Double Espresso - Hardcover

Bruno, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031286650X ISBN 13: 9780312866501

Publisher: Forge Books, 1998

Synopsis

Parole officers Loretta Kovass and Frank Marvelli must find hit man Sammy Teitlebaum before he can kill mob turncoat Gus Rispoli, but as the search develops, all the players involved in this dangerous and deadly game are forced to become extra cautious of those around them. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Anthony Bruno's novel Devil's Food, the first book in the Kovacs/Marvelli series, received an Anthony nomination for Best Novel of 1998. He is also the author of several other acclaimed crime novels, including Hot Fudge, Bad Luck, Bad Guys, Bad Mood, Bad Business, and Bad Apple. Somewhere along the way, he also squeezed in the bestselling novelization of the hit movie Seven.

From Publishers Weekly:

A cranky fat woman and her hunky partner in the New Jersey Bureau of Parole's "Jump Squad" (those who track down cons who "jump" parole) are an unlikely pair nonetheless ripe for comic plotting as Bruno proved in their first well-received outing, Devil's Food (1997). Fans of Loretta Kovacs and Frank Marvelli may be disappointed in the follow-up, though nifty plot twists and Bruno's clutch of kinky bit players still make it worth the read. The duo is off to coffee-rich Seattle to reel in Frankie's brother-in-law, Sammy, a parole violator who's working as a hit man, and the formidable Loretta grows nearly homicidal while she tries to kick caffeine. What almost saves this Dilbert-esque conceit is the crime-novel set-up. Sammy's target is a federal witness against loathsome mobster Taffy Demaggio; slender, blonde, diet pill-popping FBI agent Veronica Springer wants the hit to happen so Taffy will flip on bigger fish. Frank calls in a debt from another FBI agent to find a secret witness-stashing compound in Puget Sound, and the pair spring the hit man, avoid the feebs and get tangled with Sammy and Taffy in ways the reader won't see coming. The resolution works, and budding romance points to new ground for the series ahead. The coffee gimmick grows quickly tiresome, and some of the humor falls flat, but there's enough good writing to justify hope for an improved third caper. (Aug.) FYI: Devil's Food will be released by Forge as a mass market paperback in July.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 031286650X
• ISBN 13: 9780312866501
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256