Police Blotter — Robert L. Fish

In the roughest precinct in New York, one cop tries to hold back the flood of crime

It's a lovely autumn in the Big Apple, and the weather is perfect for trouble. Over the weekend, a teenage gang rumbled on the playground, leaving a fifteen year-old stabbed and a younger boy beaten half to death; a high-speed chase left one dead and two badly injured; and a fire in a tenement killed two -- and the police found the arsonist standing outside, relishing his handiwork. It was a beautiful weekend in the city, and every deadly incident found its way across the police blotter of the Fifty-Second Precinct and into the hands of Lieutenant Clancy.

One of the hardest detectives on the force, Clancy will be tested with everything from a recluse's murder to an assassination attempt at the United Nations this fall. It may be his job, but it is never routine.