Murder by Definition

42nd Street Library Mystery #4

by Con Lehane

Crime-fiction librarian Ray Ambler gets more than he bargained for when he acquires the archives of a controversial hardboiled crime author in this contemporary twisty mystery set in New York City.



Hardboiled crime writer Will Ford might be critically acclaimed, but he's every bit as debauched and disreputable as the ne'er-do-well private eye in his novels. So when Ford offers Raymond Ambler - crime-fiction curator at New York City's prestigious 42nd Street Library - a collection of his papers, Ambler wonders if the project will be more trouble than it's worth. Still, the disgraced author is an important talent, and Ambler's never been afraid of a fight.

Ambler's ready for the controversy that greets news of the acquisition. He's not ready, however, for what he finds when he finally receives the papers: a gripping unpublished short story apparently based on a real case, with an explosive author's note. If it's true, there's been a shocking coverup at the heart of the NYPD - and a cop has got away with murder.

If it's true. Ford's not talking, and Ambler's good friend Mike Cosgrove, a veteran NYPD homicide detective, is beyond skeptical. But as the pair investigate, they're drawn into the sordid underbelly of 1990s New York, packed with renegade cops, thugs and mobsters . . . and they'll be lucky to come back out alive.

Gritty and fast-paced, this story of police corruption, murder and mayhem is a great choice for fans of traditional mysteries with complex plotting, atmospheric settings and red herrings a plenty!

Genres: Mystery, Crime

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2022

About the author

aka Cornelius Lehane.

Con Lehane grew up in the suburbs of New York City and currently writes from just outside of Washington, DC. Once a college professor, union organizer, bartender, and editor at the National Education Association, he now writes full time and teaches at The Writer's Center. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction writing from Columbia University School of the Arts. Death at the Old Hotel is his third novel in the Bartender Brian McNulty mystery series. His newest offering, the first book in a new series, is due from Minotaur-Thomas Dunne Books in 2014.

Series:
* Brian McNulty Mystery

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Con Lehane, and Severn House for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always eager to read another of Con Lehane’s stories, I reached for this ARC, hoping it would be as exciting as some of the other novels in the series. Using New York’s 42 Street Library as a backdrop, Lehane weaves a mystery that is full of action and even some simple moments of book loving to provide the reader with something well worth their time. Unique and to the point, Lehane does well to keep things interesting throughout and provide readers more to ponder when it comes to protagonist Raymond Ambler.

Raymond Ambler loves is job as the crime-fiction curator within the prestigious 42 Street Library in New York City, but is always looking for a new edge. When approached by Will Ford, a rough around the edges writer with some critical acclaim, the discussion turns to Ford’s old manuscripts. While the author is known for his gritty writing, he also has a history of womanizing that has left many with a sour taste in their mouths. However, as Ambler soon discovers, Ford has penned a controversial short story that has more fact than fiction to it, including talk of a cop who’s covered up a murder they committed. No wonder Ford does not want this story to see the light of day.

As Ambler tries to discover the truth behind the story, he trips upon a handful of cops who may not want the truth coming out either. Ford has taken too many liberties and might reveal some of the darkest parts of New York’s underbelly, painting cops and criminals with the same brush. The more Ambler pushes, the more is revealed, before Ford is eventually shot and killed. Was he silenced as revenge or so that he cannot tell anyone else of his escapades?

As Ambler rushes to get to the truth, he convinces his long time friend, Mike Cosgrove, to help, Cosgrove, a former NYPD detective, is reluctant, but feels that there is something to the investigation. Together they turn over some rocks, only to learn that some things are best left in the dark. Ambler soon feels he has put himself in even more danger and risks the happiness he is building in his personal life. With some family matters of his own to digest, Ambler will have to play his cards right or end up with a bullet in his own head for his amateur sleuthing. Lehane keeps the series alive with this latest piece, sure to pique the interest of many.

The debut novel in this series fell into my lap a yew years ago and I was eager to see where things might go. Lehane paints a great picture while using the somewhat bucolic backdrop of the library as an odd setting. Mixing a library with murder might seem odd, but it works and Lehane has done well to keep Raymond Ambler in the heart of the action, while also passing in some personal foibles to show his bumbling nature. I am eager to see where things are headed, as there is never a clear path put out for the reader, even with a cliffhanger in the final chapter here.

Lehane tells his stories in a quick paced manner, while also adding some meandering for good measure. Sure to impress some readers, the narrative moves along at a steady pace and provides the reader with something they can follow with ease. Great characters and some well-placed plot twists keeps the reader from getting too comfortable, as things prove highly intense by the latter half of the novel. With more to come, I am eager to discover Lehane’s plan for both the series and Raymond Ambler’s personal situation. I suppose I will have to wait a but but hopefully not too long.

Kudos, Mr. Lehane, for keeping me guessing throughout this one! I cannot wait to see what you have coming next.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Ambler is the curator of crime fiction at the New York Public Library. When Will Ford, a has-been writer of gritty detective stories, contacts him offering his papers from his New York years to the library, Ray is on board. He had been a fan of Ford's fiction despite it's violence. Among the papers donated is an unpublished short story accompanied by an author's note that indicates the story is based on a real case from the 90's. Further investigation raises questions about the truth of what happened when an undercover cop was gunned down. Ford discourages Ray from prying into the past but the curator isn't one to back off once he is faced with doubt. Ray involves his friends Mike, an NYPD cop and bar tender, McNulty in his research. The repercussions of his digging into the past are far reaching and tragic.
This is the fourth and by far the best of the 42nd Street Library Series. The plot twists are great and the action fast-paced. The author has created a story within a story - each mirroring the other.
Thanks to Severn and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this story, there were parts of it that were distracting.

I really felt Adele's actions did not ring true at times. Many times she is the voice of reason for Ambler, but she doesn't always come off as a woman in her thinking. This passage in particular threw me out of the story: Adele watched Ambler for a long minute. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her eyelids drooping. "I want to spend the night," she said, her voice heavy with sorrow. "But I don't want you to touch me. Reading about this man has made me so disgusted I'd scream if you touched me."

I also felt that there was way too much repetition throughout the telling, particularly once Mike was in the hospital. I did not get the point of Ambler talking to the confessed killer in prison. I was left wondering whether the villain had also killed Chris or if it really was suicide.

I liked the section with Will Ford and McNulty. Brian has a way of getting people to open up.

Looks like there will be a lot of family business in the next book.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Viccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ray Ambler is a librarian at the New York Public Library. He is the curator of the crime fiction collection. He receives a call from Will Ford, a hard-boiled detective writer, who offers the NYPL his writings from his time in New York. for a modest fee. Ford is as seedy as the detectives he writes and when he arrives in New York, he spends most of his time drinking...until he gets murdered. Ambler and his police detective friend, Mike Cosgrove, suspect his death is tied to a short story Ford wrote indicating an NYPD detective covered up a murder years ago. Now, some of the participants in said murder are high-ranking officers who have a lot to lose if the murder comes to light. More bodies start dropping as Mike and Ray work to uncover the truth about the murder and the cover-up.

[Amber Humphries · Rating 3 out of 5]

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Murder by Definition by Con Lehane. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this ARC.

I have mixed feelings about his book. The author did a good job setting the mystery up, but the multiple POV didn't work for me. The characters didn't seem to be working together and there was more guesswork going on rather than open dialogue. It is just a personal preference when it comes to the narrative style. I give Murder by Definition a solid 3/5 stars.

[Geoff Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good well written noir NYC crime thriller. Ray Ambler works for the 42nd street library in Manhattan. He is offered the private papers of a well known but very controversial author Will Ford. When Ray finds an unpublished story that seems to implicate a police officer for murder, Ford refuses to say whether it is true.
Ray asks his friend a NYPD homicide detective Mike Cosgrove to look into it. Ford is murdered - have Ray and Mike put them all at risk?
Recommended as a good interesting read.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been ages since I read a 42nd Street Library Mystery as it seems there's one once in a blue moon. The moment i started reading it I was hooked and glad to meet again these characters and the atmosphere of the library.
It's a good mystery full of twists and turns and the author did an excellent job in delivering a solid mystery in the right number of pages.
The characters and the setting are well done and the mystery kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Julie Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bad cop, good cop, bad/good cop story about murder, mystery, and unanswered questions. Take a writer, drug lord, whore, several cops of yet to be determined mind set, librarian and bartender throw them in a paper bag and make a story about them. You will have this murder mystery. Story is engaging with several plots going at once. What is interesting is the writer lives in infamy- due to his bad behaviors and because of his writing.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 50%
Characters are so interchangeable that I can’t keep them straight. Zero stakes. I don’t care about anyone or anything in this book, and I actively dislike the skeevy old dude who is the main character. The relationship between this old guy and the young girlfriend is totally implausible and, frankly, reads like self-insert fiction. Gross.

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has a arch-storyline. It’s handled well.
I don’t think I’ll ever like the female protagonist. It happens.
The grandson gets more interesting each book, well done.
New York City is as always in this series well used in the book.
As always the good detective is my favorite character. I’m hoping Con Lehane treats him well in future installments.

[Irvina Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the series so far. A bit more tense than the others (which, by the way, is NOT why I say it is best in the series). I still like how this series is evolving. I wonder how many more Con Lehane will add to it. I am hoping for quite a few.

[Christine Discenza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uninteresting and repetitive.

[Rina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve never DNF’d a book in 23 pages before but here we are. The description ticked all the boxes for me but the writing style and the plot points did not resonate.

[Jocelin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very drawn out story that reads more like a police procedural than a murder mystery. The plot was thin, and I struggled to even finish it.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series, but felt like this one was bogged down with some unnecessary details. But I loved the ending!

[Michael Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

see notes on book 5 in this series.