Community Corner

Dedham Native, John Nardizzi, Talks About His Debut Novel

"Telegraph Hill" is Nardizzi's first novel and he used his experiences as a private detective to write it.

 

John Nardizzi grew up in Dedham and he always enjoyed writing, but he never knew that he would become a private investigator.  In fact, he didn't even know that there was such a profession until he attended law school in California.

"I was always interested in journalism and law," Nardizzi said. "For me being a PI (Private Investigator) seemed to be a good combination."

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In 2003, Nardizzi founded Nardizzi & Associates, Inc. Since then, he has been involved in the investigation of major crimes in Massachusetts and across the country.  The Mattapan Massacre was one of his investigations.

"What happened in Mattapan is the example of what I wanted to show in the book," Nardizzi said.   "I wanted to bring some of the interview experiences that I went through.  Because something I don't like in TV shows, is when the investigator asks one or two questions and then the person confesses- that never happens. Usually you're interviewing three or four times."

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The following is a description of his novel, courtesy of Libboo.com:

In Telegraph Hill, private detective Ray Infantino searches for a missing girl named Tania. The case takes him to San Francisco, the city he abandoned years ago after his fiance was murdered.

Thrust into his old city haunts, Ray finds that Tania may not be lost at all. Tania saw a murder; and a criminal gang, the Black Fist Triad, wants to make sure she never sees anything again. Ray enlists help from an old flame, Dominique, but now he has three women on his mind.

Meeting with various witnesses—ex-cops, prostitutes, skinheads—he relentlessly tracks the evidence. But the hunt for Tania fires his obsession with avenging the murder of his fiance. When the triad retaliates, and blood begins to flow, Ray must walk the knife edge between revenge and redemption on the streets of San Francisco.

When asked if the character resembles him in any way, he emphasized that the character is pure fiction.

"I kind of imagine him and I use experiences, events and altercations... But he's an entirely different person. Maybe more serious because he has the death of his fiance weighing on him," he said. "The revenge theme runs through [the novel], interviewing witnesses and how you can't find them sometimes."


"Telegraph Hill" only comes as an ebook at this time, so it can be purchased at Libboo.com, Amazon or Barnes and Noble's website.


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