THE BARREL MURDER: a Detective Joe Petrosino case: based on true events
RANDOM HOUSE:"THE ALIENIST is one of my all time favorite books. I know I'm not alone in this, which is why I see so many crime novels set during that amazing period in NYC's history. I applaud Zarocostas' work - it's vivid and gruesome (in a good way) and I love the characters. This is as close to Caleb Carr as I've seen so far."SUSPENSE MAGAZINE:"THE BARREL MURDER is part Mario Puzo's GODFATHER and Robert Towne's CHINATOWN. Michael Zarocostas has written a police procedural with such suspense and fluidity, you will forget it is based on fact...the sign of a great work of literature."KIRKUS REVIEWS:"Zarocostas ably depicts the teeming landscape of early 20th-century New York in his well-researched, fast-paced and occasionally gruesome book. This is both a murder mystery and a story about the many forces shaping a dynamic American city at a critical point in its development. But Petrosino's efforts to uncover the truth about the barrel murder are equally fascinating.  Overall, this is a well-crafted page turner. A fine mystery likely to appeal equally to crime enthusiasts and fans of historical fiction."