Donne is an unusual protagonist in the realm of crime fiction in that he's frequently way too normal--he regularly loses his temper and regrets it, he's not especially smooth with the ladies, and physically he's a wreck. To say he's not physically imposing doesn't cover it; he gets knocked down a lot, sometimes he's barely able to walk, and he's apparently pretty easily kidnapped. He's often not a guy you'd want to be. In most ways, outside of being one of the good guys (and in his own way an outsider), he's pretty much the opposite of, say, Jack Reacher. Donne is way more human, and this tale revolves around his vulnerabilities.
For me, it wasn't a page-turner until one part near the end, but I found myself always looking forward to getting back to the book (even after realizing, despite the title, it had only tangentially to do with baseball). The setting is pretty much a character unto itself, and I'm guessing that for readers who know the Brooklyn environs as well as O'Mara, seeing them brought to life will add to this book's appeal.
First lines:
"I was about to get run over.
"I thought about moving left, maybe right, but my knees were having no part of it. So I tightened the rip on my umbrella, braced myself, and waited for the impact."
For me, it wasn't a page-turner until one part near the end, but I found myself always looking forward to getting back to the book (even after realizing, despite the title, it had only tangentially to do with baseball). The setting is pretty much a character unto itself, and I'm guessing that for readers who know the Brooklyn environs as well as O'Mara, seeing them brought to life will add to this book's appeal.
First lines:
"I was about to get run over.
"I thought about moving left, maybe right, but my knees were having no part of it. So I tightened the rip on my umbrella, braced myself, and waited for the impact."
October 20, 2019
This debut novel by Tim O'Mara should have been called "Double Play" as not only was the book impressive and lively, but I have a new author and series to put in the line up. This book drew me in from the very beginning, life kept throwing me interruptions, but I was so keen to get back to it that I started getting mad when the next interruption came. The strengths are:the authentic feel, not only for the characters, but the cops and the brief school views and especially for what I know about that part of New York. Maybe the best part is O'Mara's feel for the main character, Ray Donne. You get an instant identification and feel for this fictional man. The chemistry reminds me of Steve Hamilton's, Alex McKnight or GM Ford's, Leo Waterman. That's impressive company because this was an impressive book.
The slightly weak elements was the lack of play on the baseball title, the implausible endings to some of the early actions scenes and (on a personable note) his failure to follow up on his romantic chances (sure he was busy, but priorities). I did like the wrap up after the showdown, more realistic.
I'm hoping book 2 will be even better, but I'll settle for just as good.
The slightly weak elements was the lack of play on the baseball title, the implausible endings to some of the early actions scenes and (on a personable note) his failure to follow up on his romantic chances (sure he was busy, but priorities). I did like the wrap up after the showdown, more realistic.
I'm hoping book 2 will be even better, but I'll settle for just as good.
November 1, 2023
What I really enjoyed about this book was the realistic conversations that read like a movie script. I saw it all in my mind while reading it. I liked how the teaching parts went down except for the lesson planning to be gone from school. The author is a former teacher who clearly likes kids (and baseball), but I wish he’d mentioned the work that has to be done to be gone from school and a snappy comeback to the “get your whole summer off” snide comment in there. The general public doesn’t realize school goes into June, starts back up in August and further education courses for continuing certification have to be taken sometime. And it’s not a paid summer off, either…. I look forward to the movie!
August 29, 2018
Raymond Donne is a former policeman, injured on the job and now teaching middle school in the same Brooklyn neighborhood he used to patrol.
Tim O'Mara's series is interesting (hey, it has lots of baseball references so I'm all in) and I'll probably stick around to see what happens in the next installment.
But Donne is so conflicted -- father issues, family issues, health issues, career issues -- that it's tough to see who the character really is. And while people seem to like him (I'm not sure I do yet), he seems to use other people more than relate to them.
Having said all that, I will give him another chance.
Tim O'Mara's series is interesting (hey, it has lots of baseball references so I'm all in) and I'll probably stick around to see what happens in the next installment.
But Donne is so conflicted -- father issues, family issues, health issues, career issues -- that it's tough to see who the character really is. And while people seem to like him (I'm not sure I do yet), he seems to use other people more than relate to them.
Having said all that, I will give him another chance.
March 28, 2021
3.5 stars
Interesting series debut featuring New York City teacher Ray Donne. He is a former cop who retired after a traumatic injury. He is trying hard to be a decent man but has some baggage leftover from his childhood with an abusive cop father. When one of his students goes missing, Ray gets involved. It's not that he doesn't trust the cops (although he doesn't trust them all) but that he recognizes their time and resource limitations. He cares about what happens to this 14 year old Hispanic kid and puts himself at risk to find him.
Interesting series debut featuring New York City teacher Ray Donne. He is a former cop who retired after a traumatic injury. He is trying hard to be a decent man but has some baggage leftover from his childhood with an abusive cop father. When one of his students goes missing, Ray gets involved. It's not that he doesn't trust the cops (although he doesn't trust them all) but that he recognizes their time and resource limitations. He cares about what happens to this 14 year old Hispanic kid and puts himself at risk to find him.
June 20, 2017
Raymond Donne is a good cop that a terrible accident and turned teacher, but he has a missing student that he can't let go of, and inserts himself into the investigation trying to find his student, after he stumbles upon his dead father. Raymond
has a good heart and won't let things go despite being blocked at efforts and his desperation to save a boy. I am looking forward to reading another O,Mara book, he is a new author for me.
has a good heart and won't let things go despite being blocked at efforts and his desperation to save a boy. I am looking forward to reading another O,Mara book, he is a new author for me.
August 28, 2020
This was such a thoroughly enjoyable read, I hated to put it down for breaks when I had to attend to 'things which must be done.' Raymond Donne, teacher, was once a police officer, slated to become a detective, until an accident severely damaged his knees. One of his students is missing, and Ray goes searching for him, and oh what a tangled web has been woven. I really look forward to reading more by Tim O'Mara!
October 29, 2022
This may be an older book, but I purchased it from a thrift store, and was pleasantly surprised at at how action packed, suspenseful, and relevant this book was for an initial book! I look forward to reading more about a former NY Police Officer, turned middle school teacher who uses his detective skills to help his students!
October 23, 2017
I was not a fan of the frequent swearing and off-hand comments regarding race and religion; however, the plot was decent and kept me turning the page.
Read
May 13, 2021June 2014, Carol K, Fiction
April 8, 2023
This is an older book; but quite good, Baseball and crime Mafia type and gangs and a brave school teacher! Intersting l.ook at Nerw York during the 40s to 50s.
May 16, 2023
Pretty Sacrifice Fly (for a white guy!)
March 4, 2013
Raymond Dunne is a very dedicated schoolteacher, working with eighth-graders in a middle school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and taking the welfare of his students very seriously. In particular, one of the most promising, Frankie Rivas, has obtained a scholarship to a private high school on the basis of his baseball skills and the fact that Ray has called in a favor from their coach. When Frankie fails to show up for school for a couple of weeks, Ray decides to try to find out why. His visit to the home of the boy’s father results in his discovery of the man’s dead body.
Ray’s involvement at that point derives as much from his concern as his teacher as from the fact that Ray is a former cop. His feelings when he walks into his old precinct are made palpable to the reader, his emotions roiling as he remembers back five years, when “you fall thirty feet, and your whole life changes.” Among those changes are the physical ones; Ray has an umbrella with him every day, knowing it has to rain sometime; besides, it means he doesn’t have to carry a cane.
Frankie and his younger sister are nowhere to be found, and Ray follows up every lead he can find in order to locate the two children and ensure their safety. Then the pace, and the suspense, move into higher gear, beyond the “controlled chaos” of Ray’s classroom, and the stakes go up as well.
When one has a terrific protagonist [with a valuable friend, a wannabe cop, nicknamed “Emo”], a well-developed plot, writing that makes the Brooklyn streets come to life and, as the title might imply, a lot of baseball references, what more could one ask? [Well, this reader had to get past the fact that Ray is a Yankee fan, although he does don a Mets cap when the situation requires it.] This is a wonderful debut novel from a writer whose next book I will anxiously await, and it is highly recommended.
Ray’s involvement at that point derives as much from his concern as his teacher as from the fact that Ray is a former cop. His feelings when he walks into his old precinct are made palpable to the reader, his emotions roiling as he remembers back five years, when “you fall thirty feet, and your whole life changes.” Among those changes are the physical ones; Ray has an umbrella with him every day, knowing it has to rain sometime; besides, it means he doesn’t have to carry a cane.
Frankie and his younger sister are nowhere to be found, and Ray follows up every lead he can find in order to locate the two children and ensure their safety. Then the pace, and the suspense, move into higher gear, beyond the “controlled chaos” of Ray’s classroom, and the stakes go up as well.
When one has a terrific protagonist [with a valuable friend, a wannabe cop, nicknamed “Emo”], a well-developed plot, writing that makes the Brooklyn streets come to life and, as the title might imply, a lot of baseball references, what more could one ask? [Well, this reader had to get past the fact that Ray is a Yankee fan, although he does don a Mets cap when the situation requires it.] This is a wonderful debut novel from a writer whose next book I will anxiously await, and it is highly recommended.
May 6, 2013
SACRIFICE FLY is a debut novel by Tim O'Mara with real potential to become the first in a series of mysteries staring school teacher, ex-cop, Raymond Donne. Raymond's uncle is chief of police and a real hard nosed policeman, serving in the tough parts of Brooklyn. When Raymond blew out his knees during a police incident, he left his friends, and the fast track in the police department, to become a teacher in the toughest part of town.
But now, Frankie, one of Raymond's most promising students, has just gone missing after his father was murdered. The police suspect that the boy may have actually been the murderer since he has run away. Raymond does not believe Frankie would murder someone, and is anxious about Frankie's safety. Since Raymond does not see any real movement by the police to find Frankie, he decides to do some investigating on his own. Conflicts arise within the police department, and on the streets, where Raymond is getting too close to the truth of the murder.
This story covers a tough part of New York, where poverty, conflicts between ethnicities, and lack of a good education can change people's lives forever. The combination of a protagonist who is a teacher and an ex-cop, makes the story a compelling read. Great combination of excitement, compassion and 'street cred' reality makes this a great read. Hoping this will become a series!
But now, Frankie, one of Raymond's most promising students, has just gone missing after his father was murdered. The police suspect that the boy may have actually been the murderer since he has run away. Raymond does not believe Frankie would murder someone, and is anxious about Frankie's safety. Since Raymond does not see any real movement by the police to find Frankie, he decides to do some investigating on his own. Conflicts arise within the police department, and on the streets, where Raymond is getting too close to the truth of the murder.
This story covers a tough part of New York, where poverty, conflicts between ethnicities, and lack of a good education can change people's lives forever. The combination of a protagonist who is a teacher and an ex-cop, makes the story a compelling read. Great combination of excitement, compassion and 'street cred' reality makes this a great read. Hoping this will become a series!
July 17, 2014
Starring Raymond Donne, an injured cop turned middle school teacher, and set in the roughshod streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Tim O'Mara's debut novel Sacrifice Fly is a fantastic read that I recommend to anyone interested in crime thrillers. The book opens to Donne attempting to find Franklin Rivas, one of his students. Frankie has missed an entire week of school, and Donne refuses to let him lose his baseball scholarship to a prestigious high school by failing eighth grade. While visiting Frankie's house, Donne stumbles onto the dead body of the boy's father. Then, when the cops don't devote enough time to the case, he goes rogue and solves the crime by himself.
O'Mara writes with a deliberate noir style, exaggerating violence and action. His dialogue is particularly well-written, capturing the essences of tired cops, delusional murderers, and tough at-risk kids with surprising veracity.
Speaking of the characters, prepare for...
You can find the rest of the review here, at Literary Video Games.
O'Mara writes with a deliberate noir style, exaggerating violence and action. His dialogue is particularly well-written, capturing the essences of tired cops, delusional murderers, and tough at-risk kids with surprising veracity.
Speaking of the characters, prepare for...
You can find the rest of the review here, at Literary Video Games.
August 5, 2013
I have come to really like reading fiction by debut authors and Sacrifice Fly is no exception. O'Mara introduces us to a complex hero,a former NYPD officer turned teacher in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Checking on a truant student whom he has mentored, Raymond Donne finds the boy's father murdered and no sign of the boy. And the search is on -- for the boy and, if necessary, the killer.
O'Mara has given us a credible mystery. The set up is well executed with the plot laying out as if the events being relayed actually took place. As a main characher, Donne has just enough angst to make him interesting and sympathetic to the reader. And his cohort, Edgar, turns out to be a solid friend and clever partner.
I'm looking forward to Crooked Numbers due out in October.
O'Mara has given us a credible mystery. The set up is well executed with the plot laying out as if the events being relayed actually took place. As a main characher, Donne has just enough angst to make him interesting and sympathetic to the reader. And his cohort, Edgar, turns out to be a solid friend and clever partner.
I'm looking forward to Crooked Numbers due out in October.
February 18, 2016
Raymond Donne used to be a beat cop until he was injured falling from a fire escape. Now he taught adolescents algebra and poetry. Frankie Rivas, a promising student for whom he's arranged an athletic scholarship at a private school, has gone missing. Looking for him Ray stumbles upon the kid's father apparently beaten to death in his apartment. Even though Raymond's uncle by the same name is chief of detectives there seems to be reluctance on the part of the NYPD to offer more than minimum effort in solving the crime and finding the kid. The ex-cop and teacher takes it upon himself to go in search of his missing student and finds more than he's bargained for. Peopled by some interesting and quirky characters that take to reader in a lot of different and unexpected journeys I found the story engaging and entertaining.
November 15, 2012
3.5
Although the plot is a bit predictable, this is a debut written smoothly and with a sure hand.
I especially liked the main character, ex-cop turned schoolteacher Ray Donne, who cares enough for one of his students to "play cop" again and ultimately risk his life.
I loved the portrayal of the gritty and dangerous streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn...the housing projects and decay versus the pressures of gentrification and "progress"; the "real" bars and hangouts vs. the "yuppie" cafes. The belief of streetwise 14 yr old Frankie that he will pitch for the Yankees someday.
As some of the backstory of Ray's days in uniform come to light, we see that the author has created a complex and conflicted character.
I will certainly be watching for Mr. O'Mara's next effort.
Although the plot is a bit predictable, this is a debut written smoothly and with a sure hand.
I especially liked the main character, ex-cop turned schoolteacher Ray Donne, who cares enough for one of his students to "play cop" again and ultimately risk his life.
I loved the portrayal of the gritty and dangerous streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn...the housing projects and decay versus the pressures of gentrification and "progress"; the "real" bars and hangouts vs. the "yuppie" cafes. The belief of streetwise 14 yr old Frankie that he will pitch for the Yankees someday.
As some of the backstory of Ray's days in uniform come to light, we see that the author has created a complex and conflicted character.
I will certainly be watching for Mr. O'Mara's next effort.
May 13, 2013
Grabbed this book because it was written by a NYC teacher...and takes place in Brooklyn. He definitely knows his stuff about the school system...and the heat being on when it is 70 outside. The mystery itself was just ok. Not earth shattering, but kept my attention. I am sure this is the start of a series...and I hope that the mysteries will become more suspenseful as the author gains experience.
The story is of a young baseball player (and student) who disappears. His teacher goes in search of the boy, and stumbles upon a body....of course he has to search for the student, as any caring teacher (and ex-cop) would do.
Read if you are looking for a beach read....or if you enjoy mysteries.
The story is of a young baseball player (and student) who disappears. His teacher goes in search of the boy, and stumbles upon a body....of course he has to search for the student, as any caring teacher (and ex-cop) would do.
Read if you are looking for a beach read....or if you enjoy mysteries.
October 29, 2012
Tim O'Mara's first novel about a cop turned schoolteacher hunting down a missing student is a true gem, and a gripping and authentic read. Not only is the central mystery first rate and engaging, but every character feels like a genuine human being. O'Mara makes every detail count, and the narrative pulses along, drawing the reader deeper into the many layers of the incredibly complex Raymond Donne as he tries to give himself up to get Frankie Rivas home. You will leave this book not just entertained and thrilled, but also feeling like you've learned something. Highly recommended reading!
September 15, 2014
This book was fast paced and interesting. Having the protagonist be a middle school teacher was unique. However, I don't know how Raymond remained standing through all of the drinking he did. While it drives me crazy when authors overly hash out the details of the conspiracy, I wish O'Mara had spent a little more time putting everything into place for the reader; my head was swimming at the end as I tried to put all of the pieces together. I also wish that Raymond's motivation for helping these two missing kids had come out earlier in the story.
August 5, 2013
I usually do not much like novels set in NYC, because they mostly are written by people who think it is the MOST IMPORTANT city in the world. Well, it is, to them. Not so much the rest of us.
However, Mr. O'Mara writes of what he knows. He has walked this Brooklyn teacher road for many years. His character starts out as a cop, so he already has some empathy for the families of his students...his Spanish is not just swearing. Falling into the murder of his missing student is not something he wanted.
The tale comes to a satisfactory conclusion, and Mr. O'Mara tells a good story.
However, Mr. O'Mara writes of what he knows. He has walked this Brooklyn teacher road for many years. His character starts out as a cop, so he already has some empathy for the families of his students...his Spanish is not just swearing. Falling into the murder of his missing student is not something he wanted.
The tale comes to a satisfactory conclusion, and Mr. O'Mara tells a good story.
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