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Suspects
A double murder leads a cop into the darkest corners of the NYPD
In Greenpoint, everyone comes to Yetta’s. A candy store one block west of McGoldrick Park, it’s a neighborhood landmark, the place where Brooklynites come to sip a soda, buy a paper, and argue about gentrification. But when Lt. Joe Gallagher comes by to drop off a birthday cake for Yetta, he doesn’t notice the homeless man standing outside. Gallagher has just handed over the cake when the man enters, drops his shopping bag, and pulls out a shotgun. The lieutenant doesn’t have time to reach his revolver before he’s blown away. Yetta is the next to die.
Investigating the double homicide, Det. Lt. Tony Scanlon discovers that Gallagher was more than an ordinary hard-drinking, hardworking Irish cop. And as more killings follow, Scanlon knows that this will be a summer of blood for the NYPD.
In Greenpoint, everyone comes to Yetta’s. A candy store one block west of McGoldrick Park, it’s a neighborhood landmark, the place where Brooklynites come to sip a soda, buy a paper, and argue about gentrification. But when Lt. Joe Gallagher comes by to drop off a birthday cake for Yetta, he doesn’t notice the homeless man standing outside. Gallagher has just handed over the cake when the man enters, drops his shopping bag, and pulls out a shotgun. The lieutenant doesn’t have time to reach his revolver before he’s blown away. Yetta is the next to die.
Investigating the double homicide, Det. Lt. Tony Scanlon discovers that Gallagher was more than an ordinary hard-drinking, hardworking Irish cop. And as more killings follow, Scanlon knows that this will be a summer of blood for the NYPD.
374 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1987
27 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
William J. Caunitz
22 books16 followersWilliam J. Caunitz was a New York City Police Department officer who used his own experiences to write best-selling thrillers.
After serving in the United States Marine Corps, and working for an insurance company, he joined the NYPD in his twenties. He first worked as a patrolman, and eventually rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant, followed by an assignment as a detective squad commander.Caunitz would eventually serve 30 years with the N.Y.P.D.
Caunitz was praised for his "raw authenticity" when describing precinct day-to-day life in his novels, especially for One Police Plaza , which was eventually made into a television movie. His novels usually center around one or two police officers that follow detailed police procedures to solve a crime, and he also used some sensational elements of thrillers.
Caunitz died in 1996 from pulmonary fibrosis. His last novel, Chains of Command, was half-completed at the time of his death and finished by Christopher Newman.
After serving in the United States Marine Corps, and working for an insurance company, he joined the NYPD in his twenties. He first worked as a patrolman, and eventually rose through the ranks to become a Lieutenant, followed by an assignment as a detective squad commander.Caunitz would eventually serve 30 years with the N.Y.P.D.
Caunitz was praised for his "raw authenticity" when describing precinct day-to-day life in his novels, especially for One Police Plaza , which was eventually made into a television movie. His novels usually center around one or two police officers that follow detailed police procedures to solve a crime, and he also used some sensational elements of thrillers.
Caunitz died in 1996 from pulmonary fibrosis. His last novel, Chains of Command, was half-completed at the time of his death and finished by Christopher Newman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 4, 2020
Near the beginning of the pandemic, Half Price Books had a special deal, 5 books for $10.00. A grab bag if you will. Out of the 5, 1 was unreadable. The others all ok. This is one of those books.
The book is dated, but that doesn't really bother me. It was slow going at first, but as I got into it, the story turned out to be very interesting. Like the old crime shows in TV. Really good characters and you feel for them. The book is not politically correct, but that is because of the year it was written.
The book is dated, but that doesn't really bother me. It was slow going at first, but as I got into it, the story turned out to be very interesting. Like the old crime shows in TV. Really good characters and you feel for them. The book is not politically correct, but that is because of the year it was written.
March 26, 2023
Caunitz does such an excellent job portraying the details of police work in an interesting manner. Very absorbing story with an interesting protagonist in LT Tony Salceno.
June 12, 2011
Interesting so far. Very "old" in that folks are using phone booths to make calls and some non-PC names are used.
Finally finished and it was a long, slow, slog and a tough read. This book is very dated, with no cell phones or computers, and the kind of policing described is ultra macho and "do as I say, not as I do." The main character spends lots of time (and money) on a hooker with a heart of gold. Suspects are routinely abused and evidence is manufactured. Not at all what I want to read about.
I don't recomment this book.
Finally finished and it was a long, slow, slog and a tough read. This book is very dated, with no cell phones or computers, and the kind of policing described is ultra macho and "do as I say, not as I do." The main character spends lots of time (and money) on a hooker with a heart of gold. Suspects are routinely abused and evidence is manufactured. Not at all what I want to read about.
I don't recomment this book.
January 19, 2017
You can tell this book was written in the 80s. I feel like when this was published it was a huge hit. I myself enjoyed taking a trip into police procedures from the past, but many, especially the younger generation might find this hard to read. It's no longer relatable. With that being said I liked it. If you read it without judging too much on how out dated it is the story is actually very good. It takes you deep into the heart of a life in police work during a time when things were much different than present day. If anything this book helps you appreciate how far we have come.
March 9, 2024
The first Caunitz book I've read. Caunitz was a NYPD officer for thirty years and retired as a detective Lieutenant. Much of his writing is descriptions of NYPD procedures which I found interesting, but wasn't always necessary to move the story along. An interesting plot, and a couple of twists at the end I didn't see coming. I think I have a paperback copy of the author's first book 'One Police Plaza' somewhere--if not I'll have to download a copy to my Kindle.
September 30, 2012
This is an old school, hard core police procedural. The cops are not at all politically correct or racially sensitive. There is a lot of the ugly under belly of law enforcement in New York in the 70's & 80's.
I love these kind of books, like W.E.B. Griffens Men in Blue series; but these aren't for every one.
I love these kind of books, like W.E.B. Griffens Men in Blue series; but these aren't for every one.
May 17, 2023
Sospechosos es una novela policiaca en la que se investiga el asesinato de un policia. Mientras el autor relata los bajos fondos y la cruda realidad de corrupciopn en la policia de Nueva York (NYPD). Alcohol drogas y prostitutas es basicamente el día a día de un agente, detective, teniente....
El autor mismamente fue agente de policia de policia en Nueva York, por lo que conoce plenamente lo que relata.
Tambien hay que decir que el libro es de la decada de los 80's, por lo que queremos pensar que la cosa ha cambiado bastante...
El autor mismamente fue agente de policia de policia en Nueva York, por lo que conoce plenamente lo que relata.
Tambien hay que decir que el libro es de la decada de los 80's, por lo que queremos pensar que la cosa ha cambiado bastante...
March 6, 2018
Its early June in Brooklyn when a man walks into a candy store and opens fire on two people. One is the owner and the other is her customer a New York Police Lt.. Now the search is an for the killer, the search leads to two other murders and a direction Lt. Tony Scanlon is afraid to go for fear of the out lash. I really liked this author and will read more books from him. This is a page turner and keeps your interest
dnf
August 5, 2025I rate this 0 stars. absolutely horrible it's a dnf the first book I dnf it had graphic sex scenes. too many names to remember. way no much info that was not necessary the font was tiny. I could skip 5 chapters at a time and still knew what was going on. gave up after I skipped to chapter 9 skimmed saw another sex scene was written.. not for me. chapters were incredibly long as well.
November 13, 2017
Standard police procedural.
Well plotted, decent surprise ending; lots of "inside baseball" for readers who want to know police jargon from back in the day. Otherwise notable mostly for some truly bad sex scenes.
Well plotted, decent surprise ending; lots of "inside baseball" for readers who want to know police jargon from back in the day. Otherwise notable mostly for some truly bad sex scenes.
October 24, 2022
Та навіть звичайний поліцейський детектив у час та у місці, де прямо очікуєш нудьгу у концентрованому вигляді - у цього автора вдається зробити якось по-новому, змушуючи поглянути на жанр з іншого боку...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2018
Old book with lots of filler. But I kept reading.
January 8, 2020
Very good book. Kept my interest. The Gist of it? When it comes to bad guys...A cop's gotta do what a cop's gotta do.
September 7, 2020
The detail, the dialogue, the characters, the story held my attention throughout. Some books leave me hanging at the end. This one didn't. I want to read more by this author.
November 4, 2020
Read in 1988. Solid police procedural.
February 4, 2024
Hace tiempo no leía un libro con tan buena trama
November 2, 2024
This was a long read for me. It was a good story, but a little slow at times. I wasn't super excited to get back to it.
April 24, 2025
Very good read
I really enjoyed this book. It was kind of slow in the beginning, it didn't stay that way for long. Scanlon was a good cop especially for back in 1986.
I really enjoyed this book. It was kind of slow in the beginning, it didn't stay that way for long. Scanlon was a good cop especially for back in 1986.
October 2, 2018
Interesting plot.
March 6, 2013
Published in 1986 this story was written by a prior New York Police Department (NYPD) Lt. It tells the story of a NYPD and the policeman of that era, with a murder mystery.
The book is sexually explicit, it tells the story of a Police Department who has not yet heard of equal rights, and the story tells of cops who use blatant sexual innuendos towards their policewomen.
Tony Scanlon is the good cop, who never forgets a favour. When a prior officer is shot, he and his department go all out to find out who dunit! Calling in favours of his own, he follows his hunches and solves the mystery.
Although this author has passed, he wrote several books, and a movie was made from one of them.
I intend to track the others down to read. Unless one has worked in the court system, or closely with the Police Department, this style of writing, with the constant abbreviations may distract the reader. There is no page supplied, informing reader of what these are. Therefore, suggest one familiarize oneself with IAD,SOP,RMP,DC,DD,PC,PR,RMP,PBA,LBA,IAD,TPO,NR,DOA,RDO,ADA,etc. etc. before one starts this book.
The book is sexually explicit, it tells the story of a Police Department who has not yet heard of equal rights, and the story tells of cops who use blatant sexual innuendos towards their policewomen.
Tony Scanlon is the good cop, who never forgets a favour. When a prior officer is shot, he and his department go all out to find out who dunit! Calling in favours of his own, he follows his hunches and solves the mystery.
Although this author has passed, he wrote several books, and a movie was made from one of them.
I intend to track the others down to read. Unless one has worked in the court system, or closely with the Police Department, this style of writing, with the constant abbreviations may distract the reader. There is no page supplied, informing reader of what these are. Therefore, suggest one familiarize oneself with IAD,SOP,RMP,DC,DD,PC,PR,RMP,PBA,LBA,IAD,TPO,NR,DOA,RDO,ADA,etc. etc. before one starts this book.
September 1, 2016
Lt. Tony Scanlon gets the call that a Sergent and business owner have been shot and killed in a robbery. After interviewing the witnesses, Scanlon learns that the shooter yelled 'hey you' before killing the two. Was it really a robbery or was one of them the intended target? Scanlon works with his troupe of disgraced cops, he himself having lost his leg, to solve the case when the son of the business owner is killed. What connects them all together?
I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries where a cop is the victim. I find that the motives are usually similar and books begin to feel the same because the same questions are being asked. However, you could tell the Caunitz had experience on the force which brought a bit of a different element to the book. I don't think I had read a book where the cop's locker gets cleaned out as a first step to an investigation, which was kind of interesting.
The mystery of this book was rather weak, but the characters were what kept me reading. Scanlon and his band of misfits were an interesting crew. I enjoyed Scanlon's personal and professional life, it's just a shame that the mystery didn't match.
I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries where a cop is the victim. I find that the motives are usually similar and books begin to feel the same because the same questions are being asked. However, you could tell the Caunitz had experience on the force which brought a bit of a different element to the book. I don't think I had read a book where the cop's locker gets cleaned out as a first step to an investigation, which was kind of interesting.
The mystery of this book was rather weak, but the characters were what kept me reading. Scanlon and his band of misfits were an interesting crew. I enjoyed Scanlon's personal and professional life, it's just a shame that the mystery didn't match.
March 29, 2013
Not my first book with this author. He has two books that did not give appeal to me. One Police Plaza and Pigtown. Suspects is the story of what looks like a decorated cop seemingly killed in the line of duty. Despite seeing what is in plain sight, Detective Lieutenant Tony Scanlon pursues the case in finding what really went down. The cop killed, Lt. Joe Gallagher, helped Tony recover despite his line of duty injury. Recovery meaning finding hope within the Job after etting yourself hurt. It has good writing. It has the NYPD Blue setting. There are some focus on the personal lives within the Detective Squad and the Politics within the Job. One thing I liked about William J. Caunitz's writing is this explosive way in ending his story. After finding out whodunit, everything becomes an action movie. Besides this, I am praising him for his extensive detail with scientific evidence in making the case. Good storyline and good details.
July 22, 2013
Caunitz's work is incredibly detailed when it comes to the procedurals of police work, but the problem with this is that the details also make the work incredibly dated. But, that aside, it is enjoyable. This is more of an average every-day whodunit than the high-stakes suspense tales that we see coming out every day now, which is rather refreshing. On the other hand, while the tale has plenty of twists, it also has a few too many subplots, and the dialogue is sometimes fairly contrived, if not simply unbelievable. Still, the story is enjoyable, and it provides a decent escape, albeit one you may well feel detached from. It's just not a suspense novel which you can be so sucked into as to feel as if it really is happening at the moment or something which could mean life or death.
April 27, 2013
This 1986 novel is the second novel of the NYPD written by Caunitz, an NYPD Lieutenant.
NYPD novel - A gunman walks into a Brooklyn candy store and shoots down the owner and a NYPD lieutenant. Detective Lieutenant Tony Scanlon catches the case and seanches for the killer. He uncovers some unsavory background on the dead Lt. Gallagher and suspects a deliberate murder, while the Police Commissioner wants a dead hero cop who foiled a holdup.
NYPD novel - A gunman walks into a Brooklyn candy store and shoots down the owner and a NYPD lieutenant. Detective Lieutenant Tony Scanlon catches the case and seanches for the killer. He uncovers some unsavory background on the dead Lt. Gallagher and suspects a deliberate murder, while the Police Commissioner wants a dead hero cop who foiled a holdup.
March 14, 2012
Decent police procedural, but with some serious plot holes (especially at the end - which is also predictable), and completely saturated in sleaze. I couldn't help wondering: did an ex-cop write this, or a horny teenager?
August 20, 2012
Just not that impressed with his story-telling. This one is not focused on a bunch of people within a precinct like "One Police Plaza", so there's not so much McBain feel to it. This one reads more like Lawrence Block.
October 9, 2014
When a police officer is blown up Detective Lt. Tony Scanlon must battle his own demons as other officers fall. His list of suspects include members of the police force.
July 6, 2012
Awesome book! Better than his first one to me! A cool whodunit! Really detailed on all the copo stuff too.
March 25, 2016
Police procedural solving the shooting of 4 people in New York. An amputee detective faces his insecurities.
January 9, 2017
Decent police procedural. Written in 1986 so a lot of it was rather dated but still enjoyable. I figured out the killer before it was revealed. Not a fan of the ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews