Rizzo's War

Written by Lou Manfredo

Narrated by Bobby Cannavale

Rizzo's War, Lou Manfredo's stunningly authentic debut, partners a rookie detective with a seasoned veteran on his way to retirement in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

"There's no wrong, there's no right, there just is." This is the refrain of Joe Rizzo, a decades-long veteran of the NYPD, as he passes on the knowledge of his years of experience to his ambitious new partner, Mike McQueen, over a year of riding together as detectives in the Sixty-second Precinct in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. McQueen is fresh from the beat in Manhattan, and Bensonhurst might as well be China for how different it is. They work on several cases, some big, some small, but the lesson is always the same. Whether it's a simple robbery or an attempted assault, Rizzo's saying always seems to bear out.

When the two detectives are given the delicate task of finding and returning the runaway daughter of a city councilman, who may or may not be more interested in something his daughter has taken with her than in her safety, the situation is much more complex. By the end of Rizzo and McQueen's year together, however, McQueen is not surprised to discover that even in those more complicated cases, Rizzo is still right—there's no wrong, there's no right, there just is.

Rizzo's War is an introduction to a wonderful new voice in crime fiction in the Big Apple, ringing with authenticity, full of personality, and taut with the suspense of real, everyday life in the big city.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Sep 29, 2009
• ISBN: 9781427207852

Lou Manfredo

Lou Manfredo, author of the novels Rizzo’s Fire, Rizzo’s War, and Rizzo's Daughter, worked in the Brooklyn criminal justice system for twenty-five years. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Brooklyn Noir. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now lives in New Jersey with his wife.

Reviews for Rizzo's War

[velopunk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book and will read the next two in the series. Joe Rizzo is a street-wise cop in Brooklyn who is nearing the end of hios career. An Internal Affairs investigation is hanging over his head as he and his partner are assigned to a case involving the missing daughter of a Brooklyn politician. The case is fraught with peril for Joe and his partner as they search for the missing girl.

[lghudson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rizzo's War may be a good beginning for a series featuring Rizzo and McQueen. The writing seems forced at times and the author uses the characters names during dialogue far more frequently than people do when they talk to one another--that was distracting. First novels are rarely exceptional right off the bat. The technical aspects were believable and the characters have the potential for development.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Got this as a freebie from Amazon. No need to summarize the plot, it's fairly standard: old cop under fire, young cop trying to play it straight, old cop becomes mentor, they bond.

The first half of the book really did not grab my attention. Manfredo defines the relationship between the two cops: Rizzo is in trouble with IAD for protecting his old partner, and McQueen was rapidly promoted to detective for saving the mayor's daughter from a rape, and creating the background for the recurring mantra: "There's no right. There's no right. It just is," a phrase you just knew would be the last line of the book. So far nothing special.

The book really picks up, however, in the second half. After the two are chosen to locate the unstable daughter of a city councilman who has disappeared, however, it really picks up and I finished the last 150 pages without going to the bathroom. No real surprises the councilman is dirty and has ulterior motives for wanting to get his daughter back, etc., but the story becomes more focused and adds some interesting characters. I won't add any spoilers, just a note that those who know their Alamo history may remember James Butler Bonham and what he did. Rizzo uses him as behavioral model.

According to a blurb on the back of my copy, Manfredo had some twenty-five years of experience in the criminal justice system. If this book reflects his experience with politics and police and the intersection of the two, it's a very dark view of the system.

Two stars for the first half, maybe 4 for the second half. Splt the difference.

[ashleywintters · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joe Rizzo is a veteran NYPD detective who is partnered with ‘young gun’, Mike McQueen. Rizzo is to be the teacher and McQueen the wary, but willing student. Both Rizzo and McQueen have their reservations about trusting each other. Rizzo has been around enough to know there is a lot of grey area between the black and white that McQueen sees in his idealistic view.They work several different types of crimes together from burglary to murder. Their ‘main’ case is the missing bipolar daughter of a city councilman. As they investigate, interesting things start turning up and they learn more about the father than they wanted to know. The way they are asked to investigate is somewhat suspect too, but the rewards could be quite high.Rizzo has a savvy, somewhat jaded view, but that’s what makes him so knowledgeable about the ‘real’ way detective work goes. The stressors on both Rizzo and McQueen, and decisions both officers wind up having to make are amazingly real and will determine how their life and jobs proceed.This is an interesting police ‘procedural’ book that is realistic. Very well written and intriguing throughout.Reviewed by Ashley Wintters for Suspense Magazine

[repb_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I suspect Rizzo's War is about as real an account of police work as it gets. I enjoyed it quite a bit but believe it went on way too long. A good editor would have helped improve this effort a great deal.

[sararush · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While reading Lou Manfredo's Rizzo's War, I found myself repeatedly questioning the novel's point. For me the entire novel lacked direction mainly because the cops and story sort of meander without a story arc until the late emergence of a dubious missing persons case the detectives are persuaded to take. Before which the characters tackle several easily cracked cases together, and a lot of time is glossed over in retrospective sentences. The main characters, experienced police sergeant Rizzo and the green detective McQueen who he is mentoring, spend a lot of time debating their roles, police ethics, and working procedure. The story is also told from the points of view of several characters which adds to the novel's unanchored feel. I can only guess that the author was trying to portray a realistic year in the life of a cop, and not a standard mystery or suspense. If this was his intent, he did succeed. Rizzo's war was unique, but still didn't deliver a pay off. I was lucky enough to listen to the audio version which was read by known actor, Bobby Cannavale. Cannavale's read while comically tense, did bring needed variety and added depth to the characters.

[cbjames_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Right from the start I knew Rizzo's War was going to be trouble. "And yet, despite it, she found herslf oddly detached, being from body." Six commas in the first sentence of a detective novel! Six commas and two adverbs! Not a good sign.Rizzo's War is the story of Joe Rizzo's last year as a detective in Brooklyn, NYC. Along for the ride is up-and-coming Mike McQueen, a young detective favored by the bosses for rescuing the girl in the opening passage. Mike has a lot to learn; Joe has a lot to teach. This is a road fans of detective fiction have been down before, but it's also a road we like traveling. So I was willing to give the book a chance.Mr. Manfredo takes his time getting things going. Rizzo and McQueen work several small cases before the big one arrives. This does give the reader time to get to know the characters, but it also delays the arrival of the real action. The main case concerns the search for a missing girl, the daughter of a hot-shot district attorney. His daughter is an embarrassment that he'd like kept quiet. He'd also like her safely put in an institution where she can be treated for her bi-polar disorder, but he'd like that kept quite as well. Rizzo and McQueen take the case in spite of their reservations. It's the kind of case that could make McQueen's career if he handles it correctly. But just what is correctly? Although Rizzo and McQueen are good cops, they skirt the law when they need to. All cops do, according to Rizzo; it can't be helped. His philosophy--"There's no wrong. There's no right. There just is." So a few deals have to be made in order to find the district attorney's daughter. The final report won't mention a few things that it could have mentioned. It's not right. It's not wrong. It just is.Rizzo's War has more than it's fair share of faults. The veteran cop/new cop character pairing is standard stuff. While Rizzo becomes a fully fledged character, McQueen never does. "There's no right. There's no wrong. There just is," was repeated so often it almost became comical. The supporting cast of characters is right out of central casting: a friendly priest, a manic biker, a tough lady cop. The cases that precede the main one good easily have been cut. But despite this, oddly enough, maybe even being from body, I enjoyed the book. Once things got going, I became engrossed in the story enough to keep reading. And in the end, I was a satisfied customer. Should Joe Rizzo ever come out of retirement for another detective novel, I might give it a read.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is NOT your average police/crime/forensic procedural. This is a book with great police characters who actually have brains and hearts as well as brawn with some police procedure to help flesh out the characters.Lou Manfredo's debut novel opens with a crime scene, but quickly shifts to a discussion between the two main characters: Detective Joe Rizzo, a 20+ year veteran of the NYPD, and his newest partner, young just-made detective, eagerly ambitious Mike McQueen. By the end of the first seven pages, I was determined to dislike Rizzo intensely. By the end of the book, I was in love with him. Manfredo's character development is some of the best I've seen in a police procedural, and to me is exceptional in a first book.As they solve their cases, Rizzo teaches young McQueen the ropes, gingerly stepping through the minefield of looking the other way, developing a series of 'favors' given and returned, and staying just inside the law. Set in a predominently Italian neighborhood, Joe exhibits the ability to take cultural differences into account when questioning people, when trying to determine what really happened and why, and he insists that McQueen try to apply those same attitudes.Unlike many books currently featuring policemen and detectives, the cases are not the central point of the book. While they are well presented, giving us a good view of the dreadful, often demoralizing life of big city crime solvers and the reader is drawn steadily along to see how they are resolved, the core discussion is the subject of honesty, integrity, right vs wrong, black vs white and how the average cop on the beat is confronted with moral decisions every day.The author, drawing on his own 25 years experience in the Brooklyn criminal justice system, adds into the mix the inevitable crooked politicians and cops on the take to give us an exciting, tightly drawn picture of law and order in today's world.In the end, we come to understand Rizzo's motto: "There's no wrong. There's no right. There just is."

[thoughtsofjoylibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rizzo's War contains some of my favorite attributes: a gritty setting; smart, likable, good, but flawed (like the rest of us) cops; and most of all - a mentoring relationship.Unfortunately, I did become overwhelmed with numbers. Yes, the setting is NY and the street names are numbers, but did every single turn or destination have to include the street name? Ugh. And, I was annoyed with a repetitive line. Rizzo smokes, so almost every time he was in the car with his partner McQueen, he would blow the smoke out the passenger window. I got it - he smokes. He smokes a lot and tries to spare his partner the secondhand smoke. Grrr.Putting the above aside, I really liked Manfredo's style. He allowed us into the heads and hearts of both Rizzo and McQueen while moving the story line along, so I feel like I know these two cops, and I really like them both. They have different personalities, mainly due to their experience level, but they blend and compliment one another nicely. Also, shining light on the ambiguity of the job and working a variety of cases added a very realistic feel.I prefer a strong sense of suspense and a little humor every now and then to make a book an "excellent" read, but I'm very pleased with Manfredo's debut and look forward to my next encounter with these two detectives. (4/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy

[edgoldberg · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was excited by the prospect of reading Rizzo's War, based on the description of the book. I was very disappointed and could only make it through the first 95 pages. Joe Rizzo is a 26 year veteran of the NYPD, working on Brooklyn. He is teamed up with 6-year "rookie" Mike McQueen, who as a patrolman stopped a sexual assault on a friend of the mayor's daughter and was promoted to detective. Rizzo takes McQueen under his wing and shows him the ropes. Rizzo is the all around good guy, doing favors for everyone, calling in favors as needed. McQueen is the awestruck rookie, absorbing everything Rizzo says and does. (Believable? I think not!)In the first 95 pages they solve three crimes (a sexual assault, a robbery/cat killing, and a third one that I can't for the life of me remember...it's that memorable). The ongoing thread is the Internal Affairs investigation of Rizzo's former partner, Morelli. Morelli was useless the last four years of their partnership and is thought to have ID'd a prosecution witness who was later killed. Rizzo "owes" Morelli his life and, whether or not he knows something, certainly won't give him up. As a result of Rizzo's silence, IA is threatening him too.There is no mystery in Rizzo's War. The descriptions are plain vanilla. The dialogue is stilted and unbelievable. There is nothing to keep the reader interested. To me, the book is the equivalent of what someone would to an adult ed Creative Writing course. I am an avid mystery reader, always looking for new and up and coming authors. Unfortunately, Lou Manfredo does not make that list for me.

[drneutron_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lou Manfredo's Rizzo's War is billed as a thriller. Honestly, I don't know why - there's little pulse-pounding action and suspense here. But I like it that way. Instead, Manfredo's written a pretty good cop story, one centered around a pair of detectives and how they deal with the moral ambiguities of the job.Mike McQueen has been newly promoted to detective after stumbling across an assault on mayor's daughter's roomate behind a bar. He's been partnered with Joe Rizzo, a 14 year veteran detective whose basic philosophy is "There is no right. There is no wrong. There just is..." In the end, McQueen gets to decide what kind of cop he is when they get pulled into an under-the-table search for a powerful politician's daughter. This is good stuff. Manfredo was a New York City cop and so has an authentic voice. His mystery isn't meant to be much of a mystery. Instead he's interested in the process of uncovering the truth and the compromises we all make on a daily basis as we try to negotiate our way through events that don't fit into neat black and white boxes. It's a good read, and I hope he brings this pair back for more stories.

[sashzj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining and about as subtle as an episode of Law and Order, Rizzo’s War is a testosterone-fueled look at a year in the life of two New York City cops. Focusing heavily on the relative morality inherent in the job, the book is fast-paced and engaging, but does not attempt to be nor is it high literary art. To sum it up: fun but forgettable.

[juliebean_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

"Rizzo's War" was readable, but one can easily tell that it is a first effort, and it would have benefited greatly from closer editing. The title character, Joe Rizzo, is an interesting older cop: wise, tough, smart, etc. This covers all the things you'd expect in the formula of the older cop partnered with new young guy. The new young guy, McQueen, is handsome, compassionate, educated, etc., thus covering all the things you'd expect in the young partner. The problem is that these two characters go through the book making speeches at each other, so the readers are clear that they exactly fit those character types, even if it sounds like a declamation contest instead of natural conversation. There were an annoyingly high number of times where Rizzo gave a 'fatherly advice' sermon to McQueen, or 'explained the way of the world'. A more seasoned author, I think, would have shown the reader who the characters were, instead of having the characters tell us over and over who they were, through their stilted speech.Additionally, the book doesn't appear as a cohesive unit. Instead, the first part of the book is background, telling us who these two cops are, and how they ended up as partners. The second part of the book is the 'big case'. We might need the background to understand their motivations in how they deal with the 'big case', but presenting the story this way is disappointing. It would have been better if the author had interwoven the background with the big case, instead of keeping them in two separate parts. It was as though the author's character notes were compiled in the first part of the book, and then the part with the plot was added later.The main flaw in the book, however, is the problem of "Chekhov's gun". Anton Checkhov remarked, "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." There were entirely too many elements in the story that had nothing to do with the plot. For instance, McQueen had a brief love interest in the beginning of the story, but the relationship ended. There were references to this relationship throughout story, but it had very little to do with what was happening later in the story. This was one of those elements - among many in this novel - where the reader finishes the book and thinks, "That didn't need to be in there." Unfortunately, there are many elements like that in the book; one reaches the end only to realize that if all of these unnecessary elements were cut from the novel, the remaining parts would only be a short story.Unfortunately, that short story is neither highly original nor a nail-biter. Not every plot has to break new ground. I suspect that readers, like myself, who like novels about cops, don't mind if the story isn't exactly new. However, when the novel has as many problems as this one does, there needs to be some element that makes reading the story worthwhile. I didn't find it. The characters were developed sufficiently, but they were types. The plot wasn't original, and it didn't bother showing up until the second part of the novel. The dialogue was bad and there were entirely too many extraneous elements in the story. In the end, I can say I enjoyed the novel the same way I enjoy cop shows that I've seen in reruns for years. I know the characters; the plot isn't important. I can fall asleep in the middle of the show and not miss much. Unfortunately, these aren't qualities that should apply to a novel marketed as a 'thriller'.