Synopses & Reviews
It's not the dead body--Jack Leightner has seen hundred of bodies in his tour with the NYPD. It's not the dank setting--the narrow banks along Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. So why does the sight of the fatally stabbed young man make the detective almost faint in the canal's tangled weeds?
Jack doesn't understand why he becomes obsessed with this low-priority case, why he allows it to jeopardize his career and even his life. Especially since the investigation draws him exactly where he doesn't want to go: into the heart of Red Hook. The neighborhood is Leightner's bad dream, scene of his troubled childhood and a terrible secret.
The place also compels Jack's estranged son Ben, a young documentary filmmaker fascinated by its history. The Hook has been home to dockworkers and drug dealers, Al Capone and Joey Gallo, a giant public housing project, and one of the nation's greatest ports. Ben wants to find out why the once-thriving waterfront community has become a beautiful ruin--and why it has damaged his own family. In Gabriel Cohen's gripping first novel, this strange terrain is where Jack Leightner must seek his own redemption--and even, perhaps, the salvation of Red Hook itself. More than a crime story, Red Hook is a deep and sympathetic exploration of the mysteries of human nature, the curse and blessings of family, and one unforgettable place. Red Hook is a 2002 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.
Review
"Like its detective hero, Red Hook has a kind of hard-earned grace and sly wit that sets it apart from the hordes of conventional murder mysteries. Not just a gripping whodunit, but a well-written story of fathers and sons, and the life and death of a great New York neighborhood. Gabriel Cohen is a writer to watch out for and this is one of the most exciting urban crime novels to come along in years." (Peter Blauner, author of The Intruder and Slow Motion Riot)
Review
"Gabriel Cohen's Red Hook is a book of unassailable authenticity. He certainly knows the turf, the nether world that is Red Hook. His characters are real--I know these people and Cohen has penetrated their inner space...Red Hook moves along with remarkable speed--a terrific story." (Bob Leuci, a retired NYPD detective and author of six novels including BLAZE)
Review
"A crisp, compelling mystery set against the beautifully rendered wasteland of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Cohen moves through his story with the ease and confidence of a master. With great characters, a great plot, and a wonderful sense of place and history, he brings this crime story to the realm of literature." (Blake Nelson, author of Girl and Exile)
About the Author
Gabriel Cohen has worked as a reporter, inner-city schoolteacher, waiter, script reader, musician, and researcher. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, where-when he isn't writing-he plays guitar and practices tai chi.