Tin Badges

Lorenzo Carcaterra has written a dozen books, but Tin Badges, a novel written in 2016, is the first that has been reviewed in this blog. If his other books are as awesome as this one, then we’ve been missing out on a very talented writer. The story starts with two story lines. First there is Tank Rizzo who stopped being a New York City cop when he was involved in a particularly ugly take down in which there were several deaths, including that of his beloved partner, Frank “Pearl” Monroe. Tank couldn’t continue in that line of work anymore. We also learn that Tank had grown up with a brother, Jack. They had been exceedingly close as kids, but something happened that neither would talk about. Tank was not invited to Jack’s wedding, and he had almost no interaction with Jack, his wife, or their 15-year-old son, Chris. Then, Jack and his wife were killed in a winter driving accident.

Jack, although retired from the force, accepted cold case assignments from the force, and that’s how he occupied his time. Tank attended the funeral of his brother, and with the death of Jack and his wife, Chris was given the news that his parents had left him the option of going to live with Uncle Tank, a man he did not know. 

Those are the main story lines, and Carcaterra was masterful in developing rich and believable characters. His plot creation was clever, and the writing was excellent. I’m not giving you too good a selling job, but it’s my plan to read more of this authors works. I think he has the potential of being one of my favorites. Give it a try – you won’t be sorry.