Robert Leuci Books In Order

Odessa Beach

A Russian migr and the American mob make strange bedfellows in a brilliantly plotted masterpiece of cross cultural criminality. The book is set in Brighton renamed Odessa Beach, Brooklyn, where Nikolai Zoracoff has defected from Moscow not seeking political asylum but escape from the KGB. A charming hedonist and a criminal only because in Moscow luxury is bought by crime, Zoracoff’s assimilation into America includes cowboy hats, Dolby stereo and a drug connection which, in New York, means an alliance with the Mafia and a game which is harder than Zoracoff can bear.

Captain Butterfly

Leuci, the former New York cop whose exploits were documented in The Prince of the City , follows up his first two novels, Doyle’s Disciples and Odessa Beach , with this tense story about steely Captain ‘Butterfly,’ Marjorie Butera, a 19 year veteran of the force. Assigned to the Internal Affairs Division, charged with finding proof of the corruption in the force, Butera’s investigation focuses on vicious Inspector Ronald Janesky. But Janesky in line for promotion to commissioner, with a record based on illegal arrests and torturing prisoners is apparently untouchable. Captain Butera’s fellow male officers fear Janesky and despise the Butterfly as a female snitch. Only her lover, journalist Charles Rose, supports her decision to expose the crooked cop. Leuci alternates steamy scenes of love making with gritty slices of New York life punctuated by bloody, violent clashes before the decisive confrontation takes place between the evil, unprincipled inspector and his female nemesis. If the adventure is not entirely credible, it is exciting, fast paced and a boost to feminists. Publishers Weekly

Fence Jumpers

‘It was one of those Irish joints, a spot where you sucked down tap beer from paper cups, got loaded, then pulled chicks under the boardwalk. At night, if you got lucky, you could watch JoJo fistfight off duty cops. Like JoJo and Dante, Jimmy was nineteen, and he loved every hour of every day of each week of his life.’ As adults, Dante O’Donnell followed his dead father into the police force; Jimmy Burns, closer than a blood brother, went along. JoJo Paradiso’s future was preordained: He would be, first, an underboss in his father’s crime family, eventually stepping into Salvator Paradiso’s shoes. When Detectives O’Donnell and Burns are assigned to get the goods on JoJo Paradiso, it can’t be a simple matter of cop against crook.

All the Centurions

The bestselling book and acclaimed film Prince of the City told only part of Robert Leuci’s story. In All the Centurions, he shares the full account of his years as a narcotics detective with the New York Police Department a tale of daring adventure, shattered illusions, and finally, astonishing spiritual growth.

Leuci reminisces about cops both celebrated and notorious, like Frank Serpico, Sonny Grosso, and Frank King from the French Connection case. Also here are politicians, Mafia figures, corrupt defense lawyers, and district attorneys, including a young Rudolph Giuliani. Leuci reveals the dark side of the criminal justice system: the bitterness, greed, cruelty, and ambition that eventually overflowed into the streets, precinct houses, and courtrooms of the city.

As vivid and entertaining as the best crime novels, All the Centurions is the story of a man descending into a hell of his own making who ultimately finds his way out through truth and justice.