The Good Cop

January 7, 2013
Near the start of Parks’s satisfying fourth Carter Ross mystery (after 2012’s The Girl Next Door), the Newark (N.J.) Eagle-Examiner reporter interviews Noemi Kipps, the widow of 37-year-old Newark policeman Darius Kipps, whom Noemi portrays as a dedicated cop and family man. Only later does Carter learn the cause of death—Darius committed suicide at the Fourth Precinct station. Noemi and celebrity minister Alvin LeRioux call for an independent investigation, but suddenly back off. As Carter tries to figure out if Darius was a good cop or a dirty one, a second cop’s death raises more questions. Carter milks varied sources, including a couple of brothers who operate an unusual warehouse; he fobs off a gullible intern and editor’s spy with an amusing prank; and he dodges inept gangbangers. Parks nails the newspaper milieu and the Newark setting, while his solid cast of characters should keep readers eagerly awaiting the next installment. Author tour. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House.

February 1, 2013
Genial reporter Carter Ross, who never met a wisecrack he didn't like, goes up against every police officer in Newark in defense of a dead cop's good name. Detective Sgt. Darius Kipps' widow, Mimi, assures Carter that her husband was a good guy, and Carter, not normally one to be suckered by sentiment, believes her. So why did Kipps get roaring drunk and shoot himself in the 4th Precinct station? The short answer is that he didn't. He never drank the bourbon he must have been force-fed on the last night of his life, and even the most cursory look at his corpse--which Carter gets courtesy of some highly improbable help from Powell, a well-placed party buddy of his punk librarian girlfriend, Kira O'Brien--reveals ligature marks on his wrists and ankles dating from shortly before his death. So why have Newark's finest, from Capt. Denise Boswell on down, closed ranks behind the story of his suicide? Clearly because they're not so fine after all, a conclusion that becomes even more obvious when Kipps' partner, Mike Fusco, becomes a second suspicious suicide after blurting out an unlikely confession that he killed his partner. Targeted for death by a gun-selling concern whose tentacles reach deep into the Newark Police Department, Carter can only pray that his luck holds out till he's rescued by somebody more powerful than he is. The combination of Borscht-Belt dialogue, ebullient first-person narration, and mean Jersey streets with lots of menace but very little mystery, makes Carter (The Girl Next Door, 2012, etc.) a strong contender for the title of best Stephanie Plum male impersonator.

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March 1, 2013

Darius Kipps was a good cop and Newark journalist Carter Ross doesn't believe Kipps committed suicide, no matter what the press release says. Carter's insatiable curiosity gets him in trouble as he talks with the widow, the victim's partner, and an overprotective minister. While Carter is still floating possible motives, the partner dies too, also apparently a suicide. Meanwhile, Carter's newest intern has been industriously digging up some pertinent information about guns in the area--but Carter hasn't yet learned to listen up when his interns talk. When he figures out the connection between the deaths and the guns, the implications are mind-boggling and Carter's future looks dicey. VERDICT Parks's award-winning series is essential reading. This fourth entry (after The Girl Next Door) is a fine blend of suspense, bumbling-with-a-purpose detecting, and a chatty, humorous tone that the author makes seem effortless. [See Prepub Alert, 10/08/12.]

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Starred review from March 1, 2013
This is the fourth outing for Carter Ross, the New Jersey newspaper reporter with a strong sense of justice, a passion for journalism, and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Carter is awakened early one morning by a phone call from his boss, who orders him to follow up on a cop killing. Carter visits the widow and learns a lot about the victim, none of which makes sense when he is later told that the cop took his own life. The widow is adamant that her husband was murdered, but when her preacher pulls his support from the investigation, Carter knows something is up. He keeps digging, despite being shot at, while his current flame and previous girlfriend complicate his life further. Meanwhile, there is another story line involving gun smuggling that eventually intersects with the cop killing, making for a thoughtful look at gun laws in New Jersey that, in light of the Sandy Hook massacre, becomes even more compelling and disturbing. This is a tautly written page-turner with charm and humor, a terrific combination that is sure to appeal to David Rosenfelt and Janet Evanovich fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)