Pictures

ISBN: 0151012296

Author: Daley, Robert

Condition: New

From Publishers Weekly The 17th novel from former NYPD deputy commissioner Daley falls short of his previous work (Year of the Dragon and the excellent nonfiction account Prince of the City). His new hero, Vince Conte, is marking time as a PI for a security firm after he ruined a promising career with the NYPD by assaulting the deputy police commissioner for carrying on with Conte's gorgeous anchorwoman wife. Conte is doing unglamorous inquiries into employee theft when his company is retained to identify the plotters behind an extortion plot in a small European duchy. The unknown parties have already succeeded in breaking up the marriage of the duke's daughter by publishing compromising photos of her husband's poolside tryst. The clichéd European characters coupled with the absence of suspense and plot twists add up to an outing that lacks Daley's customary grit. (Nov.) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description Vince Conte was a New York cop until he punched the senior officer having an affair with his wife. Forced to resign, hes bored by his work for a private security firm.  Tony Murano was a tennis player dating the daughter of royalty. Then his career faltered and his girlfriend got pregnant. Now Murano is under his father-in-laws thumb, unable to find the investors he needs to become a businessman in his own right. When tabloids all over Europe publish pictures of his poolside tryst with an anonymous woman on the day his wife gave birth to the royal heir, Muranos father-in-law is all too glad to dismiss him. His young wife is heartbroken, though, and her mother decides to investigate. Who arranged the photos? What was the true motive? Assigned to the job, Conte finds himself a target as he follows a trail of photographs and money that takes him to Italy, Amsterdam, Monaco, and back.   From Booklist Tony Murano is a lower-echelon tennis pro married to the princess of one of Europe's "little" monarchies who is pregnant with the heir to the throne. Unfortunately, the king doesn't like Tony and constantly reminds him of his commoner status. With his wife in the final stages of the pregnancy, Tony is caught on film in a compromising position with another woman. The photos quickly appear in every scandal rag in Europe, Tony is excised from the family, and his wife is heartbroken. To mitigate her daughter's despair, the queen hires New York's premier detective agency to determine who set the trap for Tony. The firm assigns former NYPD cop Vince Conte to the case. Conte finds the woman in the photos, convinces her to cooperate with his investigation, and then, shockingly, finds himself falling in love with her. Daley, author of Prince of the City (1978) and, more recently, the outstanding Enemy of God (2005), weaves a compelling love story within a conventional thriller, which is marred by an improbable conclusion. This isn't Daley's best book, but it's still well worth reading. Wes LukowskyCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Review PRAISE FOR THE ENEMY OF GOD "A glorious epic . . . far more serious and precious than an ordinary mystery. It demands your attention and captures your imagination."-The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) About the Author ROBERT DALEY is the author of seventeen novels, including Year of the Dragon, and eleven nonfiction books, including Prince of the City. Born and educated in New York, he served one year as an NYPD deputy commissioner. Daley lives in Connecticut and Nice, France.    Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter iA CAR TURNED OFF THE STREET, stopped in front of the barrier, and a guard came out of the booth and pointed his flashlight in on the driver. When he saw whose face he had illuminated he flicked the light off fast, mumbled an apology, jumped backward, and raised the barrier.  It was the middle of the night. The park