Chris Anastos, a happily married Greek-American police officer working in the Bronx, was sent on an undercover assignment to infiltrate a Greek gang in Astoria, Queens, that was thought to have Mafia connections. He spent five years on that job, gained acceptance by the Mafiosi and presumably gathered important information, although Bartels ( A Death in Canaan ) is sketchy on the details of just what Anastos accomplished. He had an affair with the daughter of a Mafia leader--identified here only by the first name John--while his marriage was breaking up, presumably because of the absences his undercover work demanded. (When the job ended, so did the affair.) Expertly written, the book tells Anastos' story with the force and flair of a high-caliber TV miniseries. (May)
