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The Bronx Kill    by Philip Cioffari Amazon.com order for
Bronx Kill
by Philip Cioffari
Order:  USA  Can
Livingston, 2017 (2017)
Hardcover, Softcover
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

The Bronx Kill by Philip Cioffari is the haunting tale of a teenage challenge to swim the East River from the Bronx to Queens, and its aftermath. The current in the oily, dirty river proved too much for the teens who didn't fully understand what they had committed to do. Three returned to the Bronx, admitting to themselves and each other they couldn't meet the challenge.

The surviving three waited for the other two to return. The fourth boy's corpse was found days later and the body of the only girl among them never surfaced. The group had been life-long friends – the tragedy broke the survivors apart and they resolved to never see each other or to talk about their loss again. But - five years later the dead boy's older brother seeks revenge for what he believes was murder.

Since this brother is an NYPD detective, he can dig into the police records of an incident that was thought to be simply a foolish accident that cost two lives. Feeling sure there was no accident, the detective starts to work to bring the survivors to justice with whatever means it takes. The toll that dark human emotion can take on the soul is very apparent in The Bronx Kill. The detective plans his obvious attack and this is where my heart skipped a beat. Will yours?

It's well worth the read to find out, plus take in a very big surprise. Good writing. Capable characters. Excellent plot. What more can a reader ask for?

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