Goodreads Synopsis
A dead body. A dark past. An ordinary man with everything to lose.
Marcus Kemp is a regular beat cop living a normal life in San Diego, California. Until the day he makes a shocking discovery: a dead body in the trunk of a stolen car. Worse, the victim turns out to be the man who abused him as a child.
Marcus instinctively wants to help the killer get away with murder and, disregarding his police oath, will stop at nothing to make it happen. With both his job and freedom in jeopardy, his investigation leads him to an unexpected killer, and Marcus is soon faced with an impossible decision.
Can he finally bury the past before it drags him under?
Thank you Meggy @ Red Dog Press for having me on this Blog Tour.
Rating and Review
When I was invited to join the blog tour with the synopsis of the book, it intrigued me because here was a cop who wanted to find the murderer not dispense justice but to ensure that the murdered got away with the murder. I accepted the invite and here I am telling you what I thought of the book.
The writing gets a little dry even when the story is interesting. It showed how abuse leaves its imprint on the psyche of the abused and plays a role in every aspect of the person’s life. Having suppressed the pain and humiliation of his ordeal, Marcus is unable to make a life long commitment to Meghan (his love interest) despite having deep and genuine feelings for here. The story shows that unless one finds closure (in whatever form), the abuse and abuser haunts the victim and that plays a role in every decision the individual makes.
For the story, the idea of a cop harbouring a criminal is interesting as there is always this ‘what if’ going on in the cop’s mind because that individual is sworn to uphold the law.
The mystery of the who dunnit was very basic in my opinion and I was able to figure out who was the murderer and how everything will play out by the middle point so an author kind a losses from the rating from my side for a mystery. Other than that, there were many a times when I could not understand the point of stating things that add nothing to the story. Like describing every nook and cranny of the place where the cop is conducting his stake out when none of it has any impact on the ongoing story. Likewise, there is this one scene where Marcus fantasizes about making out with a woman he just met while for the entire book his feelings for Meghan have been highlighted. So, that is out of character and completely random as well.
Lastly, despite having figured out the answer to the mystery, I read it till the end because the story was interesting. Do give it a go.
About the Author
Curtis Ippolito lives in San Diego, California, with his wife. He is a communications writer for a nonprofit biological research facility. He has previously been a writer in the health care industry and is a former newspaper reporter. Follow him on Twitter @curtis9980.
Buy the book here
Red Dog Shop – Paperback
Red Dog Shop – Hardcover
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