Dirty Deeds

New York’s premier crime-solving radio host teams up with an ER nurse to solve a case in Shlian and Reid’s mystery, one in a series.

Outspoken radio host Sammy Greene is back in New York and back on the air, this time for the progressive Radio USA network in Astoria, Queens. There she runs into Ana Pappajohn, the daughter of her friend and former sleuthing partner Gus. Once a drug addict and sex worker, Ana is now a nurse practitioner–in-training at a hospital in nearby Jackson Heights. When a Tibetan immigrant mother brings her 6-month-old baby Jampa in with a mysterious illness, Ana discovers the infant has arsenic levels 20 times the typical amount. Of course, Jampa’s mother, Tenzin Dolma, is immediately suspected, but Ana—a mother herself—has her doubts. “There are other ways the children could be poisoned,” she insists to Gus, an ex-cop. “If Dolma wasn’t an immigrant, maybe she’d only be a person of interest at this stage, not in jail with no bail.” Ana enlists Gus and Sammy—who have some experience solving tough cases—in her investigation to prove Tenzin’s innocence. Along the way, they discover connections to another dead child, as well as the murder of a prominent Queens real estate developer. When they cross some powerful people, Ana and Sammy learn just how dirty New York City can get. Shlian and Reid excel at capturing the wry cynicism of the New Yorkers who inhabit the intersecting worlds of medicine, real estate, and the law. “You never know whose pants are getting dropped in a corruption scandal,” the police chief quips. Ana, with her checkered past and her son with cerebral palsy, makes for a strong and sympathetic protagonist. There are some idiosyncratic flourishes—the authors’ reflexive need to explain every reference, a nearly distracting enthusiasm for Greek food—but overall this is a fun, fast read with plenty of Queens-specific color. Fans of the previous books in the series will be more than satisfied.

A gleefully gritty crime novel set in the world of a New York hospital. 

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

Dirty Deeds by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid is a continuation of a series involving investigative radio journalist Sammy Greene. Sammy is currently hosting a talk radio show in New York City for Radio USA. In the period leading up to the 2008 elections, the focus was on the primary candidates from both parties but when Sammy’s best friend, nursing student Ana Pappajohn, revealed some disturbing information about possible arsenic contamination in New York’s water supply, Sammy became caught up in investigation corruption and malfeasance amongst New York’s elite politicians. A seemingly unrelated murder of a New York building contractor, the arrival of Ana’s father, a former Boston detective, Gus Pappajohn, and a series of babies at Ana’s hospital all suffering from arsenic poisoning creates a multi-layered mystery for Sammy, Ana, and Gus to unravel, all while facing danger from powerful men determined to hide the truth. 

Dirty Deeds is my first introduction to authors Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, as well as their principal characters Sammy Greene, and Ana and Gus Pappajohn. I am impressed by the depth of their plotting, the twists and turns of the mystery as it unrolls under their investigation, as well as the likability, relatability, and variety of characters introduced. I particularly appreciated that it was often poor, immigrant families that were being exploited by the elite’s corruption and I loved the authors' focus on Tibetan culture in particular. The empathy the authors evoke in readers is to be admired, especially for the plight of Tibetans forced from their homeland, seeking relief in the promises of the USA, only to be sadly let down and disappointed by those who were elected into power to protect them. I was impressed by the level of knowledge regarding hospitals, police, governmental offices, and de-encryption procedures. This novel has been deeply researched and intelligently written. By incorporating current events of the time, the story has the ring of authenticity and believability, which is always crucial. This may have been the first work I’ve read in this series but I suspect it will not be the last time I encounter these two authors and these characters. I highly recommend this read.

  The Bottom Line: A cleverly-constructed murder mystery with a one-of-a-kind heroine at its core. 

The fourth book in the Sammy Greene series opens in New York City, as smug real estate tycoon Vince Garibaldi is lured into a midnight hour meeting. After handing over a thumb drive and denying accusations of being a snitch, he’s summarily bludgeoned to death, belted into his Porsche, and sunk into the East River. It’s the first of two significant – and seemingly unrelated – murders in the novel.

But as you might suspect, things are not quite what they seem in Dirty Deeds. 

Elsewhere in the Big Apple, doctors can see that six-month-old Jampa Dorjee is clearly far too small for his age. After the child’s mother, Tibetan immigrant Tenzin Dolma, brings the baby to the ER, tests find that the child’s blood arsenic levels are 20 times higher than normal. As the baby clings to life in the hospital, Child Protective Services and NYPD arrive at the family’s apartment and arrest Dolma for attempted murder. 

Nursing student Ana Pappajohn, whose father Gus is a retired cop, believes Dolma has been unjustly accused. As part of her efforts to free Dolma from jail, Ana makes an introduction to series heroine Sammy Greene. Set in 2007 during the waning years of peak terrestrial radio, Sammy hosts a talk show on the liberal Radio USA network, serving as a platform for social advocacy. But it seems that Sammy has a history of pushing things a bit too far. Will the show’s new direction be a fit with her program director, to say nothing of city officials?

Authors Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid have created a sophisticated narrative in which tragic worlds collide. Shlian and Reid hold back just enough information in the early going to sustain mysteries in both stories, resulting in a series of huge payoffs once Anna and others finally stitch them together. While Dolma’s plight is far more evocative and stirring than its counterpart, the way in which the connective tissue between the two is constructed is worth the price of admission. 

Dirty Deeds is also a fascinating lens through which the social and political dynamics of 2007 are revisited. As you might guess, the plight of Tibetan immigrants are explored in a way that’s downright moving. In addition, get ready to relive the 2007-era political landscape, including Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and Barack Obama. Even Donald Trump, who declares “They couldn’t pay me enough to be a politician,” makes an appearance. 

While we learn a lot about Sammy through well-placed snippets of backstory, readers are advised to begin with Book 1, Dead Air, to experience this unique heroine’s origin story.

 Bella Wright
Editor
BestThrillers.com