Street Fighter: A Mystery

By Bill Kent

Neville Shepherd Ladderback, the Philadelphia Press's "old, dusty" obituary writer, is researching accountant Paul Small, a city legend in all things dealing with money, who was beaten to death with his own cane. Finding it hard to get a straight story, Ladderback is surprised when Andrea "Andy" Cosicki, the voice behind the "Mr. Action" question-and-answer column, provides him with a key lead. But as each reporter searches for the "nut," or defining element, in their stories, they find that this exchange is just the beginning in a series of startling discoveries. News of Paul Small's death brings back Andy's best friend, Lucia; her mother had been involved with the dead man. The young women's reunion is interrupted by a violent confrontation with members of an Asian gang at a restaurant owned by Angelo Delise, the father of Lucia's friend Cece, who was raped and murdered years ago in the Asian immigrant sector of the city. The gang members were trying to get Delise's safe but failed, overpowered by Lucia's skill in the martial arts. Andy can see how Cece's death still haunts Lucia and she vows to find out the true story. Ladderback's and Andy's investigations keep leading them back to the Pickle Factory, which used to be a warehouse crowded with illegal Asian immigrants but was later developed into luxury lofts by Small's nonprofit veterans organization. Did Small make promises he couldn't keep? Community tension rides high in this third mystery from Bill Kent, an author who is well acquainted with the vibrant characters who live, and die, in gritty South Philly.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312328834
• ISBN13: 9780312328832
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.2" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

clever investigative mystery

In Philadelphia, Paulie Small is an accountant who knows how to move money around to get what the movers and shakers want done. He knows where all the bodies are buried as does his co-worker and lover Teal Cavaletta, who cares about the man and not his connections. One day while Paulie is outside Teal's home, he is beaten and dies at the hospital. Shep Ladderback, the obituary writer at the Philadelphia Press, wants to write an obit about Paulie, but he is met with a wall of silence. Junior reporter Andrea Cosicki tells Shep that Teal, the mother of her friend Lucia knows everything there is to know about Paulie. Before he can question her, someone beats her up and leaves her to die. While Andrea and Lucia try to find out who did this, Shep takes a different approach because he believes the murder and the beatings is linked to a fraudulent real estate venture. Their joint investigation ends in a conflagration of violence that sends two people to the hospital in critical condition and reveals the identity of the killer, a person who nobody would guess is the perpetrator. A bit slow moving at times, STREET FIGHTER is a clever investigative mystery featuring two journalists, one nearing the end of his career and the other just beginning hers. The steps they take to solve the crime and get the story is logical, believable and therefore very interesting. Bill Kent is a talented writer who focuses more on characterizations than action scenes. Harriet Klausner