by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Read the full review online here, along with an interview with Connie Dial. Ms. Dial’s writing is precise, efficient, and straightforward. This police procedural is not only about finding who did it and their motives, but it offers deep insights in the internal politics of the LAPD Hollywood Division, the life of Josie, her difficult relationship with her husband and her son. Ms. Dial, a 27-year veteran of the LAPD has first-hand experience in investigations. Her dialogue is sharp, her descriptions are brilliant and the storyline flows quite well. It reminded me of Michael Connelly’s work, but without all the grit and the gloom that are his trademark.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Newly promoted Police Captain Josie Corsino of the Hollywood Division LAPD has her hands full in Fallen Angels by Connie Dial. She has seen many corpses during her twenty-one years with the Los Angeles Police, but never that of a person shot dead with a smile on her face. The reason for that smile is the first of many elusive pieces of information Josie must track down during the course of her investigation. Connie Dial takes the reader into a world where police business is handled at its highest level. Josie Corsino is a seasoned professional who knows every aspect of her job including its political ramifications She works long, hard, unglamorous hours, drinks too much, carries a gun at all times and uses it when necessary and is far from being a dutiful wife. In these and other ways, she is a certain kind of modern, mature woman. Josie may not be everyone’s cup of tea but she is realistic, and readers will be able to recognize parts of themselves in her.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Ms. Dial writes with the authority that comes from 27 years on this police force, and she brings the viewpoint of both female cop and newly promoted captain to the story through the voice of her main character, Josie Corsino…. This is what gives Fallen Angels its insidious quality. While the story, like most crime novels, is focused on the who-done-it-and-how plotline, each scene has an emotional subtext that seeps into the reader’s heart and mind. It feels like we’re implanted in Josie’s head or riding around on her shoulder, getting an up close and personal view of life as a real captain of a real police force dealing with the dark side of human nature.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
I thoroughly enjoyed and more importantly appreciated the first two mysteries [Internal Affairs and The Broken Blue Line] written by Connie Dial. As with past novels, Connie Dial exposes corrupt police officers, shady dealings and poor police work. Her vast experience in narcotics, undercover surveillance and Internal Affairs surveillance glows through the pages. It makes the novel much stronger, deeper. Dial knows L.A. and police work rather intimately and it shows throughout this mystery. As soon as I got confused along came a sentence or paragraph to bring things back into focus. Dial focuses on a woman as main character, Captain Josie Corsino. Extremely disciplined despite disorder in her personal life, Josie puts all her effort and time into her work. Josie’s son is a not-so-far-successful musician and her husband, a former prosecutor, left to pursue private practice and personal space from their marriage… Behind the scenes of a police officer’s life never gets old. Thus mystery/thriller remains a popular genre–Law & Order and CSI remain highly watched television programs not to mention 48 Hours. Dial hits on after-hours, cops’ marriages, working off-duty, office politics and daily minutiae. Fallen Angels unravels in a slow, steady spiral.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Connie Dial masterfully writes a compelling thriller. She draws on personal experiences, giving the reader a true glimpse into the world of policing and the corruption that is unfortunately a part of the system. She keeps her readers engaged and guessing at the identity of the killer until the reveal.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Two ex-cops are currently turning out mysteries centering on the LAPD’s Hollywood Division: Joe Wambaugh, who left the job fairly early after establishing the genre of gutsy, raucous police procedurals, and Connie Dial, who retired as commanding officer of the Hollywood Division after 27 years, including patrol, undercover, and narcotics work. Wambaugh gives readers a totally wild ride, often veering off into tangentially related war stories and cop humor, careening back into plot limits just in time. Dial’s ride (this is her third novel) is much more controlled when it comes to obeying conventional limits with plot and characters…. As with Wambaugh, the great thing about Dial is that readers know her take on the LAPD and the craziness of Hollywood crime is based on long reflection.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
A veteran cop herself, Dial (The Broken Blue Line, 2010, etc.) does authenticity to the max, and readers will like that. But it’s tough, vulnerable, never-say-die Josie that they’ll love.
by Connie Dial | May 16, 2012 | Reviews
Verdict: Dial writes with the knowledge and procedural minutiae of the insider she once was. And she bolsters her novel’s feminist credentials (not to mention the integrity of the storytelling and plot) with another strong realistic female protagonist, Lt. Marge Bailey. Authentic, well paced, and deftly written, this is a great addition to the police procedural crime fiction subgenre.
by Connie Dial | Jul 26, 2011 | Crime Fiction
Named by Kirkus one of the Top 100 Novels in 2012 Publisher: The Permanent Press Publication date: April 2012 Available for purchase: Immediately Synopsis: Hillary Dennis, a beautiful but troubled teenage movie star, is brutally murdered in a Hollywood Hills party house. LAPD Captain Josie Corsino responds to the crime scene and ultimately finds herself and her best homicide detective enmeshed in a complex dangerous investigation where the victim has some dark secrets and the killing has just begun. Genre: Police/Crime Reviews: Read reviews of Fallen Angels.
by Connie Dial | Apr 28, 2010 | Commentary, Events
The day after former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates died, the L.A. Times once again showed its total lack of class and objectivity by being – well, the L.A. Times. The paper ran headlines such as “Controversial LAPD chief – Known for key innovations and a combative approach, he saw his leadership challenged as the Rodney King beating case unfolded.” The next day, the editorial section had almost a full page with separate pieces written by two men who obviously didn’t like the man. Jim Newton’s lead was “I knew where I stood with the chief, and it wasn’t pretty.” Joe Domanick started his diatribe with “L.A. changed, but he – and his department would not.” The guy was dead, and they were still sniveling and sparring with him. It made me wonder what it was about the Chief that got under their skin so bad that it caused them to lash out at him even as he lay in the funeral home. After reading their editorials, I had this picture in my mind of Chief Gates sitting in his black and white chariot looking down at Newton and Domanick and laughing his ass off. Gates was smarter than both of them and had a sense of honor and courage they never valued. He also had a sense of humor and must be enjoying the idea these guys are still so pissed at him they can’t give him a proper eulogy. The reason Gates didn’t like Newton should’ve been pretty obvious to most cops. Newton never understood the police department he wrote about with such sublime arrogance and ignorance. If Gates “detested” (Newton’s word) The Times, it was because The Times lacked objectivity and intelligent research in covering anything related to the LAPD. The paper worshiped the likes of Ramona Ripston and her ACLU-laden police commission, but couldn’t stomach the concept of giving any police officer a fair hearing or the benefit of the doubt. Domanick claimed the city changed but Gates and the department wouldn’t. Gates was the chief of police for 14 years and contrary to Domanick’s assertion, the Chief did understand and support the social justice movement. Domanick just saying Gates didn’t support civil rights, women’s rights and gay and lesbian rights doesn’t make it true. Disagreeing with Tom Bradley didn’t make the chief a racist. Most of the time Mayor Bradley was not only wrong but ineffective and aligned with too many special interest groups. The police department should’ve been bigger and better equipped, but Bradley did nothing to make that happen. Gates believed in accountability, but promoted aggressive policing because that’s what he had to do when there weren’t enough officers, and the mayor wasn’t doing anything to make it better. The whole department wasn’t running amok killing unarmed suspects with no accountability. If by that statement, Domanick was referring to Rampart, it was the LAPD that uncovered those renegade cops. It’s disingenuous and dishonest to indict a whole department because of a couple of bad cops…yes, a couple. After all the ranting and raving, the Rampart scandal was proven to be only a handful of bad cops and a weak captain. Gates’ department never tolerated brutality or lawlessness. If it had, no one would’ve ever known about Rampart or any of the other rare “scandals” that were quickly uncovered and bad cops fired and punished. Domanick’s entire editorial is a simplistic shabby analysis of the city’s history and Gates’ tenure as chief. He touts the Christopher Commission and the consent decree for harnessing and reining in an out-of-control department. The truth is the commission’s findings and the consent decree were no more than annoyances creating busy work for an already burdened department. A real historian would’ve looked at the department and Gates’ actions within the context of the time he served and taken into account a number of events including the onset of the crack cocaine epidemic, the rise of violent street gangs, out of control illegal immigration with an increase in drug smuggling, changing demographics in the neighborhoods, a fading recession, a flood of homeless people on the streets (the ACLU’s Sundance decision kept the police from picking them up for being drunk), the tapering off of the anti-war movement’s violence and leftwing groups fomenting violence – a lot of it directed at the police, the remnants of the SLA, SDS and the Weathermen – all handled with one of the smallest police departments in the country for a city as big and complex as L.A. Since these were just a few of the social issues the police department had to confront and deal with at that time, Gate should’ve been given a lot more credit for his efforts. Joe Domanick gloats at the end of his editorial that when Bratton became chief of police it drove, “a final stake through the heart of the culture Gates had embraced.” This guy is really ignorant about the LAPD. I worked for and knew Chief Gates. The man was a true leader and innovator who embraced a proud, well-trained, professional police department where courageous men and woman protected and served those who depended on them for law and order. His department was diverse and dedicated to the rule of law. He didn’t tolerate dishonesty or cowardice and honored those who risked and many times sacrificed their lives for others and to preserve a tradition of excellence. That was and is the real culture of the Los Angeles Police Department. That was Gates’ real legacy and the reason why, almost 20 years after he retired, the man couldn’t walk into any room of police officers from any police department without a standing ovation. Chief Daryl F. Gates was a better man than Joe Domanick or Jim Newton and deserved a better eulogy than they could possibly give him.
