Michael O’Keefe is a retired 1st Grade Detective from the NYPD.  He worked in the toughest neighborhoods in New York for twenty-four-years, investigating Homicides and other violent crime.  He was born and raised on the mean streets described in his fiction.  His characters and settings are drawn from the people he encountered there—on both sides of the law.  Shot to Pieces is his first novel, published last July. The book was adopted into the curriculum by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Saint John’s University Criminal Justice Department.  Shot to Pieces is now recommended reading for all criminal justice majors at both colleges.  He is presently near completion on two follow-up novels. Michael lives on Long Island with his family, where he writes a little, and practices the ancient martial arts of lawn and swimming pool maintenance—when he is not coaching football.