Praise for J. North Conway's The Big Policeman: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Byrnes, America's First, Most Ruthless, and Greatest Detective "Creating period atmosphere by quoting extensively from newspaper accounts of the sensational crimes Byrnes solved, Conway portrays his subject's cleverness and excesses with a flawed-hero flavor that should draw in true-crime fans." —Booklist "An essential read for those interested in police work, detective stories, and New York City history." —Library Journal "A fascinating, fast-moving account of one of the most polarizing and influential figures of 19th-century New York. Conway brings 'the big policeman' to life." —Daniel Stashower, author of The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder "A treasure trove of information not only on larger-than-life pioneering detective Thomas Byrnes but also on law-and-order in wide-open nineteenth-century Manhattan."—David Pietrusza, author of Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series Praise for J. North Conway's King of Heists: The Sensational Bank Robbery of 1878 That Shocked America "Engrossing . . . Conway skillfully paints a backdrop of fierce and flamboyant personalities who paraded across the Gilded Age, from Brooklyn Bridge engineer John Roebling to Marm Mandelbaum, 'queen of the criminals.' . . . [H]e capably recounts his story against a background of glitter and greed." —Publishers Weekly "A page-turning account of one of the most brazen crimes of our time." —Reader's Digest "Conway, a college prof and ex-newspaper man, covers this ancient tale in a way that makes it feel like a hot news story." —New York Post