Catholic Boys

English professor Cioffari has a few lyrical flashes in this 1960s Bronx thriller, but never manages to sustain them. Tormented detective Alex Ramsey is still shattered by the death two years before in a traffic accident of his 11-year-old son, Evan, a loss that also cost him his job with the NYPD. Ramsey’s ghosts return with a vengeance when his current position as head of security for a Bronx housing project involves him with the investigation into a boy’s murder. After Ramsey’s wife leaves him and more bodies turn up, Ramsey finds himself seeking out the company of Krissie, the driver whose carelessness killed Evan. Despite some sections reminiscent of Richard Price’s powerful works of urban crime, the book as a whole is weighed down by the highly implausible relationship between Ramsey and Krissie and a routine solution to the crimes. (Dec.)