Fresh Kills: An Artie Cohen Mystery

Artie Cohen #7

by Reggie Nadelson

One of the best mysteries ever set in New York City, the last in an "archipelago trilogy" following 9/11, by the acclaimed author of Disturbed Earth. With his wife Maxine out of town, Artie Cohen is alone in Manhattan when his nephew Billy Farone is released from the young offenders' institution where he has been since he stabbed Heshey Shank to death. Artie is the one Billy wants to come home to―he's family and he's the only person Billy cares about; Artie wants desperately to believe that Billy is OK. As a plane crashes on Coney Island, bombs go off in London, and New York is shaken out of the sense that the bad times have passed, Artie begins to wonder. Over four days in Manhattan and on Staten Island there are signs that Shank's family wants Billy locked up for good, and that Billy's mother doesn't want him coming home either. The bodies begin to appear and Artie, up against a brick wall of his own hope and despair, doesn't know what or whom to believe. Reggie Nadelson has created in Artie Cohen one of mystery fiction's most interesting and complex tough, unusually sensitive, deeply flawed and human.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2006

About the author

Reggie Nadelson is a New Yorker who also makes her home in London. She is a journalist and documentary film-maker. She is the author of the critically acclaimed series featuring Artie Cohen, Moscow-born New Yorker and the first great post-Cold War cop.

Series:
* Artie Cohen

Reviews

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as Red Hook. If you love New York and the boroughs, you'll love Nadelson. Some very awfulness revealed but won't say more.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by nadelson, and found enough of interest in it to want to read some of his earlier books. I found the Russian/Jewish angle interesting, and some of the characters interesting, but without the back-story (this is the 3rd in a series) I found it didn't really work as a stand alone novel. Its quite bleak, with a lot of unrequited love ending badly. His writing is good, but the narrative was unclear and confusing, and I got lost in the plot several times. With some authors, that is deliberate and a good thing, and you carry on trusting that they will lead you to the right conclusion. Other (and this is one of them) you just stay lost, and wonder if it was really worth the trip.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the only book that I've read in the Artie Cohen mystery series, but I won't be reading any more. I'll give it 2 stars based on a good helping of suspense and an interesting peak into the Russian community in NYC. Unfortunately, I found the characters one-dimensional and unlikeable, and the dialogue unrealistic. The plot had holes big enough to jump through, and several issues went unresolved (a big no-no in a mystery story). The writing was often awkward, and I had to re-read passages to make sense of them. I thought the story line was a clever idea, but it just didn't work as presented. The ending in particular was ambiguous and ridiculous. Too bad.

[Papalodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters were so real. The dialouge was very natural, your mind makes you actually hear Artie speaking. The inflections take you to Brighton Beach and Staten Island. You are left there to find your way through the story. Except for some descriptions or comments on clothing and fashions this author, for the most part, is able to thnk and write as a man. Looking forward to reading some other Artie Cohen mysteries.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good mystery with a Russian Emigrant detective. Anyone interested in NYC detective fiction should give this a try.
Through work today I saw the author speak and take questions. She was funny, knowledgible on a lot of issues, and very smart.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most intimate, most disturbing book in the series; very much a change of pace for both Nadelson and Cohen, and handled impeccably.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least favorite in the series so far. I am not keen on books with pyschopathic children to begin with and you could drive semis through the holes in the plot.

[Joe Sulock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing. This book is like a glass of wine. You want to take it slow and enjoy each sip. I like to read Ms. Nadelson a chapter here and a chapter there.

[Orville · Rating 1 out of 5]

Previously read.