Line of Duty

by Michael Grant

Assigned to investigate the case of a recently murdered drug lord in Harlem, Lieutenant Brian Shannon, paired with a young hotshot from Internal Affairs, learns that the killer may be within the police department. Reprint. NYT.

Genres: Fiction

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.

I am a former member of the NYPD and a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
I live in knoxville TN with my wife, Elizabeth, and our Golden Retriever, Beau.

Reviews

[Kevin Bracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many mysteries do, the book starts off with a bang and disorientation. Then, pulls you into the details layer by layer so you can figure out what's going on and who the players are.

Overall, it's a good story that captures the different dynamics at play for police officers every day. The author puts a lot of effort into presenting ethical shades of gray and challenging the reader to define their own 'line in the sand' while showing that it is both easier said, than done and also a slippery slope. Once, you've said yes to one crime, why say no to the next one?

The reader is clued in to the mystery of the murders relatively early as the story shifts perspectives back and forth between the perpetrators and the detectives. While this eliminates the suspense of finding out 'who done it,' there is still plenty of build up, action, and twists to the story to keep you engaged.

Line of Duty is a good read and will keep you up past your bedtime. Enjoy!

[Garrett Boatman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful. Heroes and villains are well-rounded. The suspense is tight and constant. The flashbacks (backstories) don't start till over a third of the way through and, rather than halt the forward momentum of the action, are revealing and help propel the story engine onward.

[Donald Trump · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bigly!
*** 3 Stars.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially came across Line of Duty because it was tucked into a big lot of paperback books that I ordered off of eBay. I am not one for cop books, normally, but as I'd just finished Detective by Arthur Hailey, I thought I'd give it a shot.

And boy am I glad I did!

This is a fantastic story that shows what real police work is like. It discusses computers in ways that are not deus ex machina and shows what the internal politics are like behind the world of police work. It also shows the strain on police spouses as well as police arteries. I never realized that the world of law enforcement was so multifaceted nor so nuanced.

While I never watched it, I did live with a man who was a fan of "The Wire". I felt that if you liked that show, you might appreciate this novel, as they both seem to be on the same topic: that of police corruption.

An absolutely fantastic read!

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good police procedural.