Review: Shades of the Job: A Stanley Melvin P.I. Story by Frank Zafiro

Shades of the Job: A Stanley Melvin P.I. Story by Frank Zafiro is the second book in the series that started with Hallmarks of the Job: A Stanley Melvin P.I. Story. I have yet to read that first book, so Shades of the Job was my intro into the world of private investigator Stanley Martin. This character reminds me a lot of the DS George Cross character and that is a very good thing.

 

Stanley Melvin lives in an upstairs apartment in a building that was converted from a house to apartments. He is climbing the stairs late one day with a grocery bag in hand when Violet Szade and her very young daughter, Lettie, come out of their ground floor apartment and get his attention.

 

The long and the short of it as Violet makes clear, is that she would like to hire him. Two weeks ago, her apartment was broken into and searched. Nothing was taken, but clearly, somebody went through looking at everything. She contacted the police and they came out, dusted for prints, filed a report, but have no clues as to who did it or why.

 

Then, yesterday, her ex-boyfriend, Geoff Grey, contacted her by text to say he wanted to meet Lettie and that he had changed. The same guy who, as soon as he realized he was going to be a dad, left her before the baby was born, now wants back into their lives. He has not done a thing to help as he had completely vanished. Now, he wants to see them.

 

If he really has changed, that is one thing. If he has not, that is a far different thing. And she is bothered a lot by the timing of events. She thinks the coincidence of the break in and his sudden contact is way too strange and suspicious. They agree that Stanley will investigate to ascertain what he has been up to while he has been gone from their lives, other background information, and to make sure that he is safe to be around Lettie.

 

A very detail orientated man who has strong routines and practices to control his anxiety, he begins an investigation that soon turns violent. In the course of his investigation, readers learn a lot about Grey, Melvin, and the other people who populate the building and the neighborhood.

 

A fast-moving read published by Code 4 Press, Shades of the Job: A Stanley Melvin P.I. Story, is a highly entertaining novella. Rich in character detail and atmosphere with flashes of humor, this is a solidly good read, and one well worth your time.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ovGJqg

 

 

My digital ARC came direct from the author with no expectation of a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026 

FFB Review: Charlie-316 by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro

 

From the archive and the first book in a very good series…

 

Officer Tyler Garrett is on routine patrol on a Sunday night in East Central Spokane as Charlie-316 begins. A diverse area with an increasingly significant Russian immigrant presence, it is a quiet, but hot August night. Officer Garrett rolls along with his windows open so that he can hear the neighborhood and is looking forward to an upcoming break. Everything is as it should be until a Chrysler 300 with front end damage shoots out of a street in front of him, whips into a turn cutting off another driver, and takes off. With nearby citizens watching, Officer Tyler Garrett has no choice but to forget about his planned break and begin pursuit.

 

The pursuit is a short one as the driver soon pulls over and then quickly gets out of his car.  He begins to aggressively confront Officer Garrett before seemingly to go for a weapon. At the same time, Officer Garret’s his car window shatters and he realizes he faces a second threat from the nearby vacant house.

 

Officer Garrett has been ambushed and he reacts by firing back at both targets. He takes down the driver and then focuses his attention on the house. Despite his SWAT training and the fact he should wait for the coming backup, he charges the house fully prepared to deal with the second threat.

 

A threat he can’t find. The house is vacant with no sign of any shooter or shooters. Not only can he not find whoever was firing from the house, as backup arrives, he can’t find any sign of a weapon on or near the deceased driver. A driver that it appears was also shot in the back.

 

Any officer would know that such a situation, at best, is a career disaster. As happens in the real world all the time, in the fictional world of Charlie-316 written by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro, such an event is a powder keg for a city and a disaster for the officer involved. In this case, an African American officer shot and killed an apparently unarmed white civilian. A public relations disaster for the police department, the mayor, and numerous others unfolds as an investigation commences into what exactly happened that night.

 

Part police procedural and part thriller, Charlie-316 by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is an intense read. While it clearly has a “ripped from the headlines” style to it, there are plenty of twists and turns that elevate the book far above the usual such fare. Complex with gritty multi-dimensional characters in a tale where nearly everyone has a secret agenda, Charlie-316 is one heck of a good read. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41upYAv

 

 

 

Mr. Zafiro provided a digital ARC with no expectation of my reading it or a review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019, 2025 

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – The Silence of the Dead

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – The Silence of the Dead

Review: The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro

 

The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is a complicated book that spans a period from 1951 to more recent months. Set in 1951, 1973, 2005 and more recently, it considers the idea of a generational serial killer and the repercussions involved in opening cases long ago declared solved. Set in the Charlie-316 Universe, this sixth book in the series isn’t an easy book to review as revealing details of the situation early in this read would ruin the book.

 

Suffice it to say, and it has to as this reviewer does everything possible to avoid spoilers, the book begins in 2023. Major Crimes Detective Wardell Clint is a good cop, even though he has a large axe to grind with many people inside and outside the Spokane Washington Police Department. One of those people he dislikes, and the feeling is fairly mutual, is former Police Chief Robert Baumgartner. Not only does he think the former chief is a bit racist, he also thinks that the chief did everything from a political perspective first, and as a cop a distant second. So, he does not trust the man at all. But, Detective Clint is on the track of a killer that has been active for decades and the former chief has the knowledge and thereby the answers he needs. So, he heads out to the lakehouse to see the former chief, have a chat, and surreptitiously record what answers he gets.

 

Detective Clint is investigating the 2016 murder of Melaine Paz back when Baumgartner was still chief. Sexually assaulted and left dead behind a dumpster, her case is classified as a cold case and one of several Detective Clint is working. While still in the Major Crimes Unit, he has been put on cold cases only due to recent events. He’s not in the active current rotation and has been professionally sidelined. A man who is known for his conspiracy theories, he believes a conspiracy of some type is at work here with this murder case and others, and intends to expose all to get his status back.

 

If nothing else, Detective Clint is thorough. He has found links to other murder cases going back as far as 1951. All the cases share a common denominator and were classified as solved even though he sees inconsistences and holes in the investigations. Thus, he believes there is a coverup and wants know what really happened and why Baumgartner and others apparently covered it all up

 

Baumgartner eventually agrees to tell all that he knows, unofficially, this one time. As the hours pass, he starts telling it all from the very brutal beginning in 1951.

 

There is a lot to tell. It all is very complicated and shows how some things have changed and others have not.

 

The Silence Of The Dead: A Charlie-316 Novel is an incredibly complicated read. Unlike a lot of police procedurals, this book as well as the series, do not push a pro police agenda. Instead, the read highlights that there are times when no matter what you do, the choices are horrible.

 

While this was not my favorite read in the series to date that began with Charlie-316, it was an interesting and entertaining read. If you like complicated police procedurals steeped in shades of grey and black, this book, is well worth your time.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4ivGpUc

 

My ARC reading copy came from author Frank Zafiro back in October 2024 and with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

A Truly Despicable Attempt at Bullying and Censorship

Frank Zafiro shared the below with the SMFS list earlier today as well as on his social media accounts. I asked Frank for permission to share what he wrote here and he granted his permission. I asked because I am very tired of garbage keyboard warriors such as the folks who sent him the messages detailed below and exposing such cretins benefits all. 

 

(Friends: I've recently had a negative experience involving threats to be blackballed. I'm sharing this experience throughout the crime writing community because that's how you stand up to bullies).

Censorship sucks. Bullying sucks.

I will have neither.

On 10/30, my Wrong Place, Write Crime (Ep #179) interview of Alec Cizak dropped. Later that day, I received an email that was, I’m sure, meant to be intimidating. It came from finneganbrogue44@gmail.com and read:

“Ye got hell of a nerve ta feature a wank named Cizak. Not on yer goddam life dinna ken the man. Shameful it is sucking his doozy cock like that laddie. Ye in yers a be blackballed soon enuf comin up wi ta wank's book - plenty ye peers see ta it.   Were a young laddie or lass ta ask me should they pub ye or ta dam Down & Out I'd tell em bout ye brown nosin a wank long side Beau's story an say not on yer goddam life. Shameful the lot ye are.”

Ignoring the pidgin brogue for a second, this is clearly a threat. (It’s an ignorant one, too, threatening to make sure no one publishes me. As an indie author, there’s not a lot of teeth there). Confused, I reached out to Alec for any insight. He explained that this form of harassment surrounding him has been happening for a while now.

This is wrong. Threatening me for interviewing a crime fiction author – something I’ve done over 178 previous episodes, talking to authors of various backgrounds—is wrong. It’s also anonymous, which is cowardly.

I chose to give the email the attention it deserved – I ignored it. I’d already posted Ep #178 to social media and the RSS feed had done its job to the platforms, so that was that. WPWC is pretty low key. I don’t run ads or re-post constantly. The episode was finished and I was already preparing for my next episode with Gabriel Valjan.

Then, today, I got another email, this one from finneganbrogue@yahoo.com (note a different addy):

“Tá béal ciúin séimh. Feicim nach bhfuil tú ag cur chun cinn an fhóid sin Cizak. Buachaill maith atá tú. B'fhéidir go gcoinneoidh tú do ghairm bheatha scríbhneoireachta agus nach ndéanfaimid an liathróid dhubh ort tar éis an tsaoil. Beidh mé ag faire ort Ladie.”

According to the gmail translation, it says:

“There is a quiet mouth. I see you are not promoting that Cizak. You are a good boy. Maybe you'll keep your writing career and we won't blackball you after all. I will be watching you Ladie.”

Seriously? If the idiot had left me alone after the first weird email, I’d have done the same. But they mistook my silence for being bullied and that got my ire up. They don’t get to have that satisfaction. Moreover, if I say nothing, that only reinforces their delusion and encourages the behavior. Who do they try to bully and censor next?

This is truly astonishing behavior. Forget whether or not you like Alec Cizak. You don’t get to tell me or anyone else who to interview for a podcast. If you don’t like the guest, here’s an idea: don’t listen to episode! Or here’s another thought: if you feel strongly enough about the guest to try to bully and censor the host, how about engage in open discussion about why. You know, stand behind your thoughts, words, and ideas, in public, instead of trying to be some kind of crime fiction gangster.

I don’t know who “Finnegan” is. I don’t know why s/he doesn’t like Alec. Maybe it’s an excellent reason. Maybe it’s a ridiculous reason. The reason I don’t know is that, instead of speaking publicly (or even directly to me in a reasonable manner), s/he has chosen to threaten from the shadows.

I have two final things to say about this.

The first is directly to Finnegan, whoever he/she/they may be:  go to hell. 

I didn’t change a single action in my life because of your threats, and I won’t. You want to “blackball” me with your little private mafia, give it your best go. I’ve been in the crime fiction writing community since 2004. That’s a long history of people knowing me and who I am as a person. I sincerely doubt many, if any, of them would listen to the drivel you spew, but go for it. Anyone who would listen didn’t know me anyway or isn’t someone I’d want in my life. So have at it.

The second is for the rest of us. We live in a world that, ideally, embraces the concept of free expression. And we are all part of a community that has shown to be, throughout my career, a supportive one. That’s the very reason I launched the podcast and did all those interviews—to support other authors and their work.

I know we are going to disagree on various topics—that is human nature. But I always thought we were all grown-ups, who could disagree openly and discuss it with reasoned, or even heated, debate. Actually, I still think this is the case. Finnegan, whether it is one misguided troll, or a pseudonym for some kind of cowardly cabal, doesn’t represent the crime fiction writing community I know.

That’s why I’ve shared this experience. Because it’s an anomaly. Because sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Because censorship sucks, and so does bullying.

And, as I said, I will have neither.

 (Receipts available on my blog entry or on social media -- didn't want to clog up email boxes with files)

 

Frank Zafiro ©2023

Short Story Wednesday Review: Dead Even: A River City Crime Anthology by Frank Zafiro

Because I am way slower now reading wise and my READ FASTER brain implant remains on backorder from Amazon due to supply shortages and technology issues, we turn to the massively magnificent archive once again.

 

The men and woman of the fictional River City police department located somewhere in Eastern Washington are not super cops. They are real life human beings with their own lives on and off the job. Lives that contain hopes, dreams, shattered expectations, and failure just like the rest of us. Through novels that began with Under A Raging Moon, continued with Heroes Often Fail and continued in the most recent Beneath A Weeping Sky released last March, as well as numerous stories in a variety of markets, author Frank Zafiro has a consistently used his experiences as well as ones of other fellow police officers to make the characters he writes about alive for the reader.

 

The fifteen stories in this book released last October by Gray Dog Press have all appeared before either online in various venues or in print publication. Several of these stories were finalists for the Derringer award given out annually by the Short Mystery Fiction Society.  For those familiar with the novels, these stories further explore events before or in between the books. For readers new to the works of Frank Zafiro, these stories give you a glimpse of the treats to come in the novels.

 

The anthology is broken into four sections named for some of the characters in the novels. After a forward that briefly explains how the book was pulled together and his intentions, author Frank Zafiro starts off with the section on “Katie MacLeod.” The three stories, “Last Day In Paradise, “Three Days of Christmas,” and “Home for Christmas” revolve around Katie Macleod and are far after events in the first two novels. They showcase some of the motivations that drive this complex and intriguing character as well as several different cases.

 

The section on the detective tag team of “Finch and Elias” is next starting on page 55. There are five stories here and include “Be My Santa Baby,” “Finch and Elias,” “Core Issue,” “The Bastard Mummy” and “The Worst Door.”  Along with working some harsh and some funny cases, readers are treated to the dynamics between the detectives who may grate on each other occasionally but always have the partner’s back. These stories are interlocked, beginning with a robbery gone bad in “Be My Santa Baby” and carry the crimes forward to solving the case and the repercussions in successive stories. Many of the stories in this anthology work the same way detailing events from different perspectives and how the ripples from the original event spread outwards to touch other lives in ways unforeseen.

Beginning on page 155 is the section on “Paul Heiro” and features two stories titled “Running Into Darkness” and “If Only.” Paul Heiro is one of several rather tragic figures in the River City series. A strong theme of Mr. Zafiro’s work is the idea that events shape people causing some to get stronger while others go down. That path, up or down, is almost predetermined or fate for some characters and Paul Heiro seems to be one of those destined to go down.

 

It is not just the men and women who wear the badge that get the full character building treatment making them come alive for the reader. The victims as well as the criminals come fully alive for readers. One of the higher profile criminals, and there are several, is “Dominic Bracco” and his section begins on page 175.

 

The section contains five stories titled “The Meat-cutter’s Wife,” “Pride Goeth,” “And A Fall Cometh,” “Rescuing Isaac” and the title story of the anthology “Dead Even.” A New Jersey mobster exiled to River City in eastern Washington, Dominic Bracco is trying to get along with everyone while bringing his own business style to the area. The problem for him is he doesn't have the muscle to compete; he can't go against the Russian mob, or the other criminal interests in the area. And every now and then Uncle Angelo reaches out and wants something done and just can't get the basic fact that the state of Washington is not New Jersey. A dark figure that is also very smart and charming, his relationship with others is fascinating to watch---from a distance.

 

At 253 pages including publication notes for the stories and bio, this is a fast read. Many of the stories are very interconnected--not only with each other---but telling the same story from a different character's perspective. Violence and its descriptive depictions are present at times, but when they do appear, they are limited and not gratuitous. Instead of focusing on the carnage when it happens, as some authors do, Mr. Zafiro consistently focuses on the psychological aspects of events. How events work on the character of the individual, shape future actions, etc. Whether they be law enforcement or otherwise, how people hold up under expectations of others while dealing with events is a focus of these stories as well as the novels that feature the characters living their lives in the small town of River City.

 

Those new to the author's work will discover a terse writing style filled full with emotion and nuances in these stories. The characters will come alive with some you knew from the start heading on a path where things will not go well. The book can serve as a great introduction to the novels as characters are introduced through story as well as brief explanations at the beginning of the sections and the stories themselves.

 

For those well familiar with the novels, Dead Even: A River City Crime Anthology, is a chance to read stories you may have missed on other venues and an opportunity to reacquaint with old friends. The latest River City novel titled, And Every Man Has To Die, is currently scheduled to be released in March by Gray Dog Press. 

 

 

ARC supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011, 2015, 2023

Review: The Ride Along: A Charlie-316 Novel by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway

The Ride Along: A Charlie-316 Novel picks up two years after the turmoil of the last book, Code Four. For Officer Lee Salter, his graveyard shift of duty is going to be more stressful than normal as he will have a civilian passenger observing his every action. It is not a duty he wants, but Sergeant Jamie Gelabert of the Spokane Police Department needs him to do it.

This person who will ride with him this night is not an ordinary citizen either. She is a member of the Police Reform Initiative. What had started as a small group has blossomed into a real force pushing for massive change in the Spokane Police Department. The group has powerful support. Tonight, board member Melody Weaver is riding with him thanks to ongoing politics involving the mayor, city council, and chief of police. Officer Salter really has no choice. He has to play the hand he has been dealt as best as possible.

It is early October and cold outside. It is also going to get very chilly in the patrol car as officer Lee Salter and Melody Weaver respond to calls and patrol. They each come with the biases and baggage of their jobs and their roles in society. The night is an exercise in trying to find common ground in the vast ocean of quicksand that is policing today.

The Ride Along: A Charlie-316 Novel by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway is not an easy book to read or review. The authors setup the chapters as alternating points of view of the same situation or scene as the two work the night shift. A night shift where what is going on crime wise takes a far secondary role to discussions regarding policing, civil rights, the BLM movement, and other societal topics. That is until a domestic violence call changes everything for everyone involved forever.

In short, this is a message novel. A book that poses various questions through the dialogue discussions in the read and leaves it to the reader to answer those questions as there are no easy answers. Real life is messy and that is the same situation in the book. As such, there is a bit of a ripped from the headlines feel to it as various real-world events are discussed in this fiction situation.  Many of the same questions raised in the read are part of our daily lives here in the real world, whether we fully realize that or not.

Whether the book succeeds in its goal of raising questions and making the reader think is also on the reader. Some will get it. Some will not. Regardless of that, it should be clear to anyone who reads the book, that this read is in no way, shape, or form, cop propaganda aka copaganda.

 

My read was a digital ARC provided by the author quite some time ago with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2022

TG Wolff: The Escape of Jimmy the Saint: A Review

 TG Wolff: The Escape of Jimmy the Saint: A Review

All The Madness In My Soul: The Tattered Blue Line is out in the world!

 All The Madness In My Soul: The Tattered Blue Line is out in the world!

Criminal Minds: Fare Thee All Well (or Bye Bye Frankie Bye Bye) by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Fare Thee All Well (or Bye Bye Frankie Bye Bye): (The One in Which Frank Zafiro Says Goodbye)   When Jim Ziskin invited me to join this blog panel in April 2019, I gotta tell you -- I was t...

Criminal Minds: I Sit and Ponder by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: I Sit and Ponder: Sitting around all day isn’t good for us – we all know that. Sitting around all day (writing) is what we authors are expected to do. How do ...

7 Criminal Minds: As Time Goes By by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: As Time Goes By: How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series (if you don't write a series, speak to this in terms of...

Short Story Wednesday Review: Dead Even: A River City Crime Anthology by Frank Zafiro

From the massive archive….

 

The men and woman of the fictional River City police department located somewhere in Eastern Washington are not super cops. They are real life human beings with their own lives on and off the job. Lives that contain hopes, dreams, shattered expectations, and failure just like the rest of us. Through novels that began with Under A Raging Moon, continued with Heroes Often Fail and continued in the most recent Beneath A Weeping Sky released last March, as well as numerous stories in a variety of markets, author Frank Zafiro has a consistently used his experiences as well as ones of other fellow police officers to make the characters he writes about alive for the reader.

 

The fifteen stories in this book released last October by Gray Dog Press have all appeared before either online in various venues or in print publication. Several of these stories were finalists for the Derringer award given out annually by the Short Mystery Fiction Society.  For those familiar with the novels, these stories further explore events before or in between the books. For readers new to the works of Frank Zafiro, these stories give you a glimpse of the treats to come in the novels.

 

The anthology is broken into four sections named for some of the characters in the novels. After a forward that briefly explains how the book was pulled together and his intentions, author Frank Zafiro starts off with the section on “Katie MacLeod.” The three stories, “Last Day In Paradise, “Three Days of Christmas,” and “Home for Christmas” revolve around Katie Macleod and are far after events in the first two novels. They showcase some of the motivations that drive this complex and intriguing character as well as several different cases.

 

The section on the detective tag team of “Finch and Elias” is next starting on page 55. There are five stories here and include “Be My Santa Baby,” “Finch and Elias,” “Core Issue,” “The Bastard Mummy” and “The Worst Door.”  Along with working some harsh and some funny cases, readers are treated to the dynamics between the detectives who may grate on each other occasionally but always have the partner’s back. These stories are interlocked, beginning with a robbery gone bad in “Be My Santa Baby” and carry the crimes forward to solving the case and the repercussions in successive stories. Many of the stories in this anthology work the same way detailing events from different perspectives and how the ripples from the original event spread outwards to touch other lives in ways unforeseen.

 

Beginning on page 155 is the section on “Paul Heiro” and features two stories titled “Running Into Darkness” and “If Only.” Paul Heiro is one of several rather tragic figures in the River City series. A strong theme of Mr. Zafiro’s work is the idea that events shape people causing some to get stronger while others go down. That path, up or down, is almost predetermined or fate for some characters and Paul Heiro seems to be one of those destined to go down.

 

It is not just the men and women who wear the badge that get the full character building treatment making them come alive for the reader. The victims as well as the criminals come fully alive for readers. One of the higher profile criminals, and there are several, is “Dominic Bracco” and his section begins on page 175.

 

The section contains five stories titled “The Meat-cutter’s Wife,” “Pride Goeth,” “And A Fall Cometh,” “Rescuing Isaac” and the title story of the anthology “Dead Even.” A New Jersey mobster exiled to River City in eastern Washington, Dominic Bracco is trying to get along with everyone while bringing his own business style to the area. The problem for him is he doesn't have the muscle to compete; he can't go against the Russian mob, or the other criminal interests in the area. And every now and then Uncle Angelo reaches out and wants something done and just can't get the basic fact that the state of Washington is not New Jersey. A dark figure that is also very smart and charming, his relationship with others is fascinating to watch---from a distance.

 

At 253 pages including publication notes for the stories and bio, this is a fast read. Many of the stories are very interconnected--not only with each other---but telling the same story from a different character's perspective. Violence and its descriptive depictions are present at times, but when they do appear, they are limited and not gratuitous. Instead of focusing on the carnage when it happens, as some authors do, Mr. Zafiro consistently focuses on the psychological aspects of events. How events work on the character of the individual, shape future actions, etc. Whether they be law enforcement or otherwise, how people hold up under expectations of others while dealing with events is a focus of these stories as well as the novels that feature the characters living their lives in the small town of River City.

 

Those new to the author's work will discover a terse writing style filled full with emotion and nuances in these stories. The characters will come alive with some you knew from the start heading on a path where things will not go well. The book can serve as a great introduction to the novels as characters are introduced through story as well as brief explanations at the beginning of the sections and the stories themselves.

 

For those well familiar with the novels, Dead Even: A River City Crime Anthology is a chance to read stories you may have missed on other venues and an opportunity to reacquaint with old friends. The latest River City novel titled And Every Man Has To Die is currently scheduled to be released in March by Gray Dog Press.

 

  

ARC supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2011, 2015, 2022

Review: Place of Wrath and Tears: River City Book 6 by Frank Zafiro

Place of Wrath and Tears: River City Book 6 by Frank Zafiro deals primarily with the trauma of a school shooting. The event is depicted through the point of view of several of the characters involved, including the shooters, and the officers who respond. As such this is not a book for everyone as for some it will come way too close to home.

 

It begins the morning of September 18, 2001 just a few days after the horrific attacks on New York City and elsewhere. Officer Katie MacLeod has just moved to the day shift after years on the graveyard and is having a hard time getting used to her new call sign and platoon mates. Dispatched to a call of a suspicious person she does not expect it to be much more than a noisy neighbor complaint over nothing.

 

She would be wrong.

 

Jimmy Ryan has no dad around, a mom too drugged out to care about much of anything, and a special needs sister who attends the same high school he does. That means he can keep an eye on Lizzie.  He does his best to protect her. When she is threatened and with no other options, he resorts to getting a gun to protect her.

 

Gary Palouse has both of his parents though he might be way better off, as would his mom, if his bully of a father was not around. His father is a domestic abuser that uses bullying and violence to discipline his family. Dear old Dad has no idea the level of rage that is building inside his teen son. Nor does he have any idea that Gary has couple of friends, Ronald “Ringo” Moore and Will Peterson, to a lesser extent, also hate the world and everyone in it.

 

These storylines and others lead to a traumatic day at a local high school. The first half of the book deals with various things leading up to the shooting while the second half deals with how it changes the lives of so many in the days, weeks, and moments to come.

 

While I am a big fan of the series, I can not say I enjoyed this read. As a parent of two boys, one of which was named as “not to be killed” on a list by a troubled teen when both were in high school, I am keenly aware of how close we came to a tragedy. There is nothing quite like the experience when, as a parent, you meet with school administrators and detectives so that they can question your son regarding being placed on such a list. Thankfully in our case, somebody said something, and the kid involved got the help he needed.

 

As a multiyear school district employee, I also saw it from the other side as I went through the mandatory school shooter training which included frequent practice drills regarding shelter in place and evacuation. Those drills are their own trauma and have long lasting impacts on some students.

 

So, I have seen a few things from both sides of the situation, and that no doubt massively impacted my read of this book. A read that I have just scratched the surface of so as to not inadvertently create spoilers. There are many interwoven plot strands in this read and to go into any detail beyond the above brief description above would create issues.

 

In short, Place of Wrath and Tears: River City Book 6 is another well written and complicated tale from Frank Zafiro. One would not expect anything else from this author. The subject matter is difficult and the author handles it well. It is not a book for everyone. It is also not a read one can easily forget.

 

Place of Wrath and Tears: River City Book 6

Frank Zafiro

http://www.frankzafiro.com/novels/place-of-wrath-and-tears/

Code 4 Press

August 2020

ASIN: B088G11XLY

eBook (also available in audio and paperback formats)

378 Pages 

 

Digital ARC supplied by the author long ago with no expectation of review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

Frank Zafiro's Write Place, Write Crime: Open & Shut with Kevin Tipple (Podcast)

It was a privilege and an honor to be invited to participate on Frank Zafiro's long running podcast. The deal today was recorded about a month or so ago. We talked books, reviewing, short stories, and a lot more. Hope you give it a listen. It is slightly more than a half hour. 

http://wrongplacewritecrime.com/2021/12/08/open-shut-w-kevin-tipple/

Criminal Minds: Slashing your Darling Flashbacks... by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Slashing your Darling Flashbacks...:   Have you ever tossed out 20,000 words from a work in progress? Why, and was it, in hindsight, the right move? From Frank Yes. Well, over 1...

Criminal Minds: No Looking Back (I Wish) by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: No Looking Back (I Wish): Cringe – Is there any of your published writing that you’re not particularly proud of any more? Give us an example of something you’ve writt...

Criminal Minds: Advice Is NOT Universal... by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Advice Is NOT Universal...: Bad Advice – Not everything works for everybody. Give us some examples of writing advice, given to you in good faith, which just didn’t work...

Sons of Spade: Hallmarks Of The Job / Aloha Boys: A P.I. Tales Double Feature (Stanley Melvin / Morriss Ronald Boyett) by Frank Zafiro / Michael Bracken

Sons of Spade: Hallmarks Of The Job / Aloha Boys: A P.I. Tales Double Feature (Stanley Melvin / Morriss Ronald Boyett) by Frank Zafiro / Michael Bracken

Criminal Minds: Backstory Takes a Back Seat by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Backstory Takes a Back Seat: How do you deal with backstory? How much do you need, and where do you put it? How do you know what to leave in, and what to take out? From ...