The streets aren't safe when your enemy wears a blue uniform and a gold badge.
What if the good guys weren't good?
What if a cop went rogue and killed an innocent man?
What if it was all caught on video and the cop would do anything to cover it up?
Chase this lawless cop through the streets and to a scintillating series of showdowns with Cruz Marquez, a young attorney trying to nail down his enemy in blue.
Derek is an author and attorney in Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Duke University and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He majored in English and Economics at Duke. In Colorado, Derek has served as the co-Chair of Mayor Hickenlooper's Denver Latino Commission, and was recently selected to serve as a co-Chair of the Denver Chapter of the Colorado Latino Forum. Derek 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).
Visit his website at http://www.rogue-books.com. Check out his blog on writing at http://derekblass.wordpress.com. Friend him on Facebook. Follow him on Twitter (@DerekBlass). You can also email him at publisher@rogue-books.com. Derek writes thrillers with a heavy dose of action. He is currently working on his next novel.
Q&A with Derek:
Why did you write this book?
Stories are often born from tragedy. Just look at all of the news inundating us on a daily basis. In my case, I came to Denver, Colorado in 2003. Pretty immediately, I got involved in the Denver Latino/a community by serving on Mayor John Hickenlooper's Denver Latino Commission. I was also involved in the community through non-profits. Community service has always been important to me. While on the Commission, we dealt with several cases involving allegations of police brutality. Just in the Latino/a community, Frank Lobato was shot and killed, Juan Vasquez was beaten to the point he suffered severe internal damages, and Michael DeHerrera was violently arrested for standing on the sidewalk. In the African-American community, Paul Childs was shot and killed by Denver police, and Marvin Booker was tazed while in custody in jail to the point that he died. These are the events that catalyzed me to write Enemy in Blue.
It should be understood that Enemy in Blue is not an indictment on all cops. There are certainly good cops. There's simply no room for ANY bad cops though. These people have the right to carry a deadly weapon and use it against us if they see fit. They have the authority to arrest us, thereby taking away our freedoms, based solely upon their discretion. So, they need to be held to a higher standard, and in many instances, they are behaving worse than normal citizens.
How did you come up with the title?
That's a fun question. There was one working title, that ended up not working by the time the book was done. Things change, A LOT, over the course of writing a book! Once it was apparent that a new title was necessary, I enlisted my wife and some of my readers to help me find a new title. Through countless brainstorming sessions, one of my readers came up with "Evil in Blue." I liked it, but not 100%. I was grabbing the mail one day, and "Enemy in Blue" just came to me. Funny how things happen!
How did you choose your genre?
Hard to explain, but I can see action in my head. Fight scenes. Car chases. Torture, kidnapping, etc. (Honestly, I'm not a violent guy in real life!) It was as natural to me to write thrillers with a heavy dose of action as it would be for Christopher Moore to write cheeky fiction.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I've written a lot since I was young, and started on many novels but never followed through to finish one. It's really a labor of love, and with a full-time job that I am committed to (attorney), it takes substantial discipline to keep writing. That being said, there is nothing more beautiful than writing a story, or more appropriately put, to having characters write a story for you. When I write, I'm just as surprised by their decisions as my readers. My characters drive my story and that
I must admit, while reading the initial grisly scene in Enemy In Blue, I thought, “My, Derek Blass is taking some artistic license here. I mean, this Shaver, all these witnesses. Come on, who would do this?” Quickly I realized that’s the point. The antagonist, Colin Shaver, represents individuals in our society who lack empathy and remorse and are bent on dominance and control, playing by their own twisted set of rules to gain it. Shaver, who Blass eloquently describes as “a remote, heartless human being stranded on his own island of hate,” believes he is above the law. Unfortunately he is the law.
Sergeant Shaver’s shocking crime initiates a chain reaction of violence in which heroes and villains come and go—usually in a body bag— and eventually ends in a courtroom. This half of the story is reminiscent of a Law & Order episode, and where Blass’s writing talent and legal expertise really shines. Blass is clearly a brilliant person and creates a brilliant trial for Shaver, with a cross-examination that had me on the edge of my seat waiting for Shaver to blow it (I won’t tell you if he did or didn’t). I really appreciate Blass’s ability to subtly educate the reader without weighing down his high-octane story. His clean, uncluttered writing style adds to the nail biting you’re adapt to do while reading this gritty thriller, because Blass doesn’t give you a chance to breathe. In other words, everything in the story is relevant to the story, another thing I really appreciate.
Word of warning to younger readers. If you can't watch movies like Pulp Fiction or Inglorious Bastards, you'll have to wait on this one. If you can, enjoy.
For action, body-count and digging into the underworld of police politics - this is really a great read. However, I think the best asset of the novel is the incredible drawing of the antagonist - the evil Sergeant Shaver really shines.
Throughout the novel, this is the guy who drives the story. Shaver is persistent, tough and thoroughly without redemption. He steps off the page and into your life and you just know there's a real life Shaver out there in the world.
The action is unending - there isn't much time for relaxing between scenes. Blass keeps you on your toes throughout.
I'm a sucker for cop stories, anyway, but I really enjoyed this book!
I have to say I was a bit disappointed in this book. While the premise of the book is intriguing and has lots of promise, the author doesn't quite deliver. It's a story of a corrupt police force that is radically bent towards discrimination of anyone not of the White class. It is police brutality at its worst. The plot of the entire book is based on this theme. Think "Rodney King" magnified by a thousand. A violent crime committed by a police officer towards an unarmed, elderly Hispanic man is witnessed and video-taped, which leads to the Police Chief, the officer who committed the crime, a radical Hispanic freedom fighter, the only "good cop" it seems on the police force, the news station, and everyone else in the story, determined to get their hands on this video for various reasons. The plot is thin and could use more depth and twists and turns.
The book is extremely fast paced, to the point where you lose a sense of the characters and makes the scenes unbelievable. So many characters are introduced and you're given little background or history. What you do get isn't enough to really connect with any of them. It's as though you're an observer watching a story play out without really becoming involved. The story seemed to rely more on quick, thoughtless violence rather than a plot or theme. Every chapter had someone shooting, slicing, or some form of violence towards someone else. While I appreciate authenticity and violence when appropriate in a book, this was too much to absorb or feel believable.
Unfortunately, this book did not "ring true" for me.
The guys in blue are supposed to be the good guys. What if they aren’t? What one cop went rogue and took matters into his own hands? What if this vigilante justice, corruption, and racism ran much deeper than just one man?
A cameraman shooting one of those reality cop shows tags along on what seemed like a pretty routine night. At first, he’s focused on getting the best angles for the greatest effect. Then, suddenly he is told to turn off the camera. Point blank, one of the cops shoots an old man. Not a criminal, just some old man who didn’t understand English.
The thing is, the camera wasn’t actually turned off. The cameraman got the whole thing on tape. Once that becomes common knowledge, the cover up begins. More lives will be lost before any of this goes to trial. Will justice be served?
Of course, we all know that racism is alive and well. Moreover, on the news, we’ve all seen cases of corruption in the very systems that are supposed to protect us. I think Enemy in Blue just looks at the depths of those possibilities and how quickly things can get pretty complex. Frankly, it’s pretty scary.
This first novel from Debut author Derek Blass really hits all the right buttons. We start off with a raid on a latino families home that goes to hell when one of the occupants is shot by the Police Seargent (Shaver - a particularly despicable person). The raid is being filmed by a tv station for a police documentary type show. What follows, for the first part of the book, is a high octane chase for possession of the video - Shaver and various others want it so they can bury it, the good guys have it and want justice. The really good thing for me here was that the author was not afraid to kill characters off which serves to keep you on tenterhooks as you know no-one is safe or guaranteed to reach the end. The second half of the book deals with the trial, and here the pace slows down a little, although it is no less suspenseful. All in all a wonderfully exciting debut from an author I will be keeping an eye out for. And at the time of writing this review it only costs 77p ($0.99) - you can't get much better value for money than that.
This was a page-turner from beginning to end. I had some trouble following the main characters but figured it out after a bit. The plot was complicated but put together nicely and the secrets interwoven good. There was one place that could have used some clarification; the Mexican standoff part. I would have liked to have more drama there. Was ready for a monster fight but felt disappointed.
I really liked the way the author put this all together and made it all fit. There wasn’t a lot of time wasted setting up scenes which I loved and the author allowed the characters to stand or fall on their own. There wasn’t any finger point as to who was the good guy. I got to figure it out as the book progressed.
This was more of a serious read for me. I had to really pay attention to the plot twists and make sure I understood who had done what to whom. But that just made it more interesting to read. I liked this book and recommend it for its more serious plot and characters.
This book reads like a more detailed version of a Law & Order episode. It has the crime that was committed and the details for the first half of the book. Then the second half is about the trial. It was fast paced, full of relevant details and edge of your seat action. I really, really enjoyed reading this book. And I know that it's the type of book that my husband will enjoy as well.
It's obvious that the author has done his research. Most books are about either the police part of a crime or the trial part. This book takes both and weaves it together to create a fascinating story that I wasn't able to put down. Be prepared for some violence and difficult issues, but it's well worth the effort.
I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.
I enjoyed reading "Enemy in Blue" very, very much. The action never slacked, never slowed down. It was a wild ride, laced with strong, complicated characters and important social issues that our society is facing whether we like to admit it or not. I grew truly attached to them all, even the bad guys, as none was one-dimensional, none was flat. Following their struggle, their mounting troubles that took them all over the Southwest and over the Mexican border, I stayed on the edge of my seat most of the time, holding my breath, wishing to know what will happen. This book is a great thriller, and I will most definitely be reading the sequel, and other books by this author.
Great book! Blass keeps you engaged and wondering what’s going to happen next throughout the story.
I work in a law firm so I’m familiar with a lot of the lingo and procedures and it’s extremely refreshing for an author to actually get it right. However, I believe this book can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their legal background, or lack thereof.
The story is great, although at times it seemed to jump around a bit, and I didn’t feel like anything was left unresolved or any questions left unanswered. I’ve already recommended this book!
An excellent debut novel, that portrays one US police force as thoroughly corrupt and alarmingly out of control. For a while there, while reading the book, I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction. Even now, several months after I've finished it, I am left with the horrific notion that it might have held a grain of truth. I hope not. The story comes right in the end, btw, but it's a thrilling, shocking ride. Well worth a read.
Really enjoyable read. Almost two books in one, the first about a crime and the protagonists' quest to capture the offenders. The second is the ensuing trial.
Lots of action and a few surprises. Think you can guess what's going to happen next? Sometimes you're right and sometimes you're surprised.
Fast moving story about some of the police force who are racist, to the point of killing mexicans. A camera man happens to catch one of the killings on film, he gives the film to a reporter, good cops are being killed.....it gets into the court scene, a bad judge, pretty interesting story, attention keeper.
This book started out pretty well but went downhill rapidly. The narrative is choppy and sometimes hard to follow, and the characters hyperbolic. Shaver is especially unbelievable, and the other characters aren't much better. I persisted through 75% of the book and stopped. It wasn't worth the time to finish it. I'm not sure how it got five stars from some reviewers.
This was a great book. If you love crime/cop novels this one will not disappoint you. I happen to love crime novels and this was up there with the best of them. I highly recommend this as a 'must read'. Great job, Derek. I look forward to reading your next one.
I thought the premise for the story was interesting. But the writer's style was inconsistent. After a confusing beginning, part way through the book the writer would sometimes tell the story from one characthers view and then tell the same part of the story from a different character's view.
I did not finish this book. There were so many characters and the theme of so many bad cops started to get to me. When I can put a book down and leave it even for a day, it is time to start on a new books. There are too many books for me to struggle to read this one.
Enemy in Blue is a thrill ride from the beginning to the end. I may never look at a man in a uniform the same ever again. This is great material for a movie.
After the novel's end, the author wrote about splitting the story where he did. His reasoning that the book was already longer than many e-books is telling. There is little thought with most electronic books about telling a good story with some conclusion. So, they chop off the prose wherever they want. Then, I suppose, you have to give them more money to read the rest of the book. It’s an idiotic mindset and one that is moving me never to read an electronic only release.
In this case, the story was fine as far as it went. It was clear as a self-published book that it didn’t go through the same editing process as other books. And, the result is that the story could have been tightened and some oddities in time lines could have been eliminated. However, I enjoyed it until the abrupt stop, there was no ending. The book is overly violent.
Enemy in Blue: The Chase (Book 1) (The Cruz Marquez Thrillers)
Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach; very graphic in brutal situations. Racism, bias and hatred, plus police brutality and abuse of power are brought into the light. Very descriptive characters and events. Looking forward to the continuation of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book was okay. It is amazing how the bad cop could get away with so much killing. The author did make sure he got his lickings. There are many twist and turns that happen in the book but it might be a little over kill.
The first in the Cruz Marquez series. The whole book is revolves around police corruption & racism. For me the violence took pride of place, I found too many characters & not enough info on any of them made it impossible to connect with any of them sadly.