RARA-AVIS: Philadelphia follow-up

From: Forstater, Mathew ( ForstaterM@umkc.edu)
Date: 19 Feb 2002


Following up on the Philly thread, I got a hold of a used copy of Police Special, the title of a collection of three novels by William P. McGivern (Rogue Cop, The Seven File, and The Darkest Hour). Rogue Cop takes place in a slightly revised and unnamed Philadelphia, with references to Market Street, Broad Street, Fairmount Park, Center City, the Northeast, City Hall, and even the Phillies. There were a few street names I wasn't familiar with, and Arch Street seems to have become Archer Street. Also, the addresses near 'the River' were off (he has 4800 block at the unnamed river, which couldn't be either the Delaware or the Schuykill, could it? The numbered streets start at the Delaware, so should be the 100 block, and my Pop was from Gray's Ferry--around 30th and Wharton--so I can't see any way that the 4800 block of anything could be near the Schuykill?). Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the next two in the collection. Rogue Cop dealt with corrupt police and politicians with ties to organized crime. It would be great to have a hard-boiled take on the Rizzo years--I remember eating in the Famous 4th Street Deli around the time that either Wilson Goode was first running against Rizzo or the vote on the Charter to see if Rizzo could run again was imminent, and Rizzo's buddies Marty Weinberg and Hilly Levinson were in there planning their strategy over bagels and lox and those wonderful cookies--the classic waitresses were still there, they would scream at you and each other--all good material for a book. Of course, the Move incident(s) could be part of the back-drop as well. mat

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