Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Review: Double Takedown by Kevin G. Chapman

 


Genre: Police Procedural/Crime Thriller

Description:

“What happens when a closed case breaks wide open?

NYPD homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson are preparing to testify at a high-profile murder trial. They busted the Broadway director, who poisoned his leading actor to collect the insurance money on his doomed show. Or did he? The director claims the evidence was planted to frame him and that Mike and Jason developed tunnel vision. If they did, can they live with themselves, knowing that an innocent man might be convicted . . . and someone else got away with the perfect crime?

The prosecutor and their captain order them not to re-opening the closed case. But Mike and Jason are plagued by doubts. When new evidence leads to even more questions, the detectives race to put the pieces together and uncover the whole truth. But their unauthorized investigation could lead to catastrophic collateral damage, could cost them their badges, and the director may still be guilty.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

Appraisal:

I’ve read several of the thrillers featuring Mike Stoneman and enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. Just as we would expect in a book like this, homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson experience some tense situations. They have to figure out where to dig to find the answers they’re searching for and put all the pieces together to find the solution, just like with any good police detective mystery. However, this one has a twist that isn’t so common. That is the “case” they’ve decided to investigate is already solved, at least from an official point of view. They arrested a culprit and he’s headed for trial. But now they’re questioning whether they got the right guy. Maybe they did, but there were accomplices who should also be arrested.

I found myself torn about this story. Obviously, the guilty parties should be found and arrested. If the person that is set to go on trial is innocent, he should be let go. But what Stoneman and Dickson do to continue digging worried me. That their bosses told them not to dig bothered me and also caused me to worry that by going behind their boss’s back that it was going to backfire on them. I guess my feelings were conflicted, wanting the guilty parties to pay the price, but not wanting the good guys to get into trouble or cross the line to no longer being the good guys. All of that just upped the tension even more.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

While part of a series each book in the series stands alone. There is no need to have read the previous books to understand and follow this one.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on the ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

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