Beachside PD: The Reluctant Knight

by Neil L. Yuzuk, David A. Yuzuk

Danny Phillips, gun in hand, entered the dark shack. In the middle of the room, Danny pulled a hanging light switch. The bulb moved frenetically filling the room with bursts of light and shadow. Danny steadied the light only to see a set of shackles on the wall and dried blood on the floor. "OH GOD no, no, no, what did I do?" Danny fell to his knees, "This is my fault, I should have done more." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Everything readers have come to expect from a tightly constructed police procedural is here in a compelling tale of corruption, murder, and redemption. Danny Phillips, an ambitious scoundrel is determined to live the high life, but when his investment company on Wall Street crashes, he is forced to follow in his father’s footsteps as a police officer. The last thing this charming entrepreneur wanted to be was a cop, but when his old friend, Angelo Tedeschi, convinces him the city of Beachside is a ripe plum for guys like them, he reluctantly agrees. Thanks to the crooked Captain Hagen and his unexpected bravery in the line of duty, he is promoted to the rank of Detective Specialist in charge of the Missing Persons Bureau. His complex relationship with fellow officer Anna Perez and an encounter with Rudy, a badly scarred young boy, slowly begins to soften his amoral behavior. But he hasn’t reached redemption yet and when he ignores a string of missing children cases, he is suspended from duty. Will Danny turn away from his sexual escapades with his posse of blondes? Will he set aside his illegal schemes and find the killer? And what will this reluctant knight do when he is confronted by the ultimate horror? This intelligent and thought-provoking masterpiece of crime fiction will hold you in its grip until the very end. The Reluctant Knight is a series debut novel filled with tension, unforgettable characters, and an intriguing romance. If you are a police procedural series fan who wants realism along with hard-hitting action, and savvy dialogue — it’s guaranteed you’ll want more from this father/son writing team.

362 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2011

Reviews

[R.G. Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil Yuzuk's work of fiction, as he tagged it, had to have been written by someone who had police experiences or researched the PD structures and functions very extensively. I do enjoy a good mystery and this books takes many turns along the way to make it just that, I found myself second guessing the author and maybe it was because I felt something else was going to happen. You will notice a different approach from the get go - the author places a characters name at the beginning of each chapter as that named character will be the first person narrator. He then may overlap some things said or done by that character to the next chapter with possibly a different named character. I liked that approach and found the flow from one character to the next to be very smooth. I also liked how the tough cop character was developed into an efficient caring cop character. I marvel how some authors can use tough talk and make it so you're not offended while others will accomplish the same thing with softer language. I feel the author did a good job in depicting how it really sounds on the street. It is a story that tells you about relationships and friendships while spinning the web of intrigue - its a good story, enjoy! I enjoyed this book on my Kindle Fire.