Report to the Commissioner
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
"One hell of a good suspense story . . . Mills's book is a spellbinder, ironic in its implications, explosively dramatic in its narrative." — The New York Times
The youngest detective on the New York City police force, Bo Lockley is eager to prove himself. Ordered to track down "the Stick," a high-rolling pimp, Bo finds himself at the center of a Times Square shootout. Worse yet, he's quickly arrested and charged with murder, becoming the scapegoat of a department all too ready to sacrifice a naïve rookie in order to conceal its own corruption.
The ensuing scandal leads to an investigation by the Internal Affairs Division that forms the basis of Report to the Commissioner. So authentic that it reads like a real-life crime investigation, this suspenseful novel recaptures the gritty atmosphere of 1970s New York in its examination of exploited idealism and self-serving ambition. Written by the author of The Panic in Needle Park, this hard-hitting bestseller inspired an acclaimed 1975 movie.
"Gripping. [A] solid and original crime novel about injustice and corruption in the NYPD." — Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in 1972, this gripping reissue from Mills (The Hearing) shows the influence of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, but also demonstrates the author's own ability to riff on the police procedural. Told in the form of a collection of interview transcripts, police reports, and other documents, it focuses on Bo Lockley, an honest New York City cop barely out of college, who has already messed up an early assignment. His eagerness to please makes it easy for the cynical cops at the 16th squad to push him around and manipulate him, including Richard Blackstone, an officer with a history of vigilantism and a violent temper. After failing to land any arrests for a while, Lockley gets pulled into a case involving a drug dealer known as Stick. Stick's also being worked on by Pat Butler, an undercover officer, and the eventual shootout between Stick and his pursuers is still exciting, despite the reader's advance knowledge of the outcome from the preface. Though the book shows its age at times, and only Blackstone and Lockley emerge as fleshed-out characters, Mills deserves credit for this solid and original crime novel about injustice and corruption in the NYPD.
