Martelli, NYPD: A Collection of Excerpts from the Detective Louis “Lou” Martelli, NYPD, Mystery/Thriller Series is an anthology of short extracts from six novels and two screenplays by Theodore Jerome Cohen. In an author’s note, Cohen explains the protagonist’s unique background. Martelli is a veteran of the first Iraqi War and lost a leg but was allowed to become an NYC police detective under special permission from the mayor. The stories are based on real events. Photographic prompts, some of which were from flash fiction challenges, are included. Appendices provide additional information about the novels and links to websites. While the Detective Lou Martelli stories are fictional, his character was inspired by an Army helicopter pilot who was killed in Iraq and whose family was known to the author.

In Martelli, NYPD, Theodore Jerome Cohen gives us a taste of this engaging crime series. I really enjoyed it. The characters and settings are vividly drawn in each excerpt. The dialog, both spoken to others and the character’s inner thoughts, skillfully pulls these together into a well-developed and tightly written narrative. Cohen’s ability to create these literary vignettes with only a few words is impressive. Each story has its own emotional scale, but all worked together to give an image of Martelli that is clearly outlined and cohesive. I had several favorites. Among them, the cop-to-cop humor and sarcasm of “Need for Speed” had me chuckling and wanting to read more.

Martelli, NYPD: A Collection of Excerpts from the Detective Louis “Lou” Martelli, NYPD, Mystery/Thriller Series is a work of fiction in the suspense, intrigue, and crime fiction subgenres. It is best suited to the general adult reading audience owing to themes of violence and some potentially upsetting content such as homicide, suicide references, etc. Penned by author Theodore Jerome Cohen, the work contains several short stories that make up an overall picture and profile of our central figure, a former war veteran who has turned detective in the city of New York.

From high-profile deaths to sudden shocks that seem, at first, like magic, these 23 vignettes bring the best of detective fiction to life, and author Theodore Jerome Cohen really has a knack for putting us in the tensest central moment of the scene or case we’re exploring. I loved the dialogue especially, which served to give snippets of classic American noir, all snark and smoothness, but also highly detailed and emphatic in how it introduced us to Lou and the way his mind works. The flash fiction format of the anthology means that you can pick up this book and enjoy just a few pages but come away feeling as though a whole mini-movie has played out in your head, filled with all the fascinating details of crimes that feel eerily real and, in many cases, are masterfully spun from facts of real events. Overall, Martelli, NYPD is a deeply engrossing crime and mystery collection that fans of flash anthologies and thrilling short stories are sure to enjoy.