Alphaville

1988, Crime, Punishment, and the Battle for New York City’s Lower East Side

By: Michael Codella, Bruce Bennett

Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A raw, gritty memoir—part true-life cop thriller, part unputdownable history of a storied time and place—that will grip you by the throat until the explosive end.

In 1988, Alphabet City burned with heroin, radicalism, and antipolice sentiment. Working as a plainclothes narcotics cop in the most high-voltage neighborhood in Manhattan, Detective Sergeant Mike Codella earned the nickname “Rambo” from the local dealers, as well as a $50,000 bounty on his head. The son of a cop who grew up in a mob neighborhood in Brooklyn, Codella understood the unwritten laws of the shadowy businesses that ruled the streets. He knew that the further east you got from the relative safety of Fifth Avenue, Washington Square Park, and NYU, the deeper you entered the sea of human misery, greed, addiction, violence, and all the things that come with an illegal retail drug trade run wild. With his partner, Gio, Codella made it his personal mission to put away Davey Blue Eyes—a stone-cold murderer and the head of Alphabet City’s heroin supply chain. Despite the hell they endured—all the beatings and gunshots, the footchases, and close calls—Codella and Gio always saw Alphabet City the same way: worth saving.

Alphaville, Codella’s riveting, no-holds-barred memoir, resurrects the vicious streets that Davey Blue Eyes owned and tells the story of how Codella bagged the so-called Forty Thieves that surrounded Davey, slowly working his way to the head of the snake one scale at a time. With the blistering narrative spirit of The French Connection, the insights of a seasoned insider, and a relentless voice that reads like the city’s own, Alphaville is at once the story of a dedicated New York cop and of New York City itself.

©2010 Michael Codella and Bruce Bennett (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A quick, nitty-gritty, page-turning read that will leave you breathless…I highly, highly recommend this read.” (Philip Carlo, New York Times best-selling author of Ice Man)

“A balls-out cop tale from the bad old days of New York City. Watch your back in Alphaville.” (Tom Folsom, New York Times best-selling author of The Mad Ones)

“Addictive, brilliant, and compelling. A staggeringly well-written true-life drama, which had me breathless from the first page to the last. Stunning!” (R. J. Ellory, author of A Quiet Belief in Angels)

Amazing book, great read.

From one crime fighter to another, thank you. What a book. Although I didn’t go as far as Mike, we sure kick over the same rocks. I started in 1996 till finishing 2017. His dedication to the job and his crime fighting was amazing. Great read for anybody looking at what real police work is. A lost art in the current NYPD, thanks to politics and the rat squad.

New York City the way it was.

If you grow up in NYC in the 80's this book is for you. Having been friends with people in the lower letters - theses two cops were well known back in the day, what ever side you were on. Excellent story.

Interesting gritty read. NYC in the 1980’s

Very detailed first hand account of policing in the alphabet streets in 1980’s New York City. As an attorney, I was especially interested in the phenomena of “test-i-lying” And what prompts Policemen to do it.

On another subject, could Audible’s voice to text get worste ? I don’t think so

I really enjoyed this..

This was a very good listen. Some of the stories were hard to listen to but that's the way it was on the streets of NYC.

Worth a listen.

This is well performed and definately an interesting read. Wpuld recommend especially if you are a tru crime fan.

outstanding Story

Wonderful hidden gem. Very well read. A freebie? Thank u Audible. One of a few I will listen again to someday.

Excellent book!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I love NYC based stories and this one really portrayed the reality of the 80's in the LES. Great narration as well.

Exciting start to finish.

This was a great book. Story was exciting all the way through. Shows the real side of old time big city cops. The best part though....Keith Szarabajka is the ine of the best narrators you will ever get the chance to here. It really is a performance.....a grand performance.

Fantastic Listen

I was coming off of City of Thieves, which left a hole that looked to be hard to fill. This book fit right in place. Wonderfully written and grippingly performed.

best book for the old Lower

love everything about it. its worth reading.
enjoyed and might read again... you should too