Who done it?

Pretty good twist and turn story. Liked the characters, the story and on to the next book in this series. ( )

This was a good, basic police procedural. I got lost in the mix of all the criminal parties, but I followed the basic gist of the storyline. And I was very pleased to enjoy the detectives - they are a good team. Somewhat stereotypical/trope-heavy, but so what?

When the ending happens, its quite obvious and unsurprising. But I don't read books for solely for surprises. I liked the writing - it was pared down and devoid of unnecessary wordage. It kept the tone and pace nice and solid.

If I was being nitpicky, I would mention the great facility Detective Stone had with driving (nay, speeding!) in California even though he is a NY-er. Everyone knows the two locations have very different traffic.

In any case, I am interested in reading more in this series - my main reason is the teamwork of the two detectives and the writing style. ( )

An Enjoyable Police Procedural with a Few Convenient Discoveries

If you’re a fan of police procedurals, chances are you’ll enjoy An Ace and A Pair. The story hits the ground running, with the ‘dinosaur’ of an NYPD detective, John Stone, partnered with attractive, but generally disliked Detective Carmen Dehan. They’re relegated to cold cases, and after shuffling through boxes of them, Stone picks the ten-year old, Nelson Hernandez file with the well-reasoned justification of “This one always interested me.”

Soon, the list of suspects from that gangland-style execution looks like a who’s who of the criminal world with the New Jersey Mob, a Chinese gang (the Triads), a Latino gang (the Angeles de Satanas), and one or more bent NYPD cops all making appearances. As Stone and Dehan track down leads, it becomes apparent that someone believes the score still needs to be settled – their ‘persons of interest’ start to die. It all ends with a finale that caught me by surprise…and I was sure I knew.

The downside to An Ace and A Pair is that Stone’s detective work involved some quite improbable deductive leaps. For example, at one point the New York detective comes to the barren plains of Texas and finds an abandoned car that no one seems to have noticed in ten years. Really? A lot of his discoveries are passed off as old-fashioned detective work, but details aren’t given, making them seem much too convenient. But I liked the concept of the old-school detective. And as characters, Stone and Dehan worked, showing a mix of humor and begrudging admiration for each other.

Overall, you’ll need to accept some deductive leaps that might clear the Grand Canyon, but otherwise, it’s a fast and enjoyable read. ( )

It took a long time for me to get into this novel. Stone and Dehan both get exiled to cold cases for various reasons. (In fact, I think the two of them are the entire cold case unit.) They find a case where a gang was shot while playing cards. Various theories surface: it was the mob, it was the triads, it was a dirty cop...eventually Stone and Dehan (but mostly Stone) figure out the truth.

I don't know enough about cards to know if the reference about an ace and a pair is common knowledge. I'd never heard it or read it before if so.

It took me a long time to get a handle on the characters--I'm still not sure I like them to the point that I'm rooting for them to succeed or at least not die.

I thought there was no time limit on prosecuting for murder--yet in the end, the killer is left free. There were extenuating circumstances, and it is possible that a jury or judge might have decided it was self-defense. . .but Stone makes the call instead. I'm not sure that sits well with me--Stone is sworn to uphold the law and he doesn't in this case--and Dehan, who is also sworn to enforce the law, lets him. ( )