O'NEILL, Tom 1961-

PERSONAL: Born 1961.

ADDRESSES: Home—Seattle, WA. Agent—Kate's Mystery Books, 2211 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140.

CAREER: Worked as an attorney prior to becoming a novelist.

WRITINGS:

Shark Tank (mystery novel), Kate's Mystery Books (Boston, MA), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Seattle-based writer Tom O'Neill is both an attorney and a novelist. His first book, Shark Tank, follows the activities of two New Jersey police officers, Joe Macuszak and George Whitecomb. The cops are only a few days away from retirement when they find themselves assigned to a multiple murder case. Several drug dealers have been killed and the card of attorney James Sullivan has been left at the crime scenes. In addition to the police, there is an Federal Bureau of Investigation task force on the case, and a female cop from Washington State whose life Sullivan once saved is also searching for him.

Roland Person, in a review for Library Journal, remarked that O'Neill "is a skilled writer, deftly mixing comedy and suspense, violence and affection." Booklist reviewer David Wright wrote that "O'Neill blasts onto the crime scene with a brilliant vigilante novel that will please and surprise even the most jaded thriller fans." In a review for AllReaders.com, Harriet Klausner commented that "the story line is action packed and fast paced in a zany way, yet surprisingly the characters make the tale work," and a contributor for Kirkus Reviews called the book "a lively and highly entertaining debut," concluding that "O'Neill gets maximum crackle from his bickering lawmen."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2004, David Wright, review of Shark Tank, p. 1826.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2004, review of Shark Tank, p. 560.

Library Journal, August, 2004, Roland Person, review of Shark Tank, p. 61.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com, http://www.allreaders.com/ (April 16, 2005), "Tom O'Neill."

Justin Charles Books, http://www.justincharlesbooks.com/ (April 16, 2005), "Tom O'Neill."

Round Table Reviews, http://www.roundtablereviews.com/ (April 16, 2005), "Tom O'Neill."