What do you think?
Rate this book
Joe Rizzo #1
Rizzo's War
Rizzo’s War , Lou Manfredo’s stunningly authentic debut, partners a rookie detective with a seasoned veteran on his way to retirement in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
“There’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.” This is the refrain of Joe Rizzo, a decades-long veteran of the NYPD, as he passes on the knowledge of his years of experience to his ambitious new partner, Mike McQueen, over a year of riding together as detectives in the Sixty-second Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. McQueen is fresh from the beat in Manhattan, and Bensonhurst might as well be China for how different it is. They work on several cases, some big, some small, but the lesson is always the same. Whether it’s a simple robbery or an attempted assault, Rizzo’s saying always seems to bear out.
When the two detectives are given the delicate task of finding and returning the runaway daughter of a city councilman, who may or may not be more interested in something his daughter has taken with her than in her safety, the situation is much more complex. By the end of Rizzo and McQueen’s year together, however, McQueen is not surprised to discover that even in those more complicated cases, Rizzo is still right—there’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.
Rizzo’s War is an introduction to a wonderful new voice in crime fiction in the Big Apple, ringing with authenticity, full of personality, and taut with the suspense of real, everyday life in the big city.
“There’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.” This is the refrain of Joe Rizzo, a decades-long veteran of the NYPD, as he passes on the knowledge of his years of experience to his ambitious new partner, Mike McQueen, over a year of riding together as detectives in the Sixty-second Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. McQueen is fresh from the beat in Manhattan, and Bensonhurst might as well be China for how different it is. They work on several cases, some big, some small, but the lesson is always the same. Whether it’s a simple robbery or an attempted assault, Rizzo’s saying always seems to bear out.
When the two detectives are given the delicate task of finding and returning the runaway daughter of a city councilman, who may or may not be more interested in something his daughter has taken with her than in her safety, the situation is much more complex. By the end of Rizzo and McQueen’s year together, however, McQueen is not surprised to discover that even in those more complicated cases, Rizzo is still right—there’s no wrong, there’s no right, there just is.
Rizzo’s War is an introduction to a wonderful new voice in crime fiction in the Big Apple, ringing with authenticity, full of personality, and taut with the suspense of real, everyday life in the big city.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2009
9 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Lou Manfredo
16 books13 followersLou Manfredo served in the Brooklyn criminal justice system for twenty-five years. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Brooklyn Noir. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now lives in New Jersey with his wife.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
November 6, 2019
Acclaimed short fiction writer (Best American Mystery Stories, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine & Brooklyn Noir) Lou Manfredo has written a gritty, realistic police thriller set in Brooklyn's Bensonhurst district. A veteran cop, Joe Rizzo, who's under a cloud of suspicion from Internal Affairs, and his young partner, recently promoted Mike McQueen, encounter a number of cases that fall into gray areas, where right and wrong are tough to apply, and they have to decide for themselves where justice lies. A tough, fast-moving police procedural full of memorable characters and packed with atmosphere. - BH.
September 12, 2009
Got this as a freebie from Amazon. No need to summarize the plot, it's fairly standard: old cop under fire, young cop trying to play it straight, old cop becomes mentor, they bond.
The first half of the book really did not grab my attention. Manfredo defines the relationship between the two cops: Rizzo is in trouble with IAD for protecting his old partner, and McQueen was rapidly promoted to detective for saving the mayor's daughter from a rape, and creating the background for the recurring mantra: "There's no right. There's no right. It just is," a phrase you just knew would be the last line of the book. So far nothing special.
The book really picks up, however, in the second half. After the two are chosen to locate the unstable daughter of a city councilman who has disappeared, however, it really picks up and I finished the last 150 pages without going to the bathroom. No real surprises the councilman is dirty and has ulterior motives for wanting to get his daughter back, etc., but the story becomes more focused and adds some interesting characters. I won't add any spoilers, just a note that those who know their Alamo history may remember James Butler Bonham and what he did. Rizzo uses him as behavioral model.
According to a blurb on the back of my copy, Manfredo had some twenty-five years of experience in the criminal justice system. If this book reflects his experience with politics and police and the intersection of the two, it's a very dark view of the system.
Two stars for the first half, maybe 4 for the second half. Splt the difference.
The first half of the book really did not grab my attention. Manfredo defines the relationship between the two cops: Rizzo is in trouble with IAD for protecting his old partner, and McQueen was rapidly promoted to detective for saving the mayor's daughter from a rape, and creating the background for the recurring mantra: "There's no right. There's no right. It just is," a phrase you just knew would be the last line of the book. So far nothing special.
The book really picks up, however, in the second half. After the two are chosen to locate the unstable daughter of a city councilman who has disappeared, however, it really picks up and I finished the last 150 pages without going to the bathroom. No real surprises the councilman is dirty and has ulterior motives for wanting to get his daughter back, etc., but the story becomes more focused and adds some interesting characters. I won't add any spoilers, just a note that those who know their Alamo history may remember James Butler Bonham and what he did. Rizzo uses him as behavioral model.
According to a blurb on the back of my copy, Manfredo had some twenty-five years of experience in the criminal justice system. If this book reflects his experience with politics and police and the intersection of the two, it's a very dark view of the system.
Two stars for the first half, maybe 4 for the second half. Splt the difference.
October 6, 2009
Amazing! When Emmy Award winning actor Bobby Cannavale slips into character as one of New York's finest you believe you're eavesdropping. His deliveries of police-speak are true, and his narration portions are presented in a low, distinct, ultra smooth voice. When 27-year NYPD veteran Joe Rizzo is speaking Cannavale easily slips into a deeper, husky tone reflecting at times weariness of what he has seen and done or simply ennui. This narrator presents a one man show from Big Apple Streets.
Rizzo's War is a bit of a surprising police debut as there are no bloody murders but rather a study of the relationship between two officers as they ride together in the Sixty-second Precinct, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Mike McQueen is a young cop with six years experience, primarily in Manhattan. He's ambitious and has risen in the ranks due to hard work and luck (saving the mayor's daughter from a potential rapist). He will spend a year riding with Rizzo and learning from him. They face every sort of crime, large, inconsequential (if there is such a crime), and tracing the runaway daughter of a city councilman.
Debut author Manfredo knows of what he writes after having served as a New York State Court Officer. Knowing your subject is one thing but being able to bring it to life on paper is quite another. Manfredo has mastered that well, and we look forward to more from Rizzo who is fond of sharing his experience by saying, "There's no wrong, there's no right, there just is."
Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
Rizzo's War is a bit of a surprising police debut as there are no bloody murders but rather a study of the relationship between two officers as they ride together in the Sixty-second Precinct, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Mike McQueen is a young cop with six years experience, primarily in Manhattan. He's ambitious and has risen in the ranks due to hard work and luck (saving the mayor's daughter from a potential rapist). He will spend a year riding with Rizzo and learning from him. They face every sort of crime, large, inconsequential (if there is such a crime), and tracing the runaway daughter of a city councilman.
Debut author Manfredo knows of what he writes after having served as a New York State Court Officer. Knowing your subject is one thing but being able to bring it to life on paper is quite another. Manfredo has mastered that well, and we look forward to more from Rizzo who is fond of sharing his experience by saying, "There's no wrong, there's no right, there just is."
Enjoy!
- Gail Cooke
May 22, 2013
Some books you read for the voice, some you read for the story. A minimalist Ken Bruen type of story hooks you with the voice, and it gets the critical raves. And then there are good, workmanlike novels like Lou Manfredo's which will never get a lot of style points but hook you with credible, sympathetic characters, a vivid depiction of a place and plenty of insights into the way the world works. This is a New York cop novel (a genre unto itself) and a good one. Rizzo is a tough, worldly-wise old Brooklyn cop breaking in a young, ambitious partner, teaching him about the compromises you need to make to do the job right. I kept picking the damn thing up when I should have been doing other things and I was sorry when it was over. That's about all you can ask from a book.
May 15, 2016
Good plot & casting. Ambiguous morality (not immoral) throughout (there's no good, no bad - it just is?!?) no graphics, gore - mild profanity. Well narrated.
February 23, 2021
I've read cop books by retired detectives, but Lou Manfredo really knows his stuff. And, he writes a great mystery! I'm now hooked and will read more!
October 22, 2018
For me, this book lacked action. After my previous book, I wanted a light, crime novel. This was quite boring. Not sure why I persevered, but I read reviews on Goodreads which said it picks up halfway through. It hardly picked up and I should’ve abandoned it. Apparently, it was his debut novel. Perhaps his others have more action.
June 12, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book.
It was a well-told story about a NYPD detective nearing the end of his career who is tapped along with his young partner to find the missing daughter of a shady councilman. But that doesn’t happen until almost halfway through the book.
But it’s not a true police procedural or mystery because there’s very little investigation in the search for the missing girl. Everything gets done on the basis of favors owed and collected, presenting a rather bleak picture of how police work is really done. Rizzo explains it away by saying, “There is no right and there is no wrong. There just is.”
Manfredo writes from a very omniscient POV, drifting easily from one character’s head into another’s and back. He does it so smoothly, however, the lurch that sometimes happens with ‘head hopping’ isn’t there.
The book is called ‘Rizzo’s War’ but it’s as much about Mike McQueen, his partner, as it is about Joe Rizzo. It’s more of a character-driven story since it explores the compromises they make over the course of the story and the effect it has on them, especially Mike.
There are two more books in this series, and this one was good enough to make me want to read them.
It was a well-told story about a NYPD detective nearing the end of his career who is tapped along with his young partner to find the missing daughter of a shady councilman. But that doesn’t happen until almost halfway through the book.
But it’s not a true police procedural or mystery because there’s very little investigation in the search for the missing girl. Everything gets done on the basis of favors owed and collected, presenting a rather bleak picture of how police work is really done. Rizzo explains it away by saying, “There is no right and there is no wrong. There just is.”
Manfredo writes from a very omniscient POV, drifting easily from one character’s head into another’s and back. He does it so smoothly, however, the lurch that sometimes happens with ‘head hopping’ isn’t there.
The book is called ‘Rizzo’s War’ but it’s as much about Mike McQueen, his partner, as it is about Joe Rizzo. It’s more of a character-driven story since it explores the compromises they make over the course of the story and the effect it has on them, especially Mike.
There are two more books in this series, and this one was good enough to make me want to read them.
June 22, 2018
I have had this book on a to read list for a long time and finally got around to it. I couldn't put it down.
Joe Rizzo is the epitome of the hard-boiled, wise old cop. He is partnered with a young cop, new to being a detective thanks to a fluke arrest that pleased the mayor. The young cop, a NYU grad, realizes there is a lot to learn from Rizzo, and respects him for his up front honesty about an Internal Affairs Investigation. It's somewhat the elephant in the room from time to time, but McQueen learns to trust Rizzo's instincts and understands that while he'll bend rules, Rizzo is, as the base of it, a decent man who does the right thing, even if the methods are unorthodox.
The pair are assigned a delicate case: the bipolar daughter of a prominent politician has run away, and they have been handpicked to find her. They both smell a rat, but they run it down.
Ultimately, a decision must be made, and Rizzo sets it up so that it becomes his partner's decision.
I don't want to say more -
Suffice to say, the characters are well drawn, and the book was a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to another of Mr. Manfredo's books.
Joe Rizzo is the epitome of the hard-boiled, wise old cop. He is partnered with a young cop, new to being a detective thanks to a fluke arrest that pleased the mayor. The young cop, a NYU grad, realizes there is a lot to learn from Rizzo, and respects him for his up front honesty about an Internal Affairs Investigation. It's somewhat the elephant in the room from time to time, but McQueen learns to trust Rizzo's instincts and understands that while he'll bend rules, Rizzo is, as the base of it, a decent man who does the right thing, even if the methods are unorthodox.
The pair are assigned a delicate case: the bipolar daughter of a prominent politician has run away, and they have been handpicked to find her. They both smell a rat, but they run it down.
Ultimately, a decision must be made, and Rizzo sets it up so that it becomes his partner's decision.
I don't want to say more -
Suffice to say, the characters are well drawn, and the book was a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to another of Mr. Manfredo's books.
December 27, 2012
Joe Rizzo is a Brooklyn police detective with a lot of miles and a lot of experience in the complicated political world of New York City. As he edges closer to retirement he’s managed to keep his nose clean and still have a rep as good cop. It hasn’t been easy. He tries to explain to his ambitious young partner how it works but that’s not easy either. Rizzo’s philosophy is that there’s no right or wrong, there just is. There’s legal and there’s illegal but even those rules keep changing so a good cop has to be flexible and stay on his game. As Joe exposes his partner Mike to a painstaking education as a new police detective, Mike finds that those decisions are not always easy to make. When they’re assigned to find the missing daughter of a local politician they suddenly find the decision making becomes very complex for both of them.
October 2, 2021
Joe Rizzo is a Detective Sergeant in the NYPD; Mike McQueen is a newly minted Detective 3rd Class. Rizzo is a veteran, wise to the ways of the street and not above cutting a corner or two to achieve his desired result. McQueen is ambitious; he wants to keep his nose clean so that he can rise through the ranks and work out of headquarters. He respects Rizzo's knowledge but doesn't always agree with his methods. As partners, these two are given the task of finding the daughter of a city councilman who has disappeared. She suffers from bi=polar syndrome and is presumably off her meds. Rizzo and McQueen are given the special assignment to find the girl and bring her into a hospital under a mental hygiene warrant. It soon becomes clear that there is more to the story than a girl who has mental problems. The two detectives will be dealing with police brass, the councilman, motorcycle gangs and even a couple of Catholic priests before the story concludes. At the conclusion, they are left with a moral question which they have to answer.
The story is realistic, especially given the fact that the author spent twenty-five years working in the criminal justice system. It is an insight into the reality of police work in a big city in the twenty-first sentury. It's not pretty, but sometimes it works
The story is realistic, especially given the fact that the author spent twenty-five years working in the criminal justice system. It is an insight into the reality of police work in a big city in the twenty-first sentury. It's not pretty, but sometimes it works
February 27, 2021
Although some reviews claim Rizzo's War is boring, at least in the first half when Rizzo and McQueen are investigation a variety of crimes, I felt the book was the epitome of New York cops. Rizzo provides the street-weary, tough cop while newby Mike McQueen offers a new, fresh look on things. Despite their differences, they bond well and Lou Manfredo captures that nicely.
The first half of the book shows Rizzo's philosophy of right and wrong. "There is no right, there is no wrong. There just is," he says. Rizzo relies on favors. Lots of them and he's accrued them during his 27-year career with the NYPD.
It's hard to tell when this takes place. Other than a brief mention of the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, this could have taken place anytime. It has that gritty feel of the 1970s cops films like Serpico and The French Connection.
Great characters, great dialogue, interesting cases. This book has it all for cop fiction fans. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a fast, albeit slightly different read than most of the cop genres.
The first half of the book shows Rizzo's philosophy of right and wrong. "There is no right, there is no wrong. There just is," he says. Rizzo relies on favors. Lots of them and he's accrued them during his 27-year career with the NYPD.
It's hard to tell when this takes place. Other than a brief mention of the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, this could have taken place anytime. It has that gritty feel of the 1970s cops films like Serpico and The French Connection.
Great characters, great dialogue, interesting cases. This book has it all for cop fiction fans. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a fast, albeit slightly different read than most of the cop genres.
May 13, 2020
Veteran NYPD Detective Joe Rizzo, is partnered with rookie detective Mike McQueen, in the Bensonhurst area in Brooklyn. Grizzled, chain smoking, Rizzo shows NYU College graduate Mcqueen, fresh from six years of patrol duty in the Village what it takes, and how things work in the real world of policing. Rizzo, in between smoke, solving crime and closing cases shares his knowledge with Mcqueen that "there's no wrong, no right, there just is". This is put to the test for both detectives when they are assigned to find a coucilman's bi-polar run a way daughter.
March 31, 2020
Loved the first half as new partners Rizzo (grizzled vet) and McQueen (recently promoted young detective) work minor cases while feeling each other out. The second half was solid as well. Tough decisions were made and appreciated the rational behind them. I could have done without the biker gangs and that interaction. More than enough sketchy individuals in Brooklyn the runaway could have landed with. Overall much to like and I'll gladly move forward with this short series.
March 19, 2022
Well-done character study of a veteran detective and a younger officer. They analyze the morality of what they do and hey solve a very convoluted case. Brisk pacing and good dialogue, although you may choke on second-hand smoke from the Chesterfields that Rizzo inhales throughout the book.
December 4, 2023
Took me a while but once I got into it, I found it an excellent read. Or rather, listen, as I played it on CD in the car. Bobby Canavale's performance is excellent! I think this was recorded before he became a big star. The format is episodic; took me a while to realize it.
Recommended.
Recommended.
October 8, 2024
Have read this and the second one in the series (Rizzo's Fire) and will be buying the third book. If you like realistic American detective novels read it, you won't regret it.
Great characters, very well written. The only problem is there are only 3 books in the series, I wish he'd written more.
Great characters, very well written. The only problem is there are only 3 books in the series, I wish he'd written more.
December 11, 2024
I thought the book sounded like an Law and Order episode. I liked it & the book had a happy ending. You get to know the characters pretty well within the 290 page book & you learn how great of a cop the lead is. There is no perfect but he gets the job done.
July 13, 2018
Very enjoyable read. Takes place in Brooklyn in a neighborhood I'm familiar with. Rizzo being Italian throws in several statements in Italian. A good send true take on local politics.
March 4, 2019
A different kind of cop thriller. The protagonist's motives are unclear, so you're not sure what to believe. Well written.
June 16, 2019
One of the best detective novels I've read in a while! A very good first novel.
April 8, 2020
Really liked this main protagonist.
July 4, 2023
Golden Oldie
Enjoyable old fashion cop story with a complicated older cop mentoring a young idealistic cop on how to survive a corrupt world and keep your soul saved
Enjoyable old fashion cop story with a complicated older cop mentoring a young idealistic cop on how to survive a corrupt world and keep your soul saved
January 15, 2025
“There ain’t no right. There ain’t no wrong. There just IS.” Gritty police procedural set on the mean streets of New York City. Terrific characters, terrific read.
May 28, 2025
A police procedural with just the right of grit, character and plot
November 24, 2025
Great Read
I found another series to read. Good storyline and insight into police work. Not all cops are good. Not all cops are bad. Hopefully, more good than bad
I found another series to read. Good storyline and insight into police work. Not all cops are good. Not all cops are bad. Hopefully, more good than bad
December 5, 2014
I think it would be very difficult to create two characters who are more stereotyped than the two main characters in this story. We have Joe Rizzo, tough Italian detective who has been on the force forever and is just waiting to be able to afford to live off his pension and we have Mike McQueen, new college-educated detective who just came over from patrolling the streets of Manhattan and wants to get promoted back to a big-time job in Manhattan. And let's not forget the African-American, lesbian patrol officer (who is revealed to have been a member of a motorcycle gang just when Rizzo and McQueen need one) to complete the triumvirate. Rizzo and McQueen don't do much other than wander through a few cases and reveal that all cops are crooked, even the honest ones. They accept free food from a restaurant in payment for following the owner when he takes the day's receipts to the bank. They claim a confession that never happened from a dead guy. It takes them two weeks to decide if promotions and bigger pensions in exchange for letting criminals get away with their crimes falls within the oath they took when they became cops. I have to admit that I didn't like either Rizzo or McQueen.
As far as the story goes, nothing really happens. The detectives have a few cases but none of them are interesting, even the big one that completes the story. And the ending of that case is so contrived as to be unbelievable. And does NYC really have motorcycle gangs running through the city selling drugs and being ignored by the police? In a crime novel, the most important thing is making you care about something and then putting that something in some kind of danger. The detectives who we are supposed to care about, I assume, are never in any danger. The only character who is in danger we know virtually nothing about so it is hard to care what happens to her.
The writing itself is only fair at best. The author tells us about left and right turns in the Impala and Rizzo taking out another pack of Chesterfields and the two detectives talking on their Motorola radio. I expected to go to commercial any minute. But it is fast and easy reading. You can probably blow through this book in a couple of days... and then move on to something better.
As far as the story goes, nothing really happens. The detectives have a few cases but none of them are interesting, even the big one that completes the story. And the ending of that case is so contrived as to be unbelievable. And does NYC really have motorcycle gangs running through the city selling drugs and being ignored by the police? In a crime novel, the most important thing is making you care about something and then putting that something in some kind of danger. The detectives who we are supposed to care about, I assume, are never in any danger. The only character who is in danger we know virtually nothing about so it is hard to care what happens to her.
The writing itself is only fair at best. The author tells us about left and right turns in the Impala and Rizzo taking out another pack of Chesterfields and the two detectives talking on their Motorola radio. I expected to go to commercial any minute. But it is fast and easy reading. You can probably blow through this book in a couple of days... and then move on to something better.
Read
February 27, 2011Working 25 years in Brooklyn’s criminal court system may have given first-time novelist Lou Manfredo a rare insight into how justice really gets done, but it hasn’t gifted him with any special knack for dialogue or exposition. Large chunks of Manfredo’s police procedural Rizzo’s War are given over to characters saying “Here’s the thing,” then delivering long speeches that lay out what’s going to happen next in the plot, and how they feel about it. What most writers would do via internal monologues and descriptive action, Mancredo sticks between quotation marks.
Thank goodness, then, that Rizzo’s War has such compelling protagonists doing all that yakking. The book follows veteran Bensonhurst cop Joe Rizzo throughout his first year partnered up with urbane, ambitious youngster Mike McQueen. The first half of Rizzo’s War is more like a collection of short stories than a proper novel; it moves quickly from case to case while establishing backstories—especially for Rizzo, who’s dealing with an Internal Affairs investigation related to his dealings with a crooked former partner. Then Rizzo and McQueen catch a case involving the runaway daughter of a local politician, and the remainder of Rizzo’s War becomes about the cops tracking down the girl while trying to figure out how they can both leverage this assignment into a better life.
That focus on deal-making and petty corruption gives Rizzo’s War its real charge. Manfredo depicts police work as a series of impossible moral choices, faced daily, and he shows how his cops constantly weigh ethically iffy moves against the greater good, always remembering that there’s a difference between “wrong” and “illegal.” To find their missing person, Rizzo and McQueen deal with priests, feds, doctors, bikers, and gangsters, in every instance relying on a system of favors that moves them further and further from what would be considered strictly clean. Yet Manfredo frames the action—and his heroes—in such a way that readers can understand what they’re doing, and even root for then. If only they could keep their mouths shut.
Thank goodness, then, that Rizzo’s War has such compelling protagonists doing all that yakking. The book follows veteran Bensonhurst cop Joe Rizzo throughout his first year partnered up with urbane, ambitious youngster Mike McQueen. The first half of Rizzo’s War is more like a collection of short stories than a proper novel; it moves quickly from case to case while establishing backstories—especially for Rizzo, who’s dealing with an Internal Affairs investigation related to his dealings with a crooked former partner. Then Rizzo and McQueen catch a case involving the runaway daughter of a local politician, and the remainder of Rizzo’s War becomes about the cops tracking down the girl while trying to figure out how they can both leverage this assignment into a better life.
That focus on deal-making and petty corruption gives Rizzo’s War its real charge. Manfredo depicts police work as a series of impossible moral choices, faced daily, and he shows how his cops constantly weigh ethically iffy moves against the greater good, always remembering that there’s a difference between “wrong” and “illegal.” To find their missing person, Rizzo and McQueen deal with priests, feds, doctors, bikers, and gangsters, in every instance relying on a system of favors that moves them further and further from what would be considered strictly clean. Yet Manfredo frames the action—and his heroes—in such a way that readers can understand what they’re doing, and even root for then. If only they could keep their mouths shut.
October 21, 2009
Veteran cop Joe Rizzo and his recently promoted partner Mike McQueen are fighting a war on the streets of Bensonhurst, New York. This war consists of daily skirmishes with common street thugs, burglars, as well as dealing with the victims of the street scum. In addition, Rizzo’s previous partner is currently being investigated by Internal Affairs and the IA boys are doing their best to intimidate Russo into divulging any information he may have on the guy, going so far as threatening to “bring him down” too.
Suddenly McQueen and Rizzo are called upon to perform a political favor and locate the runaway daughter of an influential city councilman. The girl is mentally unstable and may or may not be in possession of some evidence that incriminates her daddy in some pretty shady dealings. The powers that be have indicated that a successful resolution the councilman’s problem could make Rizzo’s IA problem go away and result in a promotion to The Plaza for McQueen. The question is, is dad truly concerned about his daughters safety and well being or is he just trying to cover his own back and preserve his political future?
RIZZO’S WAR provides the reader with insight into the inner workings of police work and the political games that must be played if a cop wants to move up in the ranks. Rizzo knows what it really takes to survive in this chosen career and is an ideal mentor who generously shares his years of wisdom with his young partner via pithy comments and keen observations. Rizzo’s philosophy is “There is no wrong, there is no right, there just is”. Perhaps Joe Rizzo, the man, could add another observation to his repertoire, this one borrowed from Popeye and used to describe Rizzo, the man. That line would be “I am what I am and that’s all that I am”.
Suddenly McQueen and Rizzo are called upon to perform a political favor and locate the runaway daughter of an influential city councilman. The girl is mentally unstable and may or may not be in possession of some evidence that incriminates her daddy in some pretty shady dealings. The powers that be have indicated that a successful resolution the councilman’s problem could make Rizzo’s IA problem go away and result in a promotion to The Plaza for McQueen. The question is, is dad truly concerned about his daughters safety and well being or is he just trying to cover his own back and preserve his political future?
RIZZO’S WAR provides the reader with insight into the inner workings of police work and the political games that must be played if a cop wants to move up in the ranks. Rizzo knows what it really takes to survive in this chosen career and is an ideal mentor who generously shares his years of wisdom with his young partner via pithy comments and keen observations. Rizzo’s philosophy is “There is no wrong, there is no right, there just is”. Perhaps Joe Rizzo, the man, could add another observation to his repertoire, this one borrowed from Popeye and used to describe Rizzo, the man. That line would be “I am what I am and that’s all that I am”.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews