Apaches

In the first part of the book, we are introduced to six characters, each of which was a great cop at one point in their lives. Unfortunately, things happen, cops get hurt and these six cops are forced to collect their pensions, lick their wounds and perform jobs that are less than enjoyable than their previous employment with the NYPD. While they are still physically alive, they feel dead inside. Each of them had an expertise and it is this expertise that will bring them together once again as a renegade crime stopping unit called Apaches. They are not sanctioned by the police department but still have enough connections to be able to call in the favors necessary to enable them to perform their mission.

They have some great nicknames as well -- Boomer, Dead-Eye, Pins, Geronimo, Reverend Jim and Mrs. Columbo. Carcaterra introduces you to each character individually and you feel an immediate connection. Since the premise of the book is about disabled cops, you read each chapter with trepidation knowing full well that doom is imminent just around the corner. As the Apaches, they get involved with trying to stop a drug trafficking ring led by a woman, named Lucia, out of her homebase in Arizona. Her tentacles stretch all the way across the country but then so do theirs. Theres one other member in their group and he isnt a cop at all -- not by any stretch of the imagination. His name is Nunzio and he is the owner of an Italian restaurant where the Apaches meet. Lucias connections cant compare to Nunzios if you catch my drift.

While some of this book is definitely gruesome, the characters are so inspiring in not only trying to right a wrong but in the way they need their cop work to keep them alive. Unfortunately, throughout the entire book, you just know that they wont all come out alive and therein lies the dilemma -- whos going to die and whos going to live. Once again, Carcaterra has done it for me. I just love the way he tells a story. He makes me feel as if I know each character as a friend and I couldnt ask any more from an author.

Each of the six protagonists has a rich and detailed past, and we are introduced to them individually in depth before the main action begins. Then Boomer and Dead-Eye (yes, everybody has a nickname) take on a hopeless case and emerge, not only victorious, but feeling alive because they are COPS again. The rest of the group joins them, and Boomer outlines the plan. They will defeat the Empress of evil, a drug dealer so bad, her only good point is that she pays her gym bill on time.

From the moment our team forms, the plot moves lightening fast to its conclusion. The action is great, the detail is satisfying, the dialogue snappy. The characters have their own story, each credulous, each powerful.

Why only three stars? I had to keep flipping back to the beginning chapters to see which of the six former cops had which specialty. Who was the bomb specialist? Flip back and look. Whos the electronics expert? Flip. You get the picture. I loved them all individually, but I would have loved the novel more if only two or three of the characters had been detailed, and the rest just outlined for me.

Even so, the drama unfolds so swiftly, I still recommend this book to anyone who loves a dark, action-filled tale of good versus evil. Do your friends read romances? Okay, dont tell them what happens, they wont sleep at night. But get out the flashlight--youll be up reading.