SEVENTH AVENUE an action-packed, explosive crime thriller

by Christopher Newman

295 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2026

About the author

Born in San Francisco, California in 1952, Christopher Newman was educated in Bay Area Catholic schools, the University of California at Santa Cruz and Birmingham University, England. He travelled overland from Europe across the Asian subcontinent to Singapore alone in his late teens. Before he was 21 he'd worked for a year aboard a tanker plying trade between the Persian Gulf and ports around the Pacific rim. He wrote the first draft of his third published novel, Manana Man, while in residence in Cali, Colombia his senior year in college. At 27, he moved to New York City, working as a trim carpenter for five years in Manhattan before publishing his first Joe Dante novel, Midtown South, in 1985. When that title met with considerable commercial success, his publisher convinced him to turn his protagonist into a series character. Eight more Joe Dante novels followed, all making various national best seller lists. Midtown North, published in 1991, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Chains of Command, left unfinished at the time of best-selling author William Caunitz death in 1998, was completed by Mr. Newman at the estate's request. It was named a 1999 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Mr. Newman left New York in 2002 and currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Dante is an authentic NYPD-type but still distinct from other cops. He lives alone in 1980s Greenwich Village when there was still a selection of affordable apartments. Joe is going through a difficult breakup, but he’s undistracted from the case, even though his ex is now one of the highest ranking cops in the NYPD. Joe gets plenty of help from other officers in the department, a refreshing and realistic portrayal of departmental teamwork. The plot unfolded nicely with some unexpected turns, but not such sharp turns as to make the story too wild. It’s complex and fascinating, all dealing with NYC’s 1980s Fashion District, which was along 7th Avenue back then.

[Victor DeVasto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in the Joe Dante series, a gritty NYPD Detective that has a nose for sensing something is not right when looking at a crime scene. The author's books are action packed and he does an excellent job of taking the lead character though tough and challenging cases that usually makes the brass uncomfortable, but they relent to let Dante solve the case.