Broken and Profane

Buffalo New York in the fall of 1980: a white supremacist embarks on a killing spree targeting black people... one every day. His first murder- from City Hall s balcony twenty-eight stories high- becomes his signature. The case is assigned to Mark Bennett a new detective whose father was a police legend. Ken Connell the department s star investigator is angry to learn he is passed over. Bennett owns a pedigree but lacks experience solving homicides. Bennett grapples with secrets: conversations with his dead father and a burgeoning affair he must keep quiet because Allison is separating from a husband who doesn t want her to leave: Ken Connell. Bobby Bennett Mark s younger brother is a rookie patrolman learning the job. His partner is George Pope a veteran street cop who once paired with Bennett s father. Pope is wise but crusty determined to mentor a stubborn young man no matter how much resistance he faces. For several days victims keep coming. Against a backdrop of crooked cops drug dealers prostitutes transvestites tension mounts as the net narrows on the killer while Connell learns the truth about his wife s affair. These events converge in a darkened basement with two cops a killer and three guns trained in different directions. Rich in characterization Broken and Profane is crime fiction that resonates with authenticity a taut thriller portraying the underbelly of life and the men who are entrusted with keeping society s order. Jeff Schober is the author of the true crime book Bike Path Rapist with Det. Dennis Delano and the novel Undercurrent.