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Wall of Brass
The body lay in the rain on a Manhattan street, half on the sidewalk, the face in the gutter. Since no one went near it, Chief of Detectives Bert Farber knew it had to be someone important. But he didn’t know it was the man who had stolen his girl and risen to power on a wave of self promotion. Or what dark forbidden secrets the dead man kept. The mayor has given Farber ten days to solve the crime, and already the top brass have begun blocking the investigation.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Robert Daley
85 books21 followersRobert Daley is the author of seventeen novels and eleven non-fiction books. Born and brought up in New York, he graduated from Fordham University, did his military service in the Air Force and began writing stories, articles and books immediately afterward. He was a New York Times foreign correspondents for six years based in France but covering stories from Russia to Ireland to Tunisia, fifteen or more countries in all. Much later he served as an NYPD deputy commissioner, which explains why many of his books have played out against a police background. His work has been translated into fourteen languages, and six of his books have been filmed. He is married with three daughters. He and his French born wife divide their time between a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Nice. France.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 10, 2020
"'The body is that of an adult, well-developed, well-nourished white male,' he intoned, 'scale weight 172 pounds, measured height five feet ten inches.'"
Robert Daley, the author of Wall of Brass (1994) served as the Deputy Commissioner for the New York Police Department in 1971-1972. He supervised several difficult investigations in tumultuous times for the department, which included the war against Mafia as well as assassinations of police officers by Black Liberation Army. Mr. Daley certainly knows the workings of NYPD and the city politics inside out, which clearly shows in the novel.
Briefly about the setup: when the First Deputy Commissioner of NYPD calls the NYPD Chief of Detectives at 6:30 a.m. and orders him to report immediately it is clear that something really serious must have happened. Indeed, the New York Police Commissioner's body has been found. Harry Chapman has been shot, apparently while jogging, and Bert Farber, the Chief of Detectives is heading the investigation.
While the progress of the investigation is shown in detail - this thread is on the level of the best police procedurals I have ever read - what I find the best in the novel is the well written, realistic and completely plausible account of the departmental and city politics. A new Commissioner will have to be chosen and several candidates, including the Deputy Commissioner, the Chief of Detectives, and several other members of NYPD brass compete for the job. They jockey, manipulate, and try to discredit every other candidate in more or less subtle ways. The ambition of these people and their almost insane drive to get promoted is truly palpable in the account.
The novel contains yet another layer, a backstory. Several chapters are set in the past, about a quarter of the century ago. We learn that patrolman Farber and probationary patrolman Chapman were partners and rode the same patrol car. It was Farber who taught Chapman the basics of police job while Chapman was interested only in plotting his future career: fast promotion to Commissioner, then mayor, finally the President of the U.S.
We also learn that they competed for the same woman. This is where I have reservations about the novel. While the beginning fragments of the thread are captivating and offer an illuminating perspective on the "current" events, the story is overlong in its role as background. The whole thing reads as if Mr. Daley wanted to write a psychological study on the games, rituals, and vagaries of attraction and relationship dynamics. Too much to serve as the background for the main story, yet not enough to become the main story.
I like the ambiguity of the title. It may refer to Biblical term for "strong defense" (Jeremiah 1:18, or Horace's Epistles 1.i.60, which the author quotes in his epigraph) or to the collective leadership of a police department. Despite my reservations Wall of Brass is a very good novel and I will certainly look for more of Mr. Daley's work.
Three-and-a-half stars.
Robert Daley, the author of Wall of Brass (1994) served as the Deputy Commissioner for the New York Police Department in 1971-1972. He supervised several difficult investigations in tumultuous times for the department, which included the war against Mafia as well as assassinations of police officers by Black Liberation Army. Mr. Daley certainly knows the workings of NYPD and the city politics inside out, which clearly shows in the novel.
Briefly about the setup: when the First Deputy Commissioner of NYPD calls the NYPD Chief of Detectives at 6:30 a.m. and orders him to report immediately it is clear that something really serious must have happened. Indeed, the New York Police Commissioner's body has been found. Harry Chapman has been shot, apparently while jogging, and Bert Farber, the Chief of Detectives is heading the investigation.
While the progress of the investigation is shown in detail - this thread is on the level of the best police procedurals I have ever read - what I find the best in the novel is the well written, realistic and completely plausible account of the departmental and city politics. A new Commissioner will have to be chosen and several candidates, including the Deputy Commissioner, the Chief of Detectives, and several other members of NYPD brass compete for the job. They jockey, manipulate, and try to discredit every other candidate in more or less subtle ways. The ambition of these people and their almost insane drive to get promoted is truly palpable in the account.
The novel contains yet another layer, a backstory. Several chapters are set in the past, about a quarter of the century ago. We learn that patrolman Farber and probationary patrolman Chapman were partners and rode the same patrol car. It was Farber who taught Chapman the basics of police job while Chapman was interested only in plotting his future career: fast promotion to Commissioner, then mayor, finally the President of the U.S.
We also learn that they competed for the same woman. This is where I have reservations about the novel. While the beginning fragments of the thread are captivating and offer an illuminating perspective on the "current" events, the story is overlong in its role as background. The whole thing reads as if Mr. Daley wanted to write a psychological study on the games, rituals, and vagaries of attraction and relationship dynamics. Too much to serve as the background for the main story, yet not enough to become the main story.
I like the ambiguity of the title. It may refer to Biblical term for "strong defense" (Jeremiah 1:18, or Horace's Epistles 1.i.60, which the author quotes in his epigraph) or to the collective leadership of a police department. Despite my reservations Wall of Brass is a very good novel and I will certainly look for more of Mr. Daley's work.
Three-and-a-half stars.
February 18, 2024
Wall of Brass, Robert Daley (mystery, crime)
Jeff Book Review #282
A 1995 fiction about a NYC Police Commissioner's murder starts well, with good narrative points flashbacking to the Chief of Detectives' prior friendship with the Commissioner within the complicated NYC police structure, but then devolves into a love triangle and common mystery setting where we're supposed to figure out which of the figures in the ambitious Commissioner's past might have killed him.
"Wall of Brass" is not much of a police procedural or crime novel, because we don't actually see a lot of investigation or perspectives of any of the city's criminals, or for that matter even much of the NYC police after the opening setup, and instead it's kind of a psychological explanation of human motivation by the protagonist as he runs the investigation by himself.
Verdict: A dry and boring whodunit set in New York City.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
next up: Dark Thicket, Elmer Kelton
Jeff Book Review #282
A 1995 fiction about a NYC Police Commissioner's murder starts well, with good narrative points flashbacking to the Chief of Detectives' prior friendship with the Commissioner within the complicated NYC police structure, but then devolves into a love triangle and common mystery setting where we're supposed to figure out which of the figures in the ambitious Commissioner's past might have killed him.
"Wall of Brass" is not much of a police procedural or crime novel, because we don't actually see a lot of investigation or perspectives of any of the city's criminals, or for that matter even much of the NYC police after the opening setup, and instead it's kind of a psychological explanation of human motivation by the protagonist as he runs the investigation by himself.
Verdict: A dry and boring whodunit set in New York City.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
next up: Dark Thicket, Elmer Kelton
September 12, 2021
I like these 90s cop novels. It's quite nice to read how folks where back then. Their mannerisms so different from how Cops are now.. well I dont know how cops in US are now, so I make the assumption from I watch on the telly.
May 9, 2020
Authenticity is obvious when you read Robert Daley's "Wall of Brass." Excellent book.
August 22, 2021
Not all that interesting. Hard to follow the story.
Read
October 21, 2021No. Too dated.
July 25, 2014
A good cop novel has certain indispensable elements, including the hunt for a culprit, a strong evocation of setting, usually urban, and a certain amount of departmental intrigue to complicate the detective's life. This book has them all, and the last one in spades. The police commissioner of New York City is found shot to death on the upper West Side, a heater case if there ever was one. The investigation is complicated by the rivalry of the leading contenders for the victim's job, all of whom want to monopolize the investigation: the deputy PC, the chief of detectives, various other bigwigs. The chief of dicks and the dead PC go way back (the latter stole the former's girlfriend and married her); other sundry complications emerge.
It kept me reading, which is the bottom line, but it failed to really impress me; Daley's style is a bit too pedestrian, the outcome fails to astonish, the digressions into the coppers' love lives are not quite compelling enough. Worth reading as a decent exemplar of the New York Cop Novel, a rich sub-genre, but if that's not your genre I wouldn't bother. Too many other good books out there.
It kept me reading, which is the bottom line, but it failed to really impress me; Daley's style is a bit too pedestrian, the outcome fails to astonish, the digressions into the coppers' love lives are not quite compelling enough. Worth reading as a decent exemplar of the New York Cop Novel, a rich sub-genre, but if that's not your genre I wouldn't bother. Too many other good books out there.
February 15, 2011
Wall of brass by Robert Daley
This book was a little different than the regular cop novel. This is more about political intrigue and unchecked ambitions. Murder and mayhem ensue.
Bert Farber appears to be a cops’ cop. Starting in the trenches he ends up as Chief of Detectives responsible for 3000 cops. He has faith in the system and loves being a cop but is not a very good politician. Bert is a deeply reserved man. Face with the death of an old acquaintance he has difficulty sharing the facts of the case. The sheer number of people who have good reason to want Harry Chapman dead is daunting.
Bert's tenaciousness forces him to discover the man he shared a squad car with was not the same man he once knew.
The book shows that police are no different than the rest of society in their hopes and ambitions.
The author does an excellent job painting characters with a deep and colorful brush.
I recommend the book.
This book was a little different than the regular cop novel. This is more about political intrigue and unchecked ambitions. Murder and mayhem ensue.
Bert Farber appears to be a cops’ cop. Starting in the trenches he ends up as Chief of Detectives responsible for 3000 cops. He has faith in the system and loves being a cop but is not a very good politician. Bert is a deeply reserved man. Face with the death of an old acquaintance he has difficulty sharing the facts of the case. The sheer number of people who have good reason to want Harry Chapman dead is daunting.
Bert's tenaciousness forces him to discover the man he shared a squad car with was not the same man he once knew.
The book shows that police are no different than the rest of society in their hopes and ambitions.
The author does an excellent job painting characters with a deep and colorful brush.
I recommend the book.
April 8, 2015
Not a bad story, a little dry in parts and a little predictable, but not so much as to kill the book. I did like the way the book ended and how the main conflict was settled.
I really enjoy a good detective story. I made a mistake many years ago of packing one of my favorite police story novels in a box for deployment which was lost. I have been looking for another copy of that book for several years now. This is not the book I am searching for - move along.
I really enjoy a good detective story. I made a mistake many years ago of packing one of my favorite police story novels in a box for deployment which was lost. I have been looking for another copy of that book for several years now. This is not the book I am searching for - move along.
May 13, 2010
NYPD Chief of Detectives Bert Farber is assigned to the murder of his former partner, Harry Chapman, now the Chief of Police. The murder of Chief is followed by insider political chaos. Farber is also one of the top three contenders to fill the deceased Chief's spot. The pressure is on because by law the mayor has only ten days to fill the Chief's job.
January 5, 2017
A suspenseful murder mystery involving the NewYork City police department. If you liked Serpico,Dog Day Afternoon, and Prince of the City, you will definitely enjoy this book although it is not quite up to the quality of these books. With all the political overtones, it could be depressing considering the political climate today...just saying...
August 7, 2019
Wall of Brass, Robert Daley, RDC-M #2-95, 1/13. A NYPD Commissioner is gunned down on a morning jog. Chief of Detectives has 10 days to find the murderer. If he succeeds, he could be the new Commissioner. Okay.
May 17, 2010
Good cop novel, strong plot and suspense.
October 10, 2010
Good Kept me guessing until the end.
December 13, 2012
A good whodunit as many would say. Robert Daley showed us how an investigation was handled even if it means breaking the rules and hurting someone.
Read
August 9, 2013Read 2/02
September 5, 2015
This was a good police thriller. Excellent plot with a great and interesting leading character. A worthy read.
May 8, 2016
NYPD Chief of Detectives, Bert Farber, works to solve the murder of the Police Commissioner while politically manuevering to succeed him.
May 3, 2024
Could not put it down.
November 15, 2011
Good tough cop story with New York politics and intrigue mixed in.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews