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Life Amid the Refuse
It is October 2001. New York City Detective Barbara Bucciero (Booch for short) is in charge of the search for human remains in the World Trade Center rubble being hauled to Staten Island’s Fresh Kills landfill. But October 18 brings an unwelcome new discovery: a skull from a body years older than six weeks.
Garbage Town, A Novel by Ravi Gupta opens with Booch trying to unravel a new, yet cold case while the city wants her focused on 9/11 remains identification.
The world’s largest landfill, Fresh Kills creates health hazards for those living nearby. It is also a major source of income for the organized crime family running the rackets in Staten Island. It is big enough that the mob is willing to kill to keep it open and in their control.
For over 300 years the Ottoman Empire dominated the Old World as no power had since Rome. From 1300 to 1600 it sat astride Eurasia’s trade routes, challenging all comers and generally dominating them. The chief adversary of European Christianity, it projected power into Africa, India, Persia, and Russia.
The Sun is our nearest star; the source of heat, light, and life for Earth. Humans have observed and even worshiped it since we evolved from apes. Since at least medieval times observers have seen imperfections on the Sun’s golden disk; black spots, now called sunspots.
