Trigoboff, Joseph 1947-

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TRIGOBOFF, Joseph 1947-

PERSONAL: Born August 3, 1947, in New York, NY; son of Leo (an assistant principal) and Rose (a secretary; maiden name, Taub) Trigoboff. Education: Long Island University, B.A., 1969; Adelphi University, M.A., 1973. Politics: "Neo-proto-conservatism." Religion: Orthodox Judaism.

ADDRESSES: Home—142 West End Ave., Apt. 2T, New York, NY 10023.

CAREER: Teacher in public schools, New York, NY, beginning 1970; writer, 1970—.

WRITINGS:

Streets, Windy Row Press (Peterborough, NH), 1970.

Abu (novel), Lothrop (New York, NY), 1975.

Abu and Itzhak (novel), Ravensburger (Ravensburg, Germany), 1977.

The Bone Orchard (mystery), Walker (New York, NY), 1990.

The Shooting Gallery (mystery), Lyons Press (Guilford, CT), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Joseph Trigoboff is a teacher and novelist who has received recognition for his mystery tales featuring Alvin Yablonsky, a resourceful New York City police detective. Trigoboff introduced Yablonsky to readers in 1990 with The Bone Orchard, in which Yablonsky is called upon to solve the murder of a male stripper found dead at a notable private club. During the course of his investigation, Yablonsky learns that the victim had worked as a gigolo and that rich women were among his clients. But while pursuing leads and considering clues, the detective finds himself falling in love with a musician who had once paid for the victim's sexual services. In addition, Yablonsky is compelled to defend himself from both internal investigators, who suspect him of patronizing expensive restaurants, and a diplomat with ties to organized crime in Latin America. Sybil Steinberg, writing in Publishers Weekly, called The Bone Orchard "a disturbing and involving tale."

Trigoboff followed The Bone Orchard with The Shooting Gallery, wherein Yablonsky probes the demise of a leftist journalist who has run afoul of both drug dealers and corrupt bureaucrats. As he endeavors to solve the crime, Yablonsky becomes romantically involved with the victim's girlfriend, and he continues to figure as the target of an internal investigation. A Publishers Weekly reviewer proclaimed The Shooting Gallery an "entertaining thriller." In Media Muscle, meanwhile, The Shooting Gallery won praise as a "lean, taut, gripping novel"; and a further recommendation came from Booklist critic Bill Ott, who acknowledged Trigoboff as "a master at portraying the urban jungle in all its nightmarish horror."