Overlooking Central Park

Central Park is an urban park in New York City located, as its name implies, in the center of Manhattan island between the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side. I lived in Manhattan in the old days twenty-three blocks south of Central Park, on Park Avenue, two blocks from the Empire State Building. While it wasn’t my hangout, Central Park was no stranger.

So it’s no surprise to me that I pay homage to Central Park in my new crime novel The Dead Stripper. The title of Chapter 20 is “Overlooking Central Park” and the main character Steve Piasecki is visiting New York to meet with two literary agents in the hopes of convincing one to represent him.

I made such a trip years ago for that reason. In The Dead Stripper and in my real life, one of the meetings is with an agent who lives right across the street from Central Park. In The Dead Stripper it goes like this:

Nine minutes later.

We’re on Fifth Avenue. This is the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a string of elegant high-rises line the right side of the street and Central Park sits on the left side of Fifth Avenue as far as the eye can see. The cab pulls over to the right and stops at the curb just short of Seventy-ninth Street.

The cabby stops the meter and says, “Nineteen dollars.”

“No change.” I hand him a twenty and a five. He looks at the money and gives me a half-hearted “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” I say with attitude as I exit the cab and there I am standing on the curb with half an hour to kill. I cross the street to get a better view of Central Park. A wall stands waist high in front of me just the right height to rest my laptop. I set my briefcase on the ground next to me and my laptop on the wall, then go online and start looking up Central Park.

The park is 843 acres large and one of the most-visited city parks in the United States. More than 38-million tourists visit Central Park every year and it’s also one of the most-used film locations in the world. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Barefoot in the Park, and Love Story are three classic movies that jump right into my mind, but parts of more than 300 movies were shot here.

Wow, look at this. Fifth Avenue from 59th Street to 96th Street is known as “Millionaire’s Row.” Connie lives between 78th and 79th streets right in the middle of Millionaire’s Row. Is she one of them?

I drink this all in until it’s time for my meeting.

Excerpt from The Dead Stripper by Barry Bowe

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) ─ A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way. The movie stars Audrey Hepburn & George Peppard.

Barefoot in the Park (1967) ─ A conservative young lawyer marries the vivacious Corie. Their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment. Robert Redford & Jane Fonda,

Love Story (1970) ─ A boy and a girl from different backgrounds fall in love regardless of their upbringing ─ and then tragedy strikes. Based on a best-seller by Erich Segal the movie stars Ryan O’Neal & Ali McGraw

The two agents involved are big-hitters Peter Miller & Connie Clausen. I’’ll describe those meetings in subsequent posts.

The Dead Stripper takes us into the worlds of opioids, drug cartels, crime, detection, the courtroom, and the New York publishing industry. Although it’s a work of fiction, every person, place, and event is inspired by real people, real places, and real events. The result is a story that rings true from beginning to end.

The release date is set for March 1st.

I’m America’s Best Crime Writer – Barry Bowe – & I approve this message.

My first book – Born to Be Wild – Published in 1992 – Still selling on Amazon & Kindle. A true story about certain members of the Warlocks motorcycle gang.

The story took 21 years to play out – many twists & turns – an amalgam of Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad – but these outlaw bikers make the Sons look like Cub Scouts.

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