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Wounded
It was a routine domestic dispute. But within minutes of arriving at the dilapidated trailer, one officer is fatally shot and his partner, Constable Debrah Thomas, is left with a wound that she thought had long ago been healed.
Debrah's husband, RCMP Major Crimes Investigator, Liam Thomas, tries to support her through the ordeal even though he’s engrossed in a high profile murder investigation. The couple has no way of knowing that ghosts from their pasts will resurface and intertwine, leading them into a terrifying trap set by a psychopathic predator.
Debrah's husband, RCMP Major Crimes Investigator, Liam Thomas, tries to support her through the ordeal even though he’s engrossed in a high profile murder investigation. The couple has no way of knowing that ghosts from their pasts will resurface and intertwine, leading them into a terrifying trap set by a psychopathic predator.
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
29 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Joyce-Hawryluk
2 books15 followersAuthor of the Scarlet Force Novels, a fictional series following RCMP Crime Drama that is based on real people and events and features lead female RCMP character.
The first book in this series 'Wounded' won the 2014 IPPY award for Canada West - Best Regional Fiction - Bronze.
Finalist:
- 2015 Bookbzz Prize Writer Competition
- Billings Public Library High Plains Book Awards - First Book
- Billings Public Library High Plains Book Awards - Woman Writer
The first book in this series 'Wounded' won the 2014 IPPY award for Canada West - Best Regional Fiction - Bronze.
Finalist:
- 2015 Bookbzz Prize Writer Competition
- Billings Public Library High Plains Book Awards - First Book
- Billings Public Library High Plains Book Awards - Woman Writer
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 8, 2018
So grateful to the author for providing me a copy of this novel! A review wasn’t required, but I will provide one anyway!
“Wounded (A Scarlet Force Novel)” by Barbara Joyce-Hawryluk is a police procedural novel, based on real events. Debrah Thomas is a Constable with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for my non-North friends) and when her partner is shot and killed on a routine domestic disturbance call, Debrah’s life is turned upside down. While dealing with investigations and interrogations on top of her grief, she tries to turn to her husband, Liam, a Special Investigator within the same division, but he is caught up on a dangerous case of his own. People are turning up dead, in apparent suicides, and as Liam investigates he quickly realizes that he could be next.
Hawryluk’s novel plays like a cop drama, as it should, seeing as it is based on real life stories that happened while both she, a social worker, or her husband, an RCMP psychologist, were working on real cases. The plot is a cat-and-mouse game, with criminals on the run and trained professionals on the hunt.
My knowledge (and respect) for the RCMP grew while reading this novel, and it definitely provided a lot of eye-opening, real-life experiences that were new to me. This novel started off interesting right from the get-go, when Debrah’s partner is shot, but then it starts to go downhill.
Although the police procedures were no doubt accurate, there were too many plot lines in this novel. Debrah and Liam had enough of a storyline to pull the novel through on its own, but then we are introduced to Jaimie (and his dysfunctional life) and Tracie and Helen, and their separate yet intermingling storylines, which add confusion to the mix. I wasn’t sure which plot was the main one, and Hawryluk jumps from one plot to another with no indication of the switch, and although it didn’t take long to catch on to who was telling the story, it added an extra level of information to be muddled through.
The ending of this novel was pulse-pounding and gruesome and (although fans of cop dramas on TV, like myself, will be able to predict how it ends) the story was wrapped up on a final and satisfying way.
“Wounded” provides an in-depth look at the RCMP (and reaffirms my Canadian pride for our everyday heroes) , and has an addicting beginning and end. However, there are extraneous characters and plot points (I am still confused about why Debrah’s experience with Dr. Bodnar, the shrink, was necessary. It added nothing to the plot except to shed more light on Debrah’s past but even then, the extra light was not relevant to the current plot) and a few grammatical errors that left me a little disheartened. There were too many characters that played a main role, and it was difficult for me as a reader to develop a relationship with any one of them.
A Canadian cop drama to be sure, I appreciate the real-life experiences Hawryluk puts into “Wounded”, but I believe that with a little more tweaking and careful editing, the plot would have focused on what matters to the reader, and left out the extraneous and confusing plot points.
“Wounded (A Scarlet Force Novel)” by Barbara Joyce-Hawryluk is a police procedural novel, based on real events. Debrah Thomas is a Constable with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police for my non-North friends) and when her partner is shot and killed on a routine domestic disturbance call, Debrah’s life is turned upside down. While dealing with investigations and interrogations on top of her grief, she tries to turn to her husband, Liam, a Special Investigator within the same division, but he is caught up on a dangerous case of his own. People are turning up dead, in apparent suicides, and as Liam investigates he quickly realizes that he could be next.
Hawryluk’s novel plays like a cop drama, as it should, seeing as it is based on real life stories that happened while both she, a social worker, or her husband, an RCMP psychologist, were working on real cases. The plot is a cat-and-mouse game, with criminals on the run and trained professionals on the hunt.
My knowledge (and respect) for the RCMP grew while reading this novel, and it definitely provided a lot of eye-opening, real-life experiences that were new to me. This novel started off interesting right from the get-go, when Debrah’s partner is shot, but then it starts to go downhill.
Although the police procedures were no doubt accurate, there were too many plot lines in this novel. Debrah and Liam had enough of a storyline to pull the novel through on its own, but then we are introduced to Jaimie (and his dysfunctional life) and Tracie and Helen, and their separate yet intermingling storylines, which add confusion to the mix. I wasn’t sure which plot was the main one, and Hawryluk jumps from one plot to another with no indication of the switch, and although it didn’t take long to catch on to who was telling the story, it added an extra level of information to be muddled through.
The ending of this novel was pulse-pounding and gruesome and (although fans of cop dramas on TV, like myself, will be able to predict how it ends) the story was wrapped up on a final and satisfying way.
“Wounded” provides an in-depth look at the RCMP (and reaffirms my Canadian pride for our everyday heroes) , and has an addicting beginning and end. However, there are extraneous characters and plot points (I am still confused about why Debrah’s experience with Dr. Bodnar, the shrink, was necessary. It added nothing to the plot except to shed more light on Debrah’s past but even then, the extra light was not relevant to the current plot) and a few grammatical errors that left me a little disheartened. There were too many characters that played a main role, and it was difficult for me as a reader to develop a relationship with any one of them.
A Canadian cop drama to be sure, I appreciate the real-life experiences Hawryluk puts into “Wounded”, but I believe that with a little more tweaking and careful editing, the plot would have focused on what matters to the reader, and left out the extraneous and confusing plot points.
January 7, 2015
A superb literary thriller that sets you smack dab in Winnipeg, Tim Horton's and all.
May 8, 2021
So happy when I received this book from my boss, even more when I saw Barbara signed my copy . Amazing story !!! Loved the Winnipeg locations throughout the book . Will definitely be sharing this book with family and friends ❤️
February 19, 2020
Great book. So much fun reading a novel by an Author you know with all local spots you can relate to. Look forward to the next novel.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews