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Buzz Words
Most of us think we understand how police investigations work. We've seen them depicted on television so often we believe it's really only one or two hardnosed, lone wolf detectives who will shoot, punch or intimidate criminals as they investigate crimes and apply justice in their own way. The image fiction has imprinted on minds is one of fast paced, rough and tumble fearless officers who are always at odds with their bosses, politicians and the law. They also manage to solve every crime in the amount of time allotted for the shows time slot, normally in forty-five minutes or less after you remove the commercials.
Real life police work is not for the faint of heart, and it is work; mind numbing work that at times makes you feel more like a researcher with a weapon than a law enforcement specialist.
Those lone wolf fictional police officers would mostly be unsuccessful in real life for one single reason, lack of teamwork.
Law enforcement requires a dedicated team of people who possess many different specialized skill sets, all working towards a single goal, and the processing of evidence to aide an officer in making a solid arrest.
There are specialized segments of police work that are accomplished by shadow people. These are the ones who're given the artifacts of a crime and asked to find information to confirm facts or assist the efforts of investigators as they search for answers to who, what where when and most importantly why.
Shadow people must be just as dedicated, just as driven, and just as determined as the officers they work for. Their knowledge of the specialized area they work in must produce accurate evidence for the investigator to work with and also stand the test of our judicial system to be of any value.
C.W. Burwell was a shadow person. One who met all of the requirements officers seek when they need a staffer from the shadows to process forensic evidence. He's just as driven and dedicated as the men and women he worked for.
CW is also snoopy, very married and retired. Retirement allows him to pursue two goals that he has set for himself, much to the shock of his wife and their bank account.
In an effort to give something back not only for law enforcement, but to fill a personal goal of his own, he buys the equipment of his trade and sets up shop. He offers his skills to small departments in an effort to help them process some of their evidence quicker. He also wants to train one or two officers in his field to aide and assist those small departments.
This is the very thing that will force him to reopen an investigation that has haunted him and one of his friends. Cliff is a sworn law officer from a medium sized department and the holder of a cold case. No one in law enforcement, not the shadow people or sworn officers, wants to be responsible for leaving an icebox behind after they move on.
CW and Cliff have worked this cold case so many times; they know the box contents by heart. A chance encounter with two other cold cases and theirs launches a frantic search for a serial killer------a very successful sadistic killer--------one who's on a mission; a mission that brutally ends the lives of young girls---------only young girls who are relatives of policemen.
You are introduced to the shadow world of forensics and watch an investigation from the inside as it starts, builds and reaches a climax. You are allowed to sit with a shadow person for just a short time and work with him. You will feel the pressure, confusion and fatigue of an active, desperate race against time as the investigation starts, builds with each piece of information found and ends in the arrest phase.
The only person in any investigation who has all the facts is the lead investigator. You'll meet Marty D, the driving force in an investigation that is twenty-one years old, as she sorts through the fog of time to prevent another Star.
Real life police work is not for the faint of heart, and it is work; mind numbing work that at times makes you feel more like a researcher with a weapon than a law enforcement specialist.
Those lone wolf fictional police officers would mostly be unsuccessful in real life for one single reason, lack of teamwork.
Law enforcement requires a dedicated team of people who possess many different specialized skill sets, all working towards a single goal, and the processing of evidence to aide an officer in making a solid arrest.
There are specialized segments of police work that are accomplished by shadow people. These are the ones who're given the artifacts of a crime and asked to find information to confirm facts or assist the efforts of investigators as they search for answers to who, what where when and most importantly why.
Shadow people must be just as dedicated, just as driven, and just as determined as the officers they work for. Their knowledge of the specialized area they work in must produce accurate evidence for the investigator to work with and also stand the test of our judicial system to be of any value.
C.W. Burwell was a shadow person. One who met all of the requirements officers seek when they need a staffer from the shadows to process forensic evidence. He's just as driven and dedicated as the men and women he worked for.
CW is also snoopy, very married and retired. Retirement allows him to pursue two goals that he has set for himself, much to the shock of his wife and their bank account.
In an effort to give something back not only for law enforcement, but to fill a personal goal of his own, he buys the equipment of his trade and sets up shop. He offers his skills to small departments in an effort to help them process some of their evidence quicker. He also wants to train one or two officers in his field to aide and assist those small departments.
This is the very thing that will force him to reopen an investigation that has haunted him and one of his friends. Cliff is a sworn law officer from a medium sized department and the holder of a cold case. No one in law enforcement, not the shadow people or sworn officers, wants to be responsible for leaving an icebox behind after they move on.
CW and Cliff have worked this cold case so many times; they know the box contents by heart. A chance encounter with two other cold cases and theirs launches a frantic search for a serial killer------a very successful sadistic killer--------one who's on a mission; a mission that brutally ends the lives of young girls---------only young girls who are relatives of policemen.
You are introduced to the shadow world of forensics and watch an investigation from the inside as it starts, builds and reaches a climax. You are allowed to sit with a shadow person for just a short time and work with him. You will feel the pressure, confusion and fatigue of an active, desperate race against time as the investigation starts, builds with each piece of information found and ends in the arrest phase.
The only person in any investigation who has all the facts is the lead investigator. You'll meet Marty D, the driving force in an investigation that is twenty-one years old, as she sorts through the fog of time to prevent another Star.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 7, 2012
Book Title: Buzz Words
Author: Doug Lucas
Published By: GMTA Publishing
Recommended Age: 18+
Reviewed By: Lee-Ann Graff-Vinson
Blog Reviewed For: Great Minds Think Aloud
Rating: 5+
Veteran, MSgt. Charles W. Burwell, USMC is a man who doesn’t like loose ends. In fact, after he retired from the state police crime lab, he felt the need to stay active. He also felt the need to help out where he could. His very essence dedication brought him a cold case file, a team of heavy hitters and Major D. as a key player. No one ever survived the wrath of Major D. C.W. was going to enjoy working this case, as long as he got to see the guilty brought to justice, you understand. It had nothing to do with the prudently thorough butt-kicking the perpetrator would receive when Major D. caught up with him.
What none of these hard-working, intelligent and dedicated law enforcement members knew, was the extent with which this one cold case was spread. One teenage girl, brutally murdered years before; a case worked on for decades, but never solved, was merely one in a sea of sixteen lost souls. The information unfolding before their eyes portrayed a very evil mind at work, one with a secretive family past. As the intelligence began to pour in, the group realized their target was more than just a serial killer out for kicks, but a group of sick minded individuals all in it for the cause. The data showed they had less than two months to solve the Star case before another victim would be marked in death.
Author, Doug Lucas writes a winning murder mystery that keeps you on edge from start to finish. His tongue in cheek humor abounds as his characters mirror the perfect law enforcement/military image one would expect to see. This is a strongly written, character driven, perfectly dialogued novel. The chills you feel run through you are those directly passed on from the leading men and women in this gory tale. If you want reality in a murder mystery, then this book is for you. I highly recommend Mr. Lucas’s work to anyone who truly regales in reading a story that mirrors truth rather than fiction.
Lee-Ann Graff-Vinson is the author of ‘Georgia’s Smile’, ‘Love’s Trust’, ‘Callie’s Fate’, ‘Love And Liberty’ (now also available in print), and her most recent release ‘Queen Emily’s Enchanted Kingdom – Sugarland’, a children’s picture book series available in kindle and print versions.
August 7, 2014
Doug Lucas’ Good Servant Series is a set of independent novels tied together by a theme of service. Of the five, this is definitely my favorite, and, once I’d started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The narrator’s voice is consistently convincing, digressing from the buzz words of police work to the trials of marriage and diet to the wonders of his beloved car and back, always back, to the closed case files now reopened in small-town America.
Some places are just too small to afford expert video technology (or modern bullet-proof vests). But the people who work there are just as eager to see those lost crimes solved. And when a curious connection appears between two unsolved murders, this mystery spirals into something so much more. But it all stays grounded in a man denied the privilege of donuts, his matchmaking, dinner-making wife, and a cool cast of fascinating characters.
From NASCAR to golf, from bullets to bombs... people die, pain is real, and times have changed. But the time spent with Buzz Words’ protagonist will be time well-spent, meeting a truly memorable character, taking a fascinating journey through mystery and detection, and getting what certainly feels to me like a genuine feel for the real team-work of detectives chasing their case.
Filled with shifting focus and human distraction, yet never losing direction or pace, this novel’s a treat, and not even the occasional editing glitch could spoil it for me.
Disclosure: I bought it when it was free and can’t remember why it took me so long to get around to reading it.
Some places are just too small to afford expert video technology (or modern bullet-proof vests). But the people who work there are just as eager to see those lost crimes solved. And when a curious connection appears between two unsolved murders, this mystery spirals into something so much more. But it all stays grounded in a man denied the privilege of donuts, his matchmaking, dinner-making wife, and a cool cast of fascinating characters.
From NASCAR to golf, from bullets to bombs... people die, pain is real, and times have changed. But the time spent with Buzz Words’ protagonist will be time well-spent, meeting a truly memorable character, taking a fascinating journey through mystery and detection, and getting what certainly feels to me like a genuine feel for the real team-work of detectives chasing their case.
Filled with shifting focus and human distraction, yet never losing direction or pace, this novel’s a treat, and not even the occasional editing glitch could spoil it for me.
Disclosure: I bought it when it was free and can’t remember why it took me so long to get around to reading it.
July 10, 2012
Although I don't usually read this genre, I thought this book was well written, true to its kind...gritty, great characters and solid. I also like the way things are 'tied up' at the end.
Worth reading.
Worth reading.
August 9, 2012
This sounded good but was hard reading.......an odd style of writing and too much like hard work for me. Plus calling "perps" preps annoyed me.........sorry, but it was too hard going.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews