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According
to the book description of Precinct, “Captain Richard Leland is a rising star in the NYPD.
Young, bright, and super ambitious, his goal is to be the police commissioner by the time he’s forty. He’s right
on track, but then department politics rears its ugly head. All his carefully laid plans are suddenly thrown into jeopardy
when his boss, Chief of Department Charles Drum, decides his young protégé needs more patrol experience—something
that Leland has been avoiding at all costs because he knows that almost anything that goes wrong in a precinct could derail
his promising career. To his horror, Leland is transferred to the notorious Bronx precinct that cops call “Fort Frenzy.”
With good reason, a wary Leland views his precinct assignment as a career minefield that at any moment could blow his hopes
and expectations all to hell. His new boss, Assistant Chief Lucian Hightower, is an archenemy of Chief Drum and he’s
not at all happy to see this “headquarters groupie” in his borough. Another major flashpoint for Leland is Kawasi
Munyika, a loudmouthed political activist who is waiting for that one “cause” that will propel him into national
prominence. Then, there’s the “Poet Bandit,” a psycho whose robbery notes contain poems, and the “Midnight
Mangias,” a couple who break into restaurants and cook their own meals. If that isn’t enough, Leland is forced
to contend with angry cops, whacko cops, a radio car romance, a “cop fighter” bar that needs to be closed, and
a beautiful, if contentious, community organizer who is a thorn in his side. Or is she? Finally, it all comes to a head. Kawasi
Munyika finds his “cause”—the boycott of a Korean grocery store. And Richard Leland is faced with his own
personal Armageddon: Will he protect his career or will he do the right thing? This book, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic,
offers the reader an insider’s unique view of the life of a precinct commanding officer and what goes on behind the
walls of a NYPD precinct.”
Publisher’s
Weekly said of Line of Duty, “Twenty-three-year NYPD veteran Grant is being billed by his
publisher as "the police novelist of the '90s," the logical successor to Joseph Wambaugh and William Caunitz. But
while it is clear that the author of this competent if uninvolving first novel is writing from an insider's viewpoint, the
narrative lacks the steady flow of raucous, off-color humor and wild anecdotes that has come to define the genre. When a well-known
drug dealer is summarily executed by two men who might well be policemen, career cop Brian Shannon is assigned to conduct
a covert investigation in an uneasy alliance with Internal Affairs officer Alex Rose. Similar murders of a sleazy lawyer and
an uptown art dealer eventually lead them to police captain Patrick Stone, head of the city's elite antidrug unit and a rising
departmental star. Unfortunately, Stone's corruption--which is the heart of the story--is difficult to accept, and his ability
to draw an entire team of other cops into his web defies belief. Finally, while the requisite personal problems in the investigators'
private lives are introduced, these never have much passion or impact, and are not resolved. As far as the police novel goes,
Grant sings the song but sadly misses the melody.”
Kirkus
Reviews said of Officer Down, “Tired of battling US anti-drug authorities on Colombian soil,
the drug lords hatch an ingenious, improbable, yet prophetic scheme: They'll hire a cadre of terrorists to execute NYPD officers
at random, spreading fear and demoralization in preparation for an all-out attack on a high-profile public institution--all
in order to frighten federal authorities into backing off their demands for extraditions from Colombia. Commissioner Thomas
Cassidy, looking for a few good men to battle the Puto Blanco (White Fist), chooses Deputy Inspector Dan Morgan, who's joined
by DEA agent Donald Castillo (``pushing the envelope and close to burnout'') and FBI antiterrorist specialist Christine Liberti.
As Morgan's tiny, secret unit begins to gather information, the Pu¤o Blanco--headed by paramilitary sharpshooter Lyle
Petry-- plants a bomb outside One Police Plaza, killing the eager-beaver officer who picks it up thinking it's a dud; executes
a second officer as she's sitting in her car writing out a parking citation; and begins to place bogus distress calls to 911
in order to bushwhack the responding officers. The department, even though they haven't been told that a terrorist organization
has targeted their ranks, predictably demands automatic weapons and doubled backup personnel, and then, after another bombing
in the South Bronx, starts a job action. The odds against Morgan and Co. would seem impossible except for an undercover cop
they've planted right under Petry's nose--but a rookie whose inexperience sets the stage for a nail biting finale. The excruciatingly
familiar characters, from coldly trigger-happy Petry to hotly trigger-happy Castillo, are only pegs to hang the action on--but
as Grant showed in Line of Duty (1991), he sure can dish up the action. The recent bombing of the World Trade Center (not,
by the way, the climactic target here) gives this crackerjack story an added timeliness.”
The
Library Journal said of Retribution, “Rogue cop Michael Devlin, a man with great potential,
has fallen victim to a cheating wife and no longer cares about anything. Transferred to the force's traffic division, he quits
and takes a job as head of security of Taggert Industries, one of New York City's premier companies. The ex-cop, thinking
this will be a soft assignment, calls in Marie Falcone and Otis Royal, computer and security experts, to identify and correct
the problems. When a mail bomb is found under the podium where the head of the company is speaking, the situation turns serious.
Although not as complex as his first novel, Line of Duty (LJ 6/15/90), Grant's latest has moved away from the police procedural
into the realm of corporate security, and the author succeeds in writing a suspense-filled thriller.”
According
to the book description of In The Time Of Famine, “In 1845 a blight of unknown origin destroyed
the potato crop in Ireland triggering a series of events that would change forever the course of Ireland’s history.
The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death
of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country.
With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan,
the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved.
He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord,
Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to
his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”
In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love
and sacrifice.”
According to the book description of The
Cove, “Haddley Falls, a sleepy, bucolic New England town, relies on tourism for its economic survival.
But then the unthinkable happens: A man and a woman are brutally murdered on a sailboat anchored in the town’s cove.
Understandably, these murders throw the resort town into chaos, but no one has more at stake than the town’s three movers
and shakers. Jonathan Talbot, a wealthy industrialist, is a nominee for the position of Secretary of the Commerce and can’t
afford a hint of scandal. Whittier Sanborne III, a wealthy and reclusive man, has dark family secrets that he must keep. And
finally there is Royce Gardner, the Mayor of Haddley Falls, who also has skeletons that could destroy his family’s reputation.
For these reasons, the three agree that they can’t afford to have the state police meddling in their affairs. They need
someone they can control—someone like their police chief. Tony Brunetta, a retired NYPD homicide detective lieutenant
who accepted the job of police chief of Haddley Falls precisely to get away from big city violence, is dismayed to find that
he is suddenly tasked with finding the murderer. To make matter worse, his old partner, Pete Delaney, a burned out, suicidal
NYPD detective arrives to spend his “last weekend” with his friend, mentor and old boss. Events quickly spiral
out of control. Against his will, Pete Delaney is sucked into the vortex of an ever-widening investigation. With the help
of two inexperienced deputies—JT Bryce, a beautiful and intelligent woman, and and Clint Avery, a well meaning bumbler,
Delaney slowly peels away the protective layers of the town until it becomes clear that Haddley Falls is not the sleepy town
is pretends to be. This fast paced novel of murder, mendacity, hubris, and ultimately redemption will appeal to readers who
love police thrillers and enjoy watching a big city detective attempt to solve a double-homicide without the support of a
major police department.”
According
to the book description of Back To Venice, “Imagine what it would be like to go back in time
to the 15th century Venice. And imagine what it would be like to meet your lifelong hero, Michelangelo. And imagine what it
would be like if, on first meeting, you spill a tray of pasta and wine on that very same hero. Well, that’s what happens
to serious young artist Mark Breen. As the result of a drunken bet, Mark knocks out a painting of a toilet bowl. Much to his
amazement, he sells it. In short order he’s hailed as the new Andy Warhol and becomes an overnight sensation—and
a very wealthy man. Soon, images of his toilet bowls are on more t-shirts, mugs, and calendars than Edvard Munch’s The
Scream. His friend and mentor, Hugh Connelly, afraid that Mark is in danger of losing his “artistic soul,” advises
him to go back to Italy and reacquaint himself with the “old masters.” In Venice, Mark falls in love with Alexandra,
a beautiful art restorer, but it’s a one-sided affair. One night, hoping to win her over, he climbs up on a roof to
find out who painted her favorite fresco. He falls off the roof and wakes up in 15th century Venice where he meets an innkeeper
named Francesca, who looks exactly like Alexandra. And it gets curiouser and curiouser from there. During his stay—which
is sometimes zany and sometimes frightening—he meet his hero, Michelangelo, who teaches him the true meaning of art.”
According
to the book description of Who Moved My Friggin' Provolone? it “is as spoof on Spencer Johnson’s
very fine book, Who Moved My Cheese. Follow the adventures and travails of Joey Boddaboom and Vinny Boddabing, two Mafia guys
who are confronted with all the unpleasant aspects of “change in their everyday workplace.” Marone, it ain’t
easy!”
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