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| Newsday, Sunday, April 9, 2000 |
| Plot Twist |
| Politics is just crime on a grand scale, argues cop-turned- novelist John Westermann. Which explains why, after four police novels, he wrote a mystery about Nassau County. |
| By Sidney C. Schaer Staff Writer |
IN THE FICTIONAL world of Long Island according to
novelist John Westermann, Republicans are the bad guys
who always win, cops (at least below the rank of captain)
deserve our loyalty and respect, and life in the suburbs is
filled with surprise, murder and mayhem.
Of course, according to Westermann, that's all true in the
real world here, as well.
"Everybody knew the unexplainable happened with
remarkable frequency on Long Island," he writes in "Ladies
of the Night" (Pocket Books, 1998), his fifth book. All have
been set within the villages and towns of Nassau and
Suffolk Counties where he has lived his whole life, a life
that began as a child of privilege in Huntington and
included a dozen years as a village cop in Freeport.
"Bimbos shot housewives, nut-jobs riddled commuter
trains, predators stalked the Internet, and planes fell from
the sky," he writes. "Nothing you could do but clean up and
shrug."
Except Westermann doesn't shrug. Instead, he uses fiction
as a weapon. His targets have evolved from the corrupt
cops, petty criminals and inept police brass of his first four
books to -- of all things on which to base a mystery novel --
Nassau County politics. (read the rest of this article)
novelist John Westermann, Republicans are the bad guys
who always win, cops (at least below the rank of captain)
deserve our loyalty and respect, and life in the suburbs is
filled with surprise, murder and mayhem.
Of course, according to Westermann, that's all true in the
real world here, as well.
"Everybody knew the unexplainable happened with
remarkable frequency on Long Island," he writes in "Ladies
of the Night" (Pocket Books, 1998), his fifth book. All have
been set within the villages and towns of Nassau and
Suffolk Counties where he has lived his whole life, a life
that began as a child of privilege in Huntington and
included a dozen years as a village cop in Freeport.
"Bimbos shot housewives, nut-jobs riddled commuter
trains, predators stalked the Internet, and planes fell from
the sky," he writes. "Nothing you could do but clean up and
shrug."
Except Westermann doesn't shrug. Instead, he uses fiction
as a weapon. His targets have evolved from the corrupt
cops, petty criminals and inept police brass of his first four
books to -- of all things on which to base a mystery novel --
Nassau County politics. (read the rest of this article)
From Publishers Weekly
On Long Island, Vietnam vet and Nassau County cop Orin
Boyd (returning from Exit Wounds) is still only a uniformed
cop, largely because of his frank contempt for authority.
Breaking up an apparent assault, Boyd knocks around
crooked right-wing State Senator Tommy Cotton (aka
"Senator Sewer"). Cotton wants Boyd's head. But Police
Commissioner David Trimble has a plan of his own: in
exchange for Boyd copping a plea for assault, thus
satisfying Cotton, and doing six months in the county's
"country club" jail, he'll grant Boyd a gold shield?on the
further condition that, while in jail, Boyd investigate the
death of Trimble's son, who allegedly hanged himself with
one day left in an 18-month sentence. Shortly after Boyd's
arrival at the "farm," there's another "suicide" and the
surfacing of many motley suspects. The top con there, an
ex-PBA leader looking for Boyd's legendary stash of
ill-gotten money, begins a computer campaign to dry up
Boyd's bank accounts and to frame his wife for
embezzlement. Boyd's boat is sunk, his house is torched
and his wife and little daughter are stalked by a hit man.
Westermann, who worked 20 years as a Long Island cop,
brings plenty of colorful detail to the novel and to Boyd,
who's smart, funny and not above taking the law into his
own hands. The pacing is relentless, and the uncovering
of secrets old and new will keep readers glued as they're
plunged into a Long Island that's way beyond Levittown.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
On Long Island, Vietnam vet and Nassau County cop Orin
Boyd (returning from Exit Wounds) is still only a uniformed
cop, largely because of his frank contempt for authority.
Breaking up an apparent assault, Boyd knocks around
crooked right-wing State Senator Tommy Cotton (aka
"Senator Sewer"). Cotton wants Boyd's head. But Police
Commissioner David Trimble has a plan of his own: in
exchange for Boyd copping a plea for assault, thus
satisfying Cotton, and doing six months in the county's
"country club" jail, he'll grant Boyd a gold shield?on the
further condition that, while in jail, Boyd investigate the
death of Trimble's son, who allegedly hanged himself with
one day left in an 18-month sentence. Shortly after Boyd's
arrival at the "farm," there's another "suicide" and the
surfacing of many motley suspects. The top con there, an
ex-PBA leader looking for Boyd's legendary stash of
ill-gotten money, begins a computer campaign to dry up
Boyd's bank accounts and to frame his wife for
embezzlement. Boyd's boat is sunk, his house is torched
and his wife and little daughter are stalked by a hit man.
Westermann, who worked 20 years as a Long Island cop,
brings plenty of colorful detail to the novel and to Boyd,
who's smart, funny and not above taking the law into his
own hands. The pacing is relentless, and the uncovering
of secrets old and new will keep readers glued as they're
plunged into a Long Island that's way beyond Levittown.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
This wildly funny caper set in the most corrupt precinct of
suburban Long Island is dark, anguished and (despite
occasional strokes of swashbuckling adventure)
authentic--the author is himself a 14-year police veteran.
Orin Boyd, the antihero, is a boozed-out bad boy cop
whose experiences in Vietnam have rendered him
incapable of holding down a normal job but very adept at
life on the edge. In short order, Boyd's marriage crumbles,
his longtime partner (and friend) dies a slow death from
cancer, and higher-ups in the department decide it's time
for him to snitch on his brother cops. Forthwith he's
transferred to the notorious 13th precinct in Belmont.
Retreating into the dark bars and back alleys of decrepit
suburbia to drink his troubles away, Boyd accidentally
discovers the precinct's payola system. His choices: to
snitch, knuckle under, or shoot the moon: take the dirty
money and hope to get away with it. Westermann has an
extraordinary eye for the tawdry, writes unbeatably funny
dialogue, and his sense of the practical joke is highly
refined. Despite its occasional bumpy transitions in points
of view, this first novel is a must for any devotee of
raunchy burnt-out cop sagas. Copyright 1990 Reed
Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.
This wildly funny caper set in the most corrupt precinct of
suburban Long Island is dark, anguished and (despite
occasional strokes of swashbuckling adventure)
authentic--the author is himself a 14-year police veteran.
Orin Boyd, the antihero, is a boozed-out bad boy cop
whose experiences in Vietnam have rendered him
incapable of holding down a normal job but very adept at
life on the edge. In short order, Boyd's marriage crumbles,
his longtime partner (and friend) dies a slow death from
cancer, and higher-ups in the department decide it's time
for him to snitch on his brother cops. Forthwith he's
transferred to the notorious 13th precinct in Belmont.
Retreating into the dark bars and back alleys of decrepit
suburbia to drink his troubles away, Boyd accidentally
discovers the precinct's payola system. His choices: to
snitch, knuckle under, or shoot the moon: take the dirty
money and hope to get away with it. Westermann has an
extraordinary eye for the tawdry, writes unbeatably funny
dialogue, and his sense of the practical joke is highly
refined. Despite its occasional bumpy transitions in points
of view, this first novel is a must for any devotee of
raunchy burnt-out cop sagas. Copyright 1990 Reed
Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In this amateurishly written police procedural, two slothful
neophyte detectives in the fictional Long Island town of
Seaport, N.Y., run afoul of a Jamaican drug lord and police
brass. Street cops Tree Nelson and Jimmy Tibaldi have still
not passed their probationary period as detectives, but
they're doing little to advance their careers. They treat
their superiors with disrespect, hit the bars and come
home with different women every time, and are believed
(mistakenly) to be on the take. When they confront a thief
on a rooftop, they really get into trouble. The man jumps to
his death and his brother, Rastafarian drug dealer
Gladstone Lanier, swears revenge. After Jimmy is shot in
an ambush, it is up to Tree to stop Lanier and to salvage
their reputations. Although Westermann is himself a
policeman, in this first novel he is unable to translate his
experience into a suspenseful story that conveys the many
dimensions of real-life police work. What stands out about
his policemen is their vulgarity, conveyed in their raunchy
dialogue, crass behavior and absence of integrity.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to the Hardcover edition.
In this amateurishly written police procedural, two slothful
neophyte detectives in the fictional Long Island town of
Seaport, N.Y., run afoul of a Jamaican drug lord and police
brass. Street cops Tree Nelson and Jimmy Tibaldi have still
not passed their probationary period as detectives, but
they're doing little to advance their careers. They treat
their superiors with disrespect, hit the bars and come
home with different women every time, and are believed
(mistakenly) to be on the take. When they confront a thief
on a rooftop, they really get into trouble. The man jumps to
his death and his brother, Rastafarian drug dealer
Gladstone Lanier, swears revenge. After Jimmy is shot in
an ambush, it is up to Tree to stop Lanier and to salvage
their reputations. Although Westermann is himself a
policeman, in this first novel he is unable to translate his
experience into a suspenseful story that conveys the many
dimensions of real-life police work. What stands out about
his policemen is their vulgarity, conveyed in their raunchy
dialogue, crass behavior and absence of integrity.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Grisly murders, corruption, sex, love, madness and
heroism all become strangely humdrum in this lackluster
police thriller. After years of cushy public relations duty,
officer Jack Mills wants to earn some respect as a homicide
detective. A handsome, 36-year-old divorced ex-lacrosse
star who is both promiscuous and selfish, Mills strives to
reform himself as he investigates the murders of two
corrupt fellow cops in Nassau County, Long Island. Mills
runs the investigation with Claire Williamson, a tough, sexy
Suffolk County detective from a family of cops. Together
they search out the connections between the victims, Artie
Backman and Richard "Dicktop" Mazzarella, two widely
despised police captains. Westerman ( Exit Wounds )
initially succeeds in making his protagonist credible, but his
evolution is less convincing: Mills breaks his handsome
nose, falls in love with Claire and ends up a decorated
hero. The novel's other cops are just so many catchy
nicknames, difficult to differentiate among from one
chapter to the next. Ultimately the caper itself is
unsatisfying, its resolution leaving many questions but little
desire to dig for the answers. Copyright 1991 Reed
Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.
Grisly murders, corruption, sex, love, madness and
heroism all become strangely humdrum in this lackluster
police thriller. After years of cushy public relations duty,
officer Jack Mills wants to earn some respect as a homicide
detective. A handsome, 36-year-old divorced ex-lacrosse
star who is both promiscuous and selfish, Mills strives to
reform himself as he investigates the murders of two
corrupt fellow cops in Nassau County, Long Island. Mills
runs the investigation with Claire Williamson, a tough, sexy
Suffolk County detective from a family of cops. Together
they search out the connections between the victims, Artie
Backman and Richard "Dicktop" Mazzarella, two widely
despised police captains. Westerman ( Exit Wounds )
initially succeeds in making his protagonist credible, but his
evolution is less convincing: Mills breaks his handsome
nose, falls in love with Claire and ends up a decorated
hero. The novel's other cops are just so many catchy
nicknames, difficult to differentiate among from one
chapter to the next. Ultimately the caper itself is
unsatisfying, its resolution leaving many questions but little
desire to dig for the answers. Copyright 1991 Reed
Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Lustful, greedy, ambitious and none too bright, the
politicos of Nassau County, N.Y., trip over themselves in
this irreverent send-up of machine politics and good but
Machiavellian cops. When his deputy disappears during
election month (along with the chair of the Republican
Women's Caucus), bumbling Nassau County Executive
Martin Daly is behind in the polls, out of favor with his
machine boss and battling press coverage of his tippler
wife and pot-smoking no-show employee son, Junior.
Police Commissioner Frank Murphy puts the unflappable
homicide duo Maude Fleming (a lesbian with an attitude)
and Rocky Blair (a bodybuilder with an attitude) on the
case and lets the chips fall where they may. The team digs
up enough real estate scams and musical beds to have
nervous pols covering their butts and slinging back dirt of
their own, but the detectives grind on toward a perfect
ending in which Westermann's (The Honor Farm)
trademark black humor, sharp ear and eye for setting are
all on display. If the portraits of political power brokers
border on caricature, the cops and ethnic characters are
rock solid and totally engaging. Indeed, Westermann gives
readers so much cynical fun that they may almost forget
there's a body or two to account for. (Aug.) FYI:
Westermann spent almost 20 years as a Long Island
policeman.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Lustful, greedy, ambitious and none too bright, the
politicos of Nassau County, N.Y., trip over themselves in
this irreverent send-up of machine politics and good but
Machiavellian cops. When his deputy disappears during
election month (along with the chair of the Republican
Women's Caucus), bumbling Nassau County Executive
Martin Daly is behind in the polls, out of favor with his
machine boss and battling press coverage of his tippler
wife and pot-smoking no-show employee son, Junior.
Police Commissioner Frank Murphy puts the unflappable
homicide duo Maude Fleming (a lesbian with an attitude)
and Rocky Blair (a bodybuilder with an attitude) on the
case and lets the chips fall where they may. The team digs
up enough real estate scams and musical beds to have
nervous pols covering their butts and slinging back dirt of
their own, but the detectives grind on toward a perfect
ending in which Westermann's (The Honor Farm)
trademark black humor, sharp ear and eye for setting are
all on display. If the portraits of political power brokers
border on caricature, the cops and ethnic characters are
rock solid and totally engaging. Indeed, Westermann gives
readers so much cynical fun that they may almost forget
there's a body or two to account for. (Aug.) FYI:
Westermann spent almost 20 years as a Long Island
policeman.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text
refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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| Police Authors Personal Websites |
Police Author
John Westermann
John Westermann