Set on Long Island’s North Shore, Johnny Careless is Kevin Wade’s debut novel. However, with many accomplishments in television and film, he is by no means new to writing.
Television: Wade joined the rookie CBS drama Blue Bloods in 2010. Starting in its second season, he served as showrunner, executive producer, and head writer for the remainder of its 14-year run. He also created the ABC drama Cashmere Mafia.
Screenwriting: He earned Golden Globe and Writers Guild Award nominations for his screenplay for the 1988 hit film Working Girl. His other notable film writing credits include Mr. Baseball, Junior, Meet Joe Black, and Maid in Manhattan.
Novels & Theater: Wade got his start as a playwright, penning the 1981 off-Broadway hit Key Exchange. In 2025, he expanded his repertoire to crime fiction, releasing his debut novel, Johnny Careless.
After a heartbreaking case as a detective on the NYPD, Jeep Mullane—the grounded son of an NYPD cop—returns home to lead the police force in Bayville, Long Island. As the new chief, Mullane must navigate the hidden power, old wealth, and strict customs of the elite community he grew up in.
When a corpse is discovered the morning after his childhood friends’ private high school reunion, life takes another difficult turn. Called to the scene, Chief Mullane identifies the body as his childhood friend, ‘golden-boy’ Johnny Chambliss- also known as ‘Johnny Careless’ due to the reckless antics of his youth.
Jeep’s grief over Johnny’s death is only the beginning. He is quickly pulled back into the orbit of a powerful family, and forced to confront a turbulent past built on secrets, wealth, and heavy promises. Narrated with quick-witted precision by Wade, this gripping mystery exposes small-town corruption, intense social pressure, and an unexpected spark of romance.
A colorful cast of realistic characters with bold personalities and interesting pasts emerges along this fast-paced classic crime novel as Chief Mullane navigates a powerful collision between the past and present. Wade’s style quickly engages the reader in the lives of these characters, piecing together, along with Mullane, the unravelling clues of the crime mystery. I’m looking forward to reading his next one, One Good Eye.