Before his strange death in 1997 (his body was found hanging outside his Chicago office), Eugene Izzi wrote some of the best crime fiction in recent memory. His hard-edged books like A Matter of Honor and The Criminalist are told from the criminal's point of view.

Safe Harbor was first published in England in 1995, when Izzi was having trouble finding an American outlet. It's a familiar story: the mobster who becomes an informer for the best of reasons (in this case to protect his child) and then enters a witness protection program and goes on to lead a blameless life. Mark Torrence (called Tommy Torelli in his criminal days) is threatened in his new and secret life by a ghost from the past--a vengeful hit man named James Bracken. This vicious and depraved killer has his own very good and perversely logical reasons for hunting down Torrence.

What gives the book new life and lots of energy is the way Izzi develops his characters using small strokes of reality. Even the incredibly obnoxious next-door neighbor who accidentally leaks Torrence's true identity is made human because we get to peek into his daily life.

Not having any more new books by Izzi to look forward to is a great loss, but the late arrival of Safe Harbor makes it a bit more bearable. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
Crisply drawn lives of violence and redemption propel this fully dimensional novel of organized crime and inner-city life. Tommy Torelli was a favorite leg man for New York mob boss Pete Papa until Tommy squealed during a prison term, joining the FBI's witness protection program in order to save his infant son from Pete's threats. With help from a federal marshal, Tommy became "Mark Torrence," left the program, married again and had a daughter as companion for his son, and ran a center for troubled kids in the toughest section of South Chicago. When a nosy journalist's photographs reveal Mark's whereabouts to Pete, he sets sociopathic hitman James BrackenAwhose lover was killed because Torelli turnedAon Mark's trail. Then a retarded teen from Mark's youth center provokes a standoff with the police, finally committing suicide despite Mark's intervention. When the story makes the front pages, along with Mark's picture, Mark knows his life of hiding is over. Izzi (The Criminalist) constructs his wary characters and his suspenseful plot with assiduous attention to detail, and with few wasted words, exposing the two-way street of racial injustice, the realities of police brutality and the hollow "honor" of mob loyalties. This posthumously published novel stands out even amid the other fine crime novels by Izzi, who died in 1996: serious indignation and serious research lie behind this compellingly readable tale of a corrupt society and a genuine hero. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Crime writer Izzi died in 1996 under the sort of mysterious circumstances that could have been taken straight from one of his books. Safe Harbor, one of two posthumously published novels, is the unevenly written story of ex-criminal Mark Torrance, who once testified against his old Mafia employers but then never managed to disappear completely into the Witness Protection Program. Fifteen years after turning state's evidence, a hitman stalker from his past finds Torrance and engages him in a frightening (but underwritten) head to head. Unfortunately, Izzi spends more time detailing the men's lives before their final showdown, and the very readable build-up is followed by a disappointing conclusion. The book also contains an interesting but not entirely lucid deviation on the topic of urban race relations. Another log for the New York Mafia-book bonfire; recommended only for larger public libraries with sizeable crime collections.ALisa Bier, Alburquerque P.L., N.M. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Originally published in 1995 in the UK, this typically dark Izzi psychothriller makes its US debut posthumously. That Tommy Torelli was a stand-up guy everybody from mob boss Pete Papa on down took on faith. Tough, stoical, he never whined, never complained, and the idea that he might rat to cut himself a deal was laughable. And yet somebody who certainly should have known better got antsy. There was Tommy in police custody, and inexplicably Pete Papa decided extra pressure was warranted. So the word came down to Tommyblow the whistle on your friends and you can blow taps for your kid. Bad mistake. Tommy's love for Mario, his baby son, was ferocious, limitless. A threat to the child and all bets were off. To whisk Mario out of danger, Tommy made a beeline for the FBI's Witness Protection Program and pulled its camouflaging blanket over both their heads. Suddenly, mobsters all over New York were going to jail as the result of Tommy's information, and onea very special casemet his death. The thing that made Terri DeLayne so special was James Bracken, world-class buttonman. Terri and Bracken were lovers. Fifteen years (and maybe fifty killings later), Bracken was still searching for Tommy, his all-consuming need for vengeance undiminished. But Tommy, now Mark Torrence, respected citizen, dedicated Chicago youth worker, devoted husband was in a ``safe harbor.'' Still, his eyes remained ``vacuum cleaners, sweeping the streets.'' Because no one had to tell him that the Torelli persona continued to cling, that retribution had legs, and that Bracken was out there somewhere. This is the second (after The Criminalist, 1998) of Izzi's novels to be published after his death in 1996. As always, you get few of the graces, plenty of story, and some scenes of undeniable power. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Anyone who knows him will tell you that Mark Torrence is a decent man—a dedicated father, a person whose ingrained honesty and integrity is evident in his every action and all his personal dealings.

Ask James Bracken, however, and he'll describe a very different Torrence: a rat who squealed, then vanished into the Witness Protection Program; a traitor who ticked off powerful people who don't forget and never forgive; an untrustworthy lowllife who needs to die. For once upon a time, Mark Torrence was not a pillar of his society—he was not even Mark Torrence. In a previous New York City life, he was Tommy Torelli, an associate of wiseguys who made their bones through violence, extortion, thieveryand much worse. Bracken-a world class hit man with a swollen bank account—is willing to take Torrence/Torelli down gratis, in order to satisfy inner demons that will be appeased only by vengeance and with blood. And he's ready to eliminate anyone who stands between him and his well-hidden target.

As Torrence's paranoia grows to unmanageable proportions—as he senses an ever—closing circle of terror getting tighter and tighter around him—he realizes that his new identity has become a liabilityand that the only way to survive is to become something he despises: the man he once was. Because now only Tommy Torelli can save Mark Torrence and his family—and perhaps even salvage a small part of the new life he built out of the ruins. But the price might well be his soul.

Author Biography: Eugene Izzi was the critically acclaimed author of more than a dozen novels-including his most recent fiction, A Matter of Honor and The Criminalist-nearly all of which were set in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Crisply drawn lives of violence and redemption propel this fully dimensional novel of organized crime and inner-city life. Tommy Torelli was a favorite leg man for New York mob boss Pete Papa until Tommy squealed during a prison term, joining the FBI's witness protection program in order to save his infant son from Pete's threats. With help from a federal marshal, Tommy became "Mark Torrence," left the program, married again and had a daughter as companion for his son, and ran a center for troubled kids in the toughest section of South Chicago. When a nosy journalist's photographs reveal Mark's whereabouts to Pete, he sets sociopathic hitman James Bracken--whose lover was killed because Torelli turned--on Mark's trail. Then a retarded teen from Mark's youth center provokes a standoff with the police, finally committing suicide despite Mark's intervention. When the story makes the front pages, along with Mark's picture, Mark knows his life of hiding is over. Izzi (The Criminalist) constructs his wary characters and his suspenseful plot with assiduous attention to detail, and with few wasted words, exposing the two-way street of racial injustice, the realities of police brutality and the hollow "honor" of mob loyalties. This posthumously published novel stands out even amid the other fine crime novels by Izzi, who died in 1996: serious indignation and serious research lie behind this compellingly readable tale of a corrupt society and a genuine hero. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Crime writer Izzi died in 1996 under the sort of mysterious circumstances that could have been taken straight from one of his books. Safe Harbor, one of two posthumously published novels, is the unevenly written story of ex-criminal Mark Torrance, who once testified against his old Mafia employers but then never managed to disappear completely into the Witness Protection Program. Fifteen years after turning state's evidence, a hitman stalker from his past finds Torrance and engages him in a frightening (but underwritten) head to head. Unfortunately, Izzi spends more time detailing the men's lives before their final showdown, and the very readable build-up is followed by a disappointing conclusion. The book also contains an interesting but not entirely lucid deviation on the topic of urban race relations. Another log for the New York Mafia-book bonfire; recommended only for larger public libraries with sizeable crime collections.--Lisa Bier, Alburquerque P.L., N.M. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Originally published in 1995 in the UK, this typically dark Izzi psychothriller makes its US debut posthumously. That Tommy Torelli was a stand-up guy everybody from mob boss Pete Papa on down took on faith. Tough, stoical, he never whined, never complained, and the idea that he might rat to cut himself a deal was laughable. And yet somebody who certainly should have known better got antsy. There was Tommy in police custody, and inexplicably Pete Papa decided extra pressure was warranted. So the word came down to Tommy—blow the whistle on your friends and you can blow taps for your kid. Bad mistake. Tommy's love for Mario, his baby son, was ferocious, limitless. A threat to the child and all bets were off. To whisk Mario out of danger, Tommy made a beeline for the FBI's Witness Protection Program and pulled its camouflaging blanket over both their heads. Suddenly, mobsters all over New York were going to jail as the result of Tommy's information, and one—a very special case—met his death. The thing that made Terri DeLayne so special was James Bracken, world-class buttonman. Terri and Bracken were lovers. Fifteen years (and maybe fifty killings later), Bracken was still searching for Tommy, his all-consuming need for vengeance undiminished. But Tommy, now Mark Torrence, respected citizen, dedicated Chicago youth worker, devoted husband was in a "safe harbor." Still, his eyes remained "vacuum cleaners, sweeping the streets." Because no one had to tell him that the Torelli persona continued to cling, that retribution had legs, and that Bracken was out there somewhere. This is the second (after The Criminalist, 1998) of Izzi's novels to be published after his death in 1996.As always, you get few of the graces, plenty of story, and some scenes of undeniable power.