This image is the cover for the book Police Blotter

Police Blotter

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.

Robert L. Fish

Robert L. Fish, the youngest of three children, was born on August 21, 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the local schools in Cleveland and went to Case University (now Case Western Reserve), from which he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He married Mamie Kates, also from Cleveland, and together they have two daughters. Fish worked as a civil engineer, traveling and moving throughout the United States. In 1953 he was asked to set up a plastics factory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He and his family moved to Brazil, where they remained for nine years. He played golf and bridge in the little spare time he had. One rainy weekend in the late 1950s, when the weather prohibited him from playing golf, he sat down and wrote a short story that he submitted to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. When the story was accepted, Fish continued to write short stories. In 1962 he returned to the United States; he took one year to write full time and then returned to engineering and writing. His first novel, The Fugitive, won an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery. When his health prevented him from pursuing both careers, Fish retired from engineering and spent his time writing. His published works include more than forty books and countless short stories. Mute Witness was made into a movie starring Steve McQueen.

Fish died February 23, 1981, at his home in Connecticut. Each year at the annual Mystery Writers of America dinner, a memorial award is presented in his name for the best first short story. This is a fitting tribute, as Fish was always eager to assist young writers with their craft.

Open Road Integrated Media