Clemente, Gerald.  The Cops Are Robbers.  Avon Books, New York, 1987. ISBN 0-380-70626-1. True story of Medford, Mass. police officers involved in a bank robbery, drugs, gambling, womanizing, and organized crime connections. Also the subject of a feature on 60 Minutes.

Droge, Edward F.  The Patrolman: A Cop's Story. Signet Books, New York, 1973. Story about an individuals police career from uniform to plain clothes work in New York. This officer also worked undercover and testified for the Knapp Commission about police corruption.

McAlary, Mike.  Buddy Boys. Charter Books, New York. ISBN 1-55773-167-5. A book about several corrupt cops on & off duty in New York. Subject of several TV shows.

Murano, Vincent & Hoffer, William.  Cop Hunter. Pocket Books, New York, 1990. ISBN 0-671-66959-1. An inside look at recent (post Knapp Commission) corruption in the New York Police Department. Written by a retired NY Internal Affairs undercover investigator, it details a variety of activities by corrupt cops including some acts directly related to assisting organized crime activity.

Grant, Michael.  Line of Duty. Bantam Books, New York, 1992. ISBN 0-553-29550-0. Fiction (but very realistic). New York City PD. The very thin line separating good cops from bad cops just got thinner. Drugs, money, police executioners. Good reading.

ORGANIZED CRIME.

Cummings, John & Volkman, E.  Goombata. Avon Books, New York, 1992. ISBN 0-380-71487-6. The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang. Very good and well documented book on John Gotti.

Friel, Frank & Guinther, John.  Breaking The Mob. Warner Books, New York, 1990. ISBN 0-446-36369-3-00599-3. A retired Commander of the Philadelphia Police Organized Crime Unit details activities of the Philadelphia Mafia (Scarfo family).

Lacey, Robert.  Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1991. ISBN 0-316-51168-4. An account of the so-called Chairman of the Board of the National Crime Syndicate with a personal fortune of $300 million from his beginnings to the end.

O'Brien, Jos. F. & Kurins, Andris.  Boss of Bosses. The Fall of the Godfather: The FBI and Paul Castellano. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991, hardback. ISBN 0-671-70815-5. NVCC Library HV 6248, C368, O27, 1991. Good details on the former head of the Gambino crime family, the capo di tutti capi. His death give rise to the power of John Gotti as the new boss.

Mustain Gene.   Mob Star. The Story of John Gotti. Dell Publishing, New York, 1988. ISBN 0-440-20270-1. Another book about Gotti.

Pistone, Joseph.  Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Signet Books, New York, 1987. ISBN 0-451-15749-4. A six year undercover operation by the FBI agent that infiltrated the Mafia.

OTHER SPECIALIZED READING.

Caunitz, Wm. J.  Exceptional Clearance. Bantam Books/Crown Publishers, New York, 1991. ISBN 0-553-29660-4. A very good fictional account of a NYPD investigation of a serial killer. Good forensics and investigative material.

Hickey, Eric W.  Serial Murders and Their Victims. Brooks Cole Publishing Company/Wadsworth, Inc., Belmont, CA, 1991. ISBN 0-534-15414-X. Serial killing, offenders, and victims.

Holmes, Ronald M & DeBurger, James.   Serial Murder. Sage Books, Newbury Park, CA, 1988. NVCC Library, HV 6529 H65 1988 (AN). Ted Bundy serial killer covered.

Keppel, Robert D.   Serial Murder; Future Implications for Police Investigations. Anderson Publishing Company; Cincinnati, 1989.

Katz, Jack.   Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions in Doing Evil. Basic Books, New York, 1988. ISBN 0-465-07615-7. NVCC Library. HV 6791 K38 1988 c. 2.

Ressler, Robt. K, Burgess, Ann W., and Douglas, John E.  Sexual Homicides: Patterns & Motives. Lexington Books, Lexington, Mass, 1988. NVCC Library. HV 6529 R47 1988 (AN). Crime scene file characteristics of organized and disorganized murders; multiple rapists & murderers; organized & disorganized offenders; murderers that kept the body. Very descriptive, gory.

Liddy, G. Gordon.  WILL. Dell/St. Martin's Press, New York, 1980. ISBN 0-440-09666-9. The autobiography of a former FBI agent, a CIA operative, a White House insider, and one of the "stars ??" of Watergate fame. Paperback. Demonstrates what some people refer to as "a stand-up guy".

Early, Pete.  The Hot House. - Life Inside Leavenworth Prison. Bantam Books, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-533-56023- 9. An informative book about federal prison life.

Fiction - some fine pleasure reading plus coverage of some unique law enforcement situations.

Hillerman, Tony.    Hillerman has written many mystery novels and is a prize winning author. He has frequently been on all the "Best Seller Lists". Most of his works of fiction take place in the Southwest U.S. on Indian reservations, (Navajo, Zuñi, and Hopi). Many have as their central character's, Navajo Tribal Policemen Jim Chee, a modern Native American Indian (studying to be a shaman or medicine man and singer of blessings, who performs the "Blessing Way" ritual) and/or Lt. Joe Leaphorn. These books are particularly well researched and convey many facets of the Indian beliefs, attitudes, values and culture. Hillerman is one of my "must read" authors.
 

The Blessing Way.	1970	Avon Books, New York	ISBN 0-380-39941-5
The Fly on the Wall.	1971	"        "	ISBN 0-380-44156-X
Dance Hall of the Dead.	1973	"        "	ISBN 0-380-00217-5
Listening Woman.	1978	"        "	ISBN 0-380-43554-3
People of Darkness.	1980	"        "	ISBN 0-380-57778-X
The Dark Wind.	1983	"        "	ISBN 0-380-63321-3
The Ghostway.	1984	"        "	ISBN 0-380-70024-7
Skinwalkers.	1986	Harper & Row Paperbacks, New York	ISBN 0-06-080893-4
A Thief of Time.	1989	"         "	ISBN 0-06-100004-3
Talking God.     **	1990	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109918-X
Coyote Waits.	1992	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109932-5
Sacred Clowns.	1994	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109260-6
The Fallen Man.	1997	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109288-6
The First Eagle.	1999	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109785-3
Hunting Badger	2000	"         "	ISBN 0-06-109786-1

** Much of the action in this novel takes place in Washington, D.C.

Find out more about this author and his books here: website.

Griffin, W.E.B.   Griffin is another favorite author of mine. He is a best selling author of a series of military books "THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR" series, and "THE CORPS" series. He has recently authored a new series about policemen: "THE BADGE OF HONOR" series. The stories, although fiction, represent the police role very authentically. The characters are members of the Philadelphia Police Department.  I have enjoyed ALL of his books.
 

Men in Blue.	1991	Jove Paperback Books	ISBN 0-515-09750-0
Special Operations.	1991	"              "             "	ISBN 0-515-10148-6
The Victim.	1991	"              "             "	ISBN 0-515-10397-7
The Witness.	1992	"              "             "	ISBN 0-515-10747-6
The Assassin.	1993	"              "             "	ISBN  0- 515-11113-9
The Murderers.	1995	"              "             "	ISBN  0- 515-11742-0
The Investigators.	1998	"              "             "	ISBN  0- 515-12406-0
Final Justice	2003	"              "             "

This author's website may be found at: www.webgriffin.com. 

Cornwell, Patricia.  Hornet's Nest. Berkley Books, 1998. About a hard-charging female Deputy Chief of Police and her female boss, the Chief of the Charlotte, NC Police Department. A good crime fiction novel. ISBN 0-425-16098-X.

Southern Cross.  G.P. Putnam's sons, publishers, 1998, ISBN 0-399-14465-X. The same characters are now heading up the Richmond, VA Police Department. A good read.

A new novel, Isle Of Dogs is a sequel to Southern Cross.

Cornwell has been described as one of the best crime fiction authors working today. Her other International best sellers have as their central character, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia, who solves many mysteries. A lot of local flavor, psychological profiling, and good investigative techniques are portrayed in: A Time for Remembering; Postmortem, 1990; All That Remains; Body of Evidence, 91; Cruel and Unusual, 93; The Body Farm; From Potter's Field, 96; Cause of Death; Unnatural Exposure, 97; Point of Origin, 98.  Dr. Scarpetta is back as the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia in Black Notice, 1999 and in The Last Precinct, 2000 .  Both are good "reads".

For information on her next novel, plus interesting background information and pictures, check out the author's website, www.patricia-cornwell.com.

DeMille, Nelson.  Cathedral. Warner Books, Inc., New York, 1990 (first published in 1981). ISBN 0-446-35857-6. A good fictional account of an IRA terrorist act occurring in Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York on Saint Patrick's day. NYPD hostage negotiators and Emergency Services Team action. Paperback.

Grisham, John.  A Time To Kill. Island Books by Dell Publishing, New York, 1989. ISBN 0-440-21172-7. A best seller that was made into a movie. A good fictional account of courtroom drama, particularly from the defense attorneys perspective. Grisham's other legal thrillers contain courtroom drama, lawyers, conspiracies, judges, or nagging social issues.  These include: The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, Street Lawyer, and The Testament.  The Brethren, published in 2000, combines an interesting plot: devious justices actively operating a vicious blackmail scam while they serve time behind bars; money laundering; a presidential candidate; and an unscrupulous lawyer.

Grisham’s novel, A Painted House (Feb. 2001) is a departure from the legal arena.  The author states that it is a work of fiction, inspired by his childhood in rural Arkansas.  Good reading.

Harris, Thomas.  Red Dragon. Bantam Books, New York, 1981. ISBN 0-553-27522-4. A psychological thriller. A psychiatrist that is also a psychopathic mass murderer. "Hannibal the Cannibal", a serial killer of families. Tracked down by a former FBI forensics instructor. Fiction. Paperback.

The Silence of the Lambs. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1988. ISBN O-312-91543-8. A different type of psychological thriller that became a major movie. a FBI agent from the Behavioral Science Unit stalks a killer. Fiction. Paperback.

Hannibal.  Dell, ISBN 0-440-22467-5.  "Hannibal the Cannibal" is back.  Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer from The Silence of the Lambs, thought by many to be the ultimate villain in modern fiction, is back with a vengeance.   Also making her reappearance is FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling, whose performance in The Silence of the Lambs brought the relatively new field of Psychological Profiling to the attention of millions.

Another, but older thriller by Harris, Black Sunday, was also made into a movie.  It involved an attempt on the life of the President, by an attack from a blimp, during a Super Bowl game. 

Henry, Sue.   I really like these mysteries from Alaska.  Many feature Alaska State Trooper Alex Jensen and/or race dog musher Jessie Arnold as the central character.  Good bush mystery adventures.  Local Alaskan flavor and insights.  Her books include:  Deadfall, Death Takes Passage, Murder on the Iditarod Trail, Murder on the Yukon Quest, Sleeping Lady, and Termination Dust.  Most recent works are Beneath the Ashes and Dead North.

Patterson, James.   Another best selling author. Serial killers and gripping suspense - some of the books feature action in Washington with DC homicide cop, Dr. Alex Cross, as a brilliant African- American investigator and profiler. Cat and Mouse, Jack and Jill, Along Came A Spider, Kiss The Girls, Pop Goes The Weasel, Roses are Red, and now, Violets are Blue. 

Other books include: Black Friday / Black Market, The Final Judgment, Hide and Seek,  Season of the Machete, See How They Run, The Thomas Berryman Number, Cradle and All, and 1st To Die.  You may visit the author's website at www.thomasharris.com.

Stabenow, Dana.   Award winning Alaskan mystery author with several series of wilderness based mysteries in print.  Many feature Kate Shugak as the central character.  A multitalented, nearly unstoppable, female Native American now living in the bush after a stint as an Anchorage prosecutor.  She takes on the role of a very savvy, occasional investigator to work on a variety of cases set in the Last Frontier.   Books include: A Cold Day for Murder, A Fatal Thaw, Dead in the Water, A Cold Blooded Business, Play With Fire, Blood Will Tell, Killing Grounds, Breakup, and Hunter's Moon.

Another series by Stabenow features Liam Campbell as a dedicated Alaskan Trooper in a remote wilderness outpost.  I have read the first two books, Fire and Ice, and So Sure of Death.  I am just waiting for a little free time to begin the next book in the series, Nothing Gold Can Stay.

The author's website can be found at www.stabenow.com.

Turow, Scott.  Presumed Innocent. Warner Books, New York, 1987. ISBN O-446-35098-2. A good murder-mystery / legal thriller, with courtroom strategy, and behind-the- scenes dealings. Fiction. Paperback. Made into a movie. He also wrote, The Burden of Proof, Warner Books, New York, 1990; ISBN 0-446-36058-9-00595-6. A good mystery with a surprise twist, and many matters of law. Other books include: The Laws of Our Fathers (1996),  Pleading Guilty (1993), and Personal Injuries (2000).

Note: Many of the books, particularly paperbacks by a good author, may be reissued and/or published by other publishers. This may result in a different ISBN number and publisher from those listed.

Books have been my constant companion.  I read for pleasure as well as learning.  I am a voracious reader, presently reading an average of one hundred books per year.  I like mystery, espionage, adventure, military, and many other categories.  I have a number of favorite authors in a variety of topics.  I am always happy to make suggestions about books that have interested me.

Have some fun - Visit your library.  Also spend some time helping to teach someone to read.  You'll be glad you did (and so will I).  

NVCC Library:   http://www.nvcc.edu/library/