Books – John Lansing

Mia (Jack Bertolino #6; a prequel)

Mia is the origin story of retired inspector Jack Bertolino as a young undercover NYPD narco-busting detective and his relationship with Mia, his confidential informant.

Mia, a former Miss Colombia, has the kind of beauty that can make a grown man contemplate leaving his wife, his job, and his kids. She’s a complex character, with a painful backstory, who signs on with Jack to help him infiltrate, and take down, a heavy hitter in the Colombian drug trade. Mia has ice water in her veins and is already responsible for delivering large amounts of cocaine, and millions of the cartel’s cash into the government’s coffers.

This is Jack and Mia’s story. How Mia became a confidential informant, her evolving relationship with Jack, and how the life-and-death case they break wide open becomes the prequel to The Devil’s Necktie.

25 to Life (Jack Bertolino #5)

Gloria Millhouse, a beautiful African American law student, is working with Project for the Innocent. She has done extensive research on inmate Carl Forbes, who she believes was wrongfully arrested, convicted and incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, the sexual assault and brutal murder of a teenage girl in Los Angeles twenty-three years ago. Gloria dies in a car crash on Malibu Canyon Road after questioning powerful, politically-connected men who were witnesses at Carl’s trial and knew the victim personally. Private investigator Jack Bertolino is brought on to discover the truth behind Gloria’s death. Was her crash simply a random accident or a conspiracy to prevent the courts from reopening the case and granting Carl Forbes a new trial? Jack believes that Gloria was murdered, and as the body count rises, it becomes clear that if Jack can find Gloria’s killer, he will also find the man responsible for the teenager’s assault and murder. And Carl Forbes can walk out of prison a free man.

Buy 25 to Life:
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The Fourth Gunman (Jack Bertolino #4)

Retired inspector Jack Bertolino straddles two perilous worlds. Known for his impeccable police work, Jack has also done a priceless favor for an infamous Mafia Don: he saved the gangster’s kidnapped daughter from being sold into the sex trade, and brought her safely home.

In Jack’s line of work, he can’t help but have friends—and enemies—on both sides of the law.

So when FBI agent Luke Hunter goes missing after a deep undercover assignment with that same mob boss, the FBI calls Jack in looking for a favor. With his connections and skills, Jack’s the only man for the job: find Luke Hunter, dead or alive.

The mobster operates an illegal gambling yacht in international waters off of Southern California, and when Luke went missing, so did half a million dollars of the mob’s money. As Jack dives into the case, he’ll learn the true mystery isn’t the agent’s disappearance, but something far more ominous…

Dead is Dead (Jack Bertolino #3)

Life imitates art in Dead is Dead, the third thriller by best-selling author John Lansing. Retired Inspector Jack Bertolino gets his first taste of the capricious nature of Hollywood when George Litton, an A list producer, options one of Jack’s recent cases that achieved international notoriety. The studio agrees to green light the film if Litton can sign New York actress Susan Blake, the new “It Girl,” to play the lead.

Jack is engaged as the technical advisor on Litton’s noir police thriller currently filming on location in Venice, California and starring Susan Blake. But more importantly, to keep a protective eye on Susan, who’s being harassed by a cyber stalker and is reticent to commit to a second Litton production and spend another year in LA.

When a six-year-old girl is shot dead in the living room of her parents’ home, just blocks from where Litton’s cop movie is filming, Jack Bertolino gets pulled into a case with threads connecting the movie, the murder, a brutal gang of brothers, and a terrifying body count.

Blond Cargo (Jack Bertolino #2)

Jack Bertolino’s son, Chris, was the victim of a brutal murder attempt, and Vincent Cardona, a mafia boss, provided information that helped Jack take down the perpetrator of the crime. Jack accepted the favor knowing there’d be blowback. In Blond Cargo the mobster’s daughter has gone missing and Cardona turned in his chit. Jack discovers that the young, blond, mafia princess has been kidnapped and imprisoned while rich, politically connected men negotiate her value as a sex slave.

Blond Cargo taps into the real-life crime world to deliver a thrilling, action-packed story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the explosive, unprecedented finale.

The Devil’s Necktie (Jack Bertolino #1)

A sizzling thriller for fans of James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell.

An exciting tour into the real-life world of cops, crime, drugs, and murder.

Retired inspector Jack Bertolino had strict rules when dealing with confidential informants. But Mia had the kind of beauty that could make a grown man contemplate leaving his wife, his job, and his kids. After a passionate night together, Mia is found murdered—and Jack is the lead suspect.

Facing threats from the LAPD, the 18th Street Angels, and a Colombian drug cartel, Jack delves deeper into the seedy world of drug dealers and murderers and discovers that the top players knew Mia personally. And now Jack is torn between fearing for his life and seeking revenge for his slain lover… either way, the body count will rise.

Good Cop Bad Money (with Glenn Morisano)

In an era where gangsters and thieves so often win—from Wall Street to the mean streets—we are ready for a true American hero, someone who believes in values, honor, truth, and justice. Glen Morisano is that American hero.

For twenty years, as part of the NYPD, he rose up the ranks from heading up one of the most successful drug task forces, to being brought in to fix the notorious 70th Precinct (where Abner Louima was sodomized). But it is the high-profile arrests—the arrest of jeweler to the stars, Jacob the Jeweler, bagging the Black Mafia, and putting away one Colombian drug lord after the next—that made a name for Glen Morisano.

He will tell you simply that it was his job. But for Glen, there was much more at play. When he was just a boy, his grandfather, his hero, was beaten to death on the Staten Island Ferry by a common thief. The bad guy got away with exactly eight dollars and twenty cents. But he took so much more that day and Glen vowed to avenge his grandfather’s murder the only way he knew how—by becoming the kind of man “Uncle Nick” would be proud of. That quest led him to the NYPD.

Glen’s story takes us on a thrill ride of a boy with a speech impediment, growing up in the household of an abusive, alcoholic father, in a neighborhood overrun by the mob, to find solace in sports and the memory of his grandfather, who overcomes it all to become one of the best cops New York City has ever seen. Glen Morisano is the crime-fighting version of Rocky Balboa—the underdog, who kept fighting and winning with integrity to become a true American hero.

Buy Good Cop, Bad Money:
Amazon

The Test

“The Test” is a coming of age tale, set on Long Island in 1963, that deals with race, violence, social politics, and young love. It was a time when suburban America was about to undergo seismic societal changes. With this backdrop, a teenage boy falls in love with one of the town’s few black girls, a relationship that has repercussions leading to permanent transformations for the couple—and for the town.

“The Test is a beautifully written coming-of-age short story that is full of emotion and drama, it will take the reader for a stroll down memory lane, stir the soul, and leave a lasting impression.”
—Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Buy The Test:
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