Wheel of Fortune

Title: Wheel of Fortune – A Detective Louis Martelli,  NYPD Mystery Thriller
Author: Theodore Jerome Cohen
Publisher: TJC Press
ASIN: 978-0984920969
Pages: 322
Genre: Thriller

Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review

www.theodore-cohen-novels.com

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Book Review

The trash business, notoriously run by the mob, is expanding from New York City to the outlying areas of York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and in its wake dead bodies are turning up.  When the corpse of a stunning young lady is discovered in the park across from the NYC FBI Headquarters, shot in the back of her head execution style, Det. Louis Martelli and his partner Det. Sean O’Keeffe are put on the case.  The victim has no identification and the fingerprints turn up no record – however a unique shoulder to shoulder tattoo on her back, an image known as the “Wheel of Fortune,” is the only clue Martelli has to begin the investigation.

The plot thickens when Martelli sees Ron Bishop, an associate from the FBI, leaving the scene of the dead lady’s apartment, apparently being involved with the deceased in either a professional or personal way. Devising a scheme to open the investigation, Martelli brings in the beauty and talent of Missy Dugan, NYPD investigator and cyber expert, to help gain access to the victim’s safe deposit box, discovering the threads of relationships tying together the mob and the FBI.  Later, when brought into a joint NYPD/FBI undercover sting operation, Martelli “smokes” out the infestation of the mob into a climax true to the Cohen style of incredible events told credibly, by igniting the emotional mental weakness in its psychopathic gangster leader into a showdown.

Having read all the previous Det. Louis Martelli escapades, I found the characters and environment in Wheel of Fortune like being among old friends.  Cohen peels the onion on embellishing the background and interactions of the characters from prior novels, and reveals new facts of their personalities for the ardent fans of the series to enjoy.  Although Cohen in unassuming in his understanding his reader’s prior knowledge of characters, he explains (or reminds) the readers of how the people are tied together, as well as his characteristic style of throwing in some footnotes to exemplify the meaning of certain dialogue.

Interlacing colorful characters, witty dialogue, chivalrous behavior of Martelli, along with extensive research into the minutia of details of the trash industry and locations, Cohen creates a visual reading experience.  Guaranteed to captivate and satisfy the readers by his use of short snippets of chapters, each with an impressively clever lead sentence and a thought provoking ending.  The fast pace chapters create an exciting and entertaining read.  One can clearly appreciate the fact Cohen is a virtuoso in writing techniques, and the Det. Louis Martelli Series is destined to become a favorite of all that pick up or click through Wheel of Fortune.