Book Talk: Carcaterra, ‘Apaches’

Lorenzo Carcaterra was born and raised in New York’s infamous Hell’s Kitchen in 1954, so he is intimately familiar with the state’s underbelly of cruelty, crime, and corruption. And he’s also knowledgeable about the men and women whom we trust to keep us safe from danger, injury, and death. In many of his books, the only way to tell the difference between cops and crooks is by which ones carry badges, and “Apaches” (1997, 367 pages in paperback edition) is no exception.

Mr. Carcaterra began his professional life with newspapers, transitioned to magazines, and then made the move to television (“Law and Order,” among others) and the silver screen. “Apaches” was his first fiction novel, and it is not for the faint of heart nor those with queasy stomachs. The level of psychopathic violence and cold brutality will not be tolerated well by people of gentle disposition, but his descriptions are undoubtedly faithful to the despicable practices utilized by those who control the flow of illicit drugs throughout the world.

While some of the acts that are graphically detailed by Carcaterra will disgust some, his police officers, all “retired” because of serious injury, will find a place in most readers’ hearts.