cover image THE SHOOTING GALLERY: A Detective Yablonsky Mystery

THE SHOOTING GALLERY: A Detective Yablonsky Mystery

Joseph Trigoboff, . . Lyons, $19.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-1-58574-547-0

Boasting a blurb from such notable personages as Norman Mailer, this sequel to the critically acclaimed first book in the series, The Bone Orchard (1990), shows Trigoboff hasn't lost his touch. In this entertaining thriller heavy on sociology and liberal '60s political sentiments, the redoubtable New York police detective Alvin Yablonsky is assigned to investigate the murder of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Skinny McPherson, a reporter for a left-wing newspaper, the Village Guardian. Yablonsky's search inevitably leads to Manhattan's literary and judicial elite, a cadre of corrupt officials and a violent climax in the East Village's drug-infested "shooting galleries." Since the author grew up in the tough Brownsville–East New York neighborhood, it's small wonder that his narratives are as much sociological commentary as crime novels, or that the level of authenticity is so high. There are some genuinely hackle-raising scenes, notably Yablonsky's exploration of a booby-trapped drug den. ("Yablonsky passed decoy drug stashes filled with potassium chloride and red phosphorous that would explode if touched. At the top, moving away from the stairway, he dodged a trip wire with a grenade attached.") Trigoboff's spare, supple style is admirably suited to his subject matter, and if the praise from high-profile writers—ranging from Peter Straub to James Crumley—seems excessive, it's still a high-octane thriller from a writer whose gravitas is unquestionable. Agent, Matt Bialer. (June 1)