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Title: Speak of the Devil

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Richard Hawke

Narrator: Paul Michael

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Fritz isn't one to stand around and watch. A child of Hell's Kitchen and the bastard son of a beloved former police commissioner, Fritz is all too familiar with the city's rougher side. As the gunman flees into the park, Fritz runs after him. What he doesn't know is that he is also running into one of the most shocking and treacherous episodes of his life.

Though Fritz assumed that chasing down bad guys is perfectly legal, the cops hustle him from the scene and deliver him to the office of the current commissioner, who informs Fritz that someone dubbed "Nightmare" has been taunting the city's leaders for weeks, warning of an imminent attack on the citizenry. What's worse, Nightmare has already let the officials know that the parade gunman was a mere foot soldier and that there's more carnage to come unless the city meets his impossible demands. The pols don't dare share this information with anyone, not even the NYPD. What they need for this job is an outside man. And in Fritz they think they've got one.

Racing against the tightest of clocks, Fritz finds himself confounded by Nightmare's multiple masks and messengers. The killer is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. But as Fritz's frantic investigation takes him from a convent in the Bronx to a hookers' haven in central Brooklyn, the story behind the story, complete with wicked secrets on both sides of the law, begins to emerge. As Fritz zeroes in on the terrible, gruesome truth, the killer retaliates by making things personal, forcing Fritz to grapple with his deepest fear: that sometimes nightmares really do come true.

Critic Reviews:

"A deftly paced debut that crackles and pops from page 1." (Booklist)

"A loaded backstory, compelling minor characters, and clever, literate writing promise great things ahead for Hawke." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Lawrence Block-Lite

"Speak of the Devil", Richard Hawke's first novel, has all the mechanics down pat - interesting characters, snappy dialogue, a decent - if convoluted - plot. If you're a fan of Lawrence Block, you'll see shades of Matt Scudder here, but it would be doing Block a disservice to compare the visceral grit and passion of his mean streets of New York to Hawke's more pedestrian rendering of the Big Apple. And while it is definitely worth reading, it just misses that usually intangible hook that separates the average crime thriller from the truly memorable novels that linger in your memory long after you've put them back on the shelves.

This is the story of Fritz Malone, a private investigator with a Hell's Kitchen pedigree - the likeable bastard son of a former NYPD commissioner. Malone gets drawn into a spree of murders that point to a serial killer and extend to the most powerful of New York's power brokers, while the police are trying to suppress the facts and keep the public calm but ignorant. An unlikely cast of gang-bangers, stars, nuns, mayors, and cops get pulled into a climax that is neither predictable nor stunning. In short, a promising debut for Hawke - a fast and fun read that will not disappoint but will likely fade quickly from consciousness.

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

PI Fritz Malone just went out to get some bagels. When the shooting starts, he becomes involved, attempting to chase down a gunman.