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.