Detective John Stone of the NYPD has the best arrest record in the 43rd precinct. But he’s a dinosaur who belongs to another age. Detective Carmen Dehan has such a bad attitude that nobody at the precinct can stomach her. Captain Jennifer Cuevas wants them both out of the way and thinks they make a perfect pair. So she gives them the Cold Cases file – the cases nobody gives a damn about. She has … about.
She has no idea just how hot a cold case can get.
Ten years back Nelson Hernandez and his four cousins were playing poker in a dive at Hunts Point. Somebody came in, blew them away and beheaded and castrated Nelson, leaving his head and his balls on the table. There was no shortage of suspects, the Jersey Mob, the Triads from Manhattan, or the 43rds own bent cop, Mick Harragan. But nobody was ever charged, and the night of the murder Mick Harragan went missing with Nelson’s wife, Maria.
Now Stone and Dehan plan to find him – whatever the consequences…
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Strong characters. Plot moves quickly
It should be a movie.
an excellent murder mystery that picks up the pace to a plausible surprise ending.
excellent
More twista and turns than your average roller coaster!
Was ok. Good pace. Nice twists. Bit too formalistic
Really good procedural…Gave it only 4 stars since I wasn’t really comfortable with people getting killed and the killers getting away even if it was deserved.
This book has more twists than a West Virginia country road and it keeps you interested through every turn. I really enjoyed trying to guess which of the many characters was the one who-dun-it. I highly recommend it.
Fun quick read
Quick read, but was predictable.
Only half way through, but loving it so far.
Just when I thought I had it-another twist. I’m glad the ending turned out for Maria Garcia.
An Ace and a Pair reminded me that it is possible to write a pitch-perfect mystery with lots of action. Until I started reading it, I hadn’t realized how many contemporary mystery writers succumb to excess. Banner’s protagonists have their problems like all of us. But their personal dramas don’t turn the book into a soap opera with guns and violence. They’re both professionals in their own, sometimes quite different and yet complimentary ways. Similarly, there’s an elegance to the plot that kept me thoroughly engaged.
In retrospect, I didn’t get the feeling that this was a book written by someone with visions of selling its film rights like so many books seem to be. Although I think it would make a good movie if properly cast, it was a good mystery book in every sense of the word. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t need to be assaulted by high personal drama or vividly described blood and guts on every page. There’s more than enough excitement, plot twists and turns, and suspense to keep mystery lovers intrigued from start to finish without it.
It was very entertaining with well-drawn characters who were intelligent and never predictable. I look forward to future stories with these characters solving cold cases.
Just an enjoyable book to read
It was a great read, much more than I’ve come to expect from am author I was previously unaware of. I loved the convolutions!
Enjoyed the character inter relationships. Encouraged me to read rest of series.
Liked the interaction of Sensei & Grasshopper. Any chance of a future romance? LOVED that it was so obviously well proofread.
This book grabbed me from the very beginning, interesting characters with a easy to follow story made this book no effort to read,
The story was a good one with lots of twists but it is a bit of a slow read. Could have been better but still worth a read.