Review - Enemy in Blue by Derek Blass

Enemy in Blue
Author: Derek Blass
Fiction
Rated: Very good (****)
Review by: Lisa Haselton

Attorney Cruz Marquez answers his phone one day, as he had on any other day, but this caller tells him something that will forever change his life, and not in the happy happy joy joy kind of way.

What do you do when you’re told men in blue, officers sworn to uphold the law and protect the citizens, have murdered one of those they are sworn to protect? Do you assume the caller is crazy? Do you tell yourself to just make a few calls and find out the real story, then pass it on to…well, who do you turn to when several of the perpetrators are men who wear the police uniform and have been on the force for numerous years? Cruz Marquez doesn’t like what he finds, but he also won’t back away when someone needs his help.

This debut novelist doesn’t hold anything back in scene descriptions or character reactions. He puts the reader smack in the middle of all the tense, emotional, and (a lot of times) quite graphic scenes. His writing starts off in the middle of some action and manages to keep increasing the tension with each new scene. Just when the reader can’t think of a situation getting any worse for the characters, he’s surprised. Blass uses short scenes and chapters to keep the pace moving. He puts the reader on the characters’ shoulders and has to hope the reader doesn’t fall off. Blass’s writing is very visual and is easy to image up on the big screen.

Derek Blass is an author and attorney in Denver, Colorado. He was named as a Colorado Superlawyer "Rising Star" in 2010 and 2011, and was awarded the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association’s 2010 award for most Outstanding Young Hispanic Lawyer. He is married to his wife Meranda, and has two uncontrollably terrible dogs (and one good one that isn’t really his).

Enemy in Blue is a thrilling and gripping read. To call it fast paced doesn’t seem to do it justice because if you blink, you actually do miss something. It reads like true crime and is not for those who want a light and fun read. Remember, when you think you have it all figured out, you’ll find that you’re wrong.

Available through: amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com

Title: Enemy in Blue
Author: Derek Blass
Publisher: Rogue Books
ISBN: 978-0-615-48103-6
Pages: 328
Price: $14.99