I'll be up-front: I've known Jerry for about a decade now, as a lawyer hiring him to do "research." It was his experience as a vice cop and later as a firefighter in San Francisco that forms the basis of his bottomless pool of material. As a fan of the classics in detective novels, from Sayers to James and Poe to -- well -- Kennealy, I find his Nick Polo stories of contemporary California society as compelling, insightful and readable as Ross McDonald's Harper series. Good, quick reads with versimlitude (like that Jerry?), lots of wit and action. In fact, I'm sure I know Polo's landlady!

Fortunately for us all, Amazon.com can get all the works of Jerry Kennealy for those who are interested. He's a masterful mystery writer in the Robert Parker/Robert Crais vain and his Nick Polo character is every bit as funny as Spenser or Elvis Cole. Kennealy knows his stuff(having worked as a PI in the Bay Area for quite some time)and he knows what it takes to hold a reader. I've been fortunate enough to meet the man on a few occassions and he's been a tremendous help to me in my own attempts at mystery writing. Give this man a chance and he'll make you a believer after just a few pages. He's a real buried treasure, but hopefully he can finally get the success he really deserves.

This was my first Nick Polo book and it was really enjoyable, Polo is a Mike Hammer type character with great charm and wit. Well written, I have ordered the rest of the series thru Amazon.

Robert Duran seems to have the world in the palm of his hand. Until his life gets turned upside down. An insurance investigator who specializes in recovering works of art, Duran has recovered paintings ranging from the Old Masters to the best of the current artists. Duran is very good at what he does, and he enjoys his work. He is brought in to investigate, and recover, a stolen Van Gogh; valued at more than $25 million, this painting was stolen - in broad daylight - from a Hollywood producer's mansion.

Among Duran's enemies, many of which were made over the course of a successful career, is a convict, recently released from a particularly miserable, high security prison. This nut case, Otto Kline, was put in isolation for 18 months, following his learning of his wife's death. She committed suicide - in a woman's prison. He swears revenge on Duran and Duran's wife, Anona Stack, herself an artist - both of whom Kline blames for his own wife's death.

This story takes a number of twists and turns, as Duran's wife is kidnapped, her former husband is poisoned, and her son is found dead.

While Duran is considered the prime suspect in all of this, he realizes that no one else is going to help him find his wife, and that time is running out. The anniversary of Otto's wife's suicide is only two days away, and Duran must work fast to find his wife - alive.

This is a fast-paced read; set aside a couple of hours, as you won't want to put The Suspect down.

Roberto Duran is a very happy person. He blessed with a beautiful and wealthy wife, who happens to be the most lauded artist of the times. He loves his job, finding stolen art objects and catching the thieves who stole them. His track record is so good, insurance companies compete to hire his services. His current case is to recover a stolen Van Gogh valued at $28 million. The painting was stolen in daylight from the home of a Hollywood movie producer.

Roberto has many enemies, including his wife's former spouse, her son, their family lawyer, and countless criminals he helped get arrested. One of the men he sent up the river is about to be released. This individual plans to make his nemesis pay for all that time and suffering. He kidnaps his enemy's spouse and plants evidence to make it look like Roberto is the culprit. Regardless of the personal danger, Roberto realizes that if he is to rescue his beloved wife, he goes it alone as the police will not offer any help.

Jerry Kenealy, a two time Shamus nominee, has written his best novel to date with the publication of THE SUSPECT, a crime thriller that has prize winner written all over it. This book is a gritty work that is not for the faint of heart. Though very graphic, the tale is mesmerizing due to the heroic protagonist, who represents the best in human nature. At juxtaposition to the hero is the villain, who symbolizes the depravity of the human condition (think Beowulf vs. Grendel). It is this stark contrast that makes this story into an enthralling crime noir and leave readers chanting mas to Mr. Kenealy.

Harriet Klausner

Sharon Rochard does exist! She lives in Trinidad WI. I know its just a coincidence, but as her sister, I look for any info on Rochards trying to trace my family history. Its nice to know that the name is not as unknown as I thought.

Mark Martel is a very successful jewel thief. He is engaged to a beautiful woman, lives in a nice upscale home, and seems to have everything he wants in life. However, his perfect world crashes after delivering a $200,000 painting to a buyer, Don Genero. His client's son tries to kill Mark and his girlfriend. The assailant carries out his assault, believing that Mark is dead in the river. Mark survives, but loses an eye. He turns state's evidence and enters the witness protection program as Mark Marre, vintner extraordinaire.

Don Genero believes that Mark killed his son and puts a $500,000 contract on him. Meanwhile, a series of jewel thefts occur that has Mark's signature modus operand all over them. Insurance worker Lisa Cole tracks down Mark, believing he committed the crimes. He offers her proof he is innocent, but now the Don and his henchmen are closing in on Mark, ready to even the score.

This novel is a pulse-pounding thriller that keeps the audience interested from the first page to the last due to the protagonist. Mark is a likable crook who overcomes his adversary to make a new comfortable life for himself. Although his own actions led to his present troubles, readers will feel sympathy towards Mark. The plot is nicely executed especially since all indications are that the thugs will triumph. The creative ending will leave the audience wanting the hero to make future appearances.

Harriet Klausner

This is an exciting and thrilling book. Althought there is some things in here that are not siutable for young readers. There is a lot of vulger language, which is used in a sexually way in some cases. Besides all of the language andd the violence, there is a very good story to go along with it.

Janna Drovana, a little girl about 13 years old, is a very smart and intelligent girl. Her and her mother decice to move away from Russia, and move to the America's, were her cousin Yuri Stolar will help support her and her mother. her mother and her had to be smuggled in here by ship, and on the way, her mother had become deathly ill. Her mother eventually passed away, and her cousin started to treat her like an animal.

Shortly thereafter, Janna was sold by her cousin to a madam, for six thousand dollars. Janna was not comfortable with the idea at all. Shortly after being there, the madam had already set Janna up with one of her clients, but nothing went as it was planned. the client was very upset by everything, and was very furious, and decided that it was time for him to go. Little did he know, but he was leaving behind a very important piece of property, which would later turn Janna into a running fugitive.

The client had a hitman hired to go back and get the small computer, and when he showed up, the result was a deadly one. The hitman had killed the madam and two of the girls that she was selling out to her clients. But, he killed everryone in the house, but Janna. She had the little computer in her pocket, along with loads of money that she had stolen from the dead madam.

Eventually, the little girl had called in and said that she had a visual picture of the murderer. She was then being tracked down by both the cops, and the murderer. janna didn't know that she would be in any danger, till te day came when everyone of the people that were looking for her, actually found her. It was a very hectic cituation, and the girl ended up giving the computer to yhe authorities, and all the people that were involved in the murder of the madam and the little girls, was murdered by a cop, who was on the case the entire time, and knew everything that was going on. They put Janna under the care of the authorities for seveal months, until the day came that she was adopted by the officdr that was on her case.

Ver good and i liked it, being a teen-ager. It was a book I would never expect to pick up.

A good, light summer read. Kennealy had a few logistical errors, but overall is a pretty decent writer. The book kept me engrossed and had minimal profanity, sex, etc. It was my first Nick Polo mystery. Wish Kennealy had developed the character a little more, but it did pique my interest enough to read another.

One of the helpful things about the way in which modern authors have experimented with the private eye genre is that their various innovations and deconstructions have only served to demonstrate how nearly perfect is the original form. In the end, we keep coming back, and I hope always will, to the lone wolf tough guy--no girlfriend, no wife, no boyfriend, no hulking and conveniently amoral sidekick to do the dirty work, no supernatural cases, no gimmicks of any kind.

Within the select group that is still writing these throwback series, there are a few who really stand out. Loren D. Estleman (author of the Amos Walker series) is pretty much in a league of his own. Then, in the next tier, you've got Jonathan Valin (Harry Stoner), Peter Corris (Cliff Hardy), and a couple more, including Jerry Kennealy and his hero, Nick Polo.

In Polo Anyone ?, the second entry in the series, ex-cop, ex-jailbird, San Francisco private eye, Nick Polo, is hired to expose a suspected card sharp in a local businessmen's regular poker game. This proves fairly easy, but he soon finds himself embroiled in a case of industrial espionage, featuring hostile cops, a seedy fellow private eye, a femme fatale or two, and a rapidly mounting body count. It's all entirely conventional, and I mean that in the very best sense of the word.

GRADE : B+