Detective Frank Keogh has a talent for killing - a talent he developed in the jungles of Vietnam. When two people close to Frank are murdered, he falls under suspicion of the crime. He is forced to flee across the country to his father, who may hold the key to the identity of the real killer.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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From Publishers Weekly
Stroud's first novel (after the bestselling Close Pursuit ) is a standout, with an ingenious plot, suspenseful pacing and strong, gritty dialogue. Vietnam vet Frank Keogh is a sniper in the Emergency Services Unit of the NYPD. His job is to kill gunmen who are holding hostages; accuracy and steel nerves are vital. Keogh is expert at his job, perhaps too much so. He seems to find an inordinate joy in disposing of his unsuspecting targets. When a cop with whom he has quarreled and a woman with whom he is having an affair both die violently, under gruesomely similar circumstances, a warrant is issued for Keogh's arrest. He flees, confirming his "guilt," and the story unfolds with surprises at every turn. The author evokes the shadowed world of the NYPD with cynical realism. "This is the city of the Big Fix--the whole fucking place is on the pad," one of Keogh's colleagues says. Stroud's taut descriptions of NYC neighborhoods, his portrayal of an ethnically mixed population, are right on target; his nuanced characterizations of fallible men and the women they love impart a basic credibility to this taut thriller. Film rights to 20th Century Fox.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
The acclaimed author of Close Pursuit (1987), a nonfiction work about the NYPD, tackles a first novel on the same subject. Police sniper Frank Keogh, Vietnam veteran and long-time cop, finally begins to show stress: his family life stinks, and he seems impatient to pull the trigger. When he kills a burglar without his commander's go-ahead, he finds himself framed for the murders of two cops and a nurse. Keogh flees, pursued by the dead burglar's brother, the FBI, and state police officers. Partner Pat Butler, meanwhile, attempts to unmask the true culprit. Lengthy, detailed, and arresting, this procedural offers explosive action, high excitement, and hard-hitting prose.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Jeff Cordell
Format:Hardcover
Sniper's Moon is Mr. Stroud's fictional debut and he dosen't disappoint. Mr. Stroud has always excelled at writing books heavy with atmosphere and he does a beautiful job here as well. At forst the reader is following what seems to be two different story lines but both are very well done and one never becomes bored with either one. Eventually they come together in a way I found to be very satisfying. This is a book about honor, faithfulness, blood ties, and redemption. It's also a very intruiging mystery which keep one guessing almost to the end. The police procedure is believable and the action sequences are beautiful. Mr. Stroud also excells at giving the reader detailed descriptions on even the most minor characters so the reader feels like he has known them for years. Unlike so many of the police procedure thrillers this one takes a slighty different trail and does a great job. Read it. I really think you won't be disapointed.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars
7 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!
Aug 19 2002
By Charlotte Vale-Allen
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I find an author whose work I really like, I tend to buy all their books and then space them out, to read over a period of time--prolonging the pleasure. In the case of Carsten Stroud, having started with his most recent book, Black Water Transit, I chased down all his previous books and am taking my time reading them.
Sniper's Moon, Stroud's first novel, is like a fireworks display. It starts off with a bang, then dazzles one with bursts of patterns against a night sky. This look at the inside/outside life of an NYPD sniper, a second generation cop, is a stunning piece of work--insightful, compelling and melancholy.
Managing with great skill to weave together simultaneous plot lines, the narrative takes off in high gear and doesn't let up for a moment. All the characters are fully three-dimensional, even the most minor, and while there is a great deal of violence it doesn't get in the way of the story. And when, roughly at the midpoint of this book, the hero Frank Keogh is accused of killing two fellow cops and takes off to try to unravel things from a distance, there ensues what is one of the best hide-and-pursuit segments I've read in a long time.
While I guessed who was the villain of the piece early on, the author manages to pull off a nice surprise ending that is unexpected.
Some of the writing is beautifully lyrical; the insights into the minds of the men and women involved is refreshingly honest. This is a terrific book.
Very highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent first novel
Mar 13 2012
By Jeffrey L. Cordell
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I read this novel when it was released in 1990. It made an impression on me then. I was twenty-two and finishing up my college career with hopes of getting into law enforcement (boy was I young). Now in 2011 I'm forty-three and I've been a cop for over ten years - though I have never been a police sniper. I also spent many years in the Army between college and my current career.
I found Sniper's Moon to still be a fast moving novel and full of little observations about the world of cops that still ring true in 2011. The author used to be an investigative journalist and understands the world of cops and criminals. His observations are dead on in my opinion. It's a cracking good police procedural novel with several nicely choreographed action pieces in it. Great read.
But there is another level to the novel. It deals with the relationships between people and the power of memories and past events. Something that wasn't as important to me in 1990 since I hadn't been alive all that long, but has a greater significance now. Much to my surprise I found there was a bittersweet element to the story that went by me the first time.
I recommend this novel highly
I found Sniper's Moon to still be a fast moving novel and full of little observations about the world of cops that still ring true in 2011. The author used to be an investigative journalist and understands the world of cops and criminals. His observations are dead on in my opinion. It's a cracking good police procedural novel with several nicely choreographed action pieces in it. Great read.
But there is another level to the novel. It deals with the relationships between people and the power of memories and past events. Something that wasn't as important to me in 1990 since I hadn't been alive all that long, but has a greater significance now. Much to my surprise I found there was a bittersweet element to the story that went by me the first time.
I recommend this novel highly
3.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy, if somewhat uneven, thriller, filled with Stroud's wit, grit and fast-paced plotting
Jan 12 2013
By Paul P. Belle Isle
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
NYPD Detective Frank Keogh is the son of a New York cop and a police sniper on the Emergency Services Unit. He's good at it, but perhaps too good - his partner fears he has begun to enjoy his job more than he should, and his home life is suffering.
When a cop with whom Frank has argued is murdered, no one seriously believes him capable of the crime, but when his mistress is killed in similar fashion - using an m.o. recalling a long-ago case solved by Frank's father - he looks like the prime suspect. As homicide detectives scramble to arrest him, Keogh escapes, fleeing cross-county, his only hope to make some very fast connections to a case whose long shadow could destroy him, all the while dodging a deadly armed robber with revenge in mind.
This is the author's first work of fiction, and I read a couple of his other novels - which I thoroughly enjoyed - before getting to this one. It's solid - more of a three and a half stars than a three - but not as tight and focused as either "Black Water Transit" or "Cuba Strait" which are excellent.
The plot is a bit loose at times, and there is some strain on the suspension of disbelief, but it's balanced by the author's uncommon command of the language and gift for imbuing his storytelling with grit and a sense of reality. "Sniper's Moon" has compelling and memorable characters and a plot that pushes forward propulsively after the first half of the book lays some groundwork. It's worth reading both for fans of Carsten Stroud and for anyone seeking a mystery-thriller a cut above the run of the mill.
When a cop with whom Frank has argued is murdered, no one seriously believes him capable of the crime, but when his mistress is killed in similar fashion - using an m.o. recalling a long-ago case solved by Frank's father - he looks like the prime suspect. As homicide detectives scramble to arrest him, Keogh escapes, fleeing cross-county, his only hope to make some very fast connections to a case whose long shadow could destroy him, all the while dodging a deadly armed robber with revenge in mind.
This is the author's first work of fiction, and I read a couple of his other novels - which I thoroughly enjoyed - before getting to this one. It's solid - more of a three and a half stars than a three - but not as tight and focused as either "Black Water Transit" or "Cuba Strait" which are excellent.
The plot is a bit loose at times, and there is some strain on the suspension of disbelief, but it's balanced by the author's uncommon command of the language and gift for imbuing his storytelling with grit and a sense of reality. "Sniper's Moon" has compelling and memorable characters and a plot that pushes forward propulsively after the first half of the book lays some groundwork. It's worth reading both for fans of Carsten Stroud and for anyone seeking a mystery-thriller a cut above the run of the mill.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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