Crossing The Blue Line: A Crime Thriller

by J.R. Cloice

When the rain comes down in sheets, even the truth gets washed away.

Officer Kim Parsons survives a bloody takedown on a deserted Jersey street—barely. By dawn, she expects commendations. Instead, she’s offered a seat at a covert task force that launders money and buries bodies. They want her silent, obedient… useful.

Kim refuses.

Hours later, she’s no longer a cop—she’s a target.

Forced off the grid and bleeding, she stumbles into a dim bar owned by Eli, a quiet stranger with shadows of his own. But before Kim can catch her breath, she’s framed for murder, her badge revoked, her name plastered across the department’s hit list.

The people she trusted want her erased.
The city she served has turned feral.
And the only person who might help her is a man hiding more truth than he shares.

To clear her name, Kim must expose a conspiracy rooted deep in the blue line she once protected. But every step closer drags her deeper into a storm she may not walk out of.

Justice isn't on her side.
Survival is.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and Karin Slaughter, Crossing the Blue Line is a relentless, high-stakes thriller where justice is a battlefield and the truth comes with a body count.

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2025

Reviews

[Susan]

Tense and twisty, this is an edge of your seat story I couldn’t put down. Trying to prove your innocence when you can’t trust anyone the normal channels you would normally use.

[Jacquelyn Schingeck]

Very interesting story that revolves around police corruption and one female police officer that tries to stop the corrupt officers and keep others from getting hurt. The story revolves around her efforts to stay alive since the corrupt officials are aware that she knows who they are and what they have been doing. They have labeled her as the corrupt individual and the entire city is trying to find her. She has assistance from a bar owner who was in prison at one time and has contacts to help her with things like patching up a bullet hole since she cannot go to a hospital without being arrested or killed. Worth the read to figure out how she manages to stay one step ahead.

[John]

I received an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This story begins with Omega meeting with Doug, a corrupt cop, where Omega kills Doug and has the NYPD hunting for him. The story then introduces Kim and Ron, two patrol officers, who wind up catching Omega and then wind up protecting Omega from the other police that arrive on the scenes. Later, Ron and Kim are celebrating at a cop bar where Kent, the detective that wanted to shoot Omega, when Kim goes to the restroom she winds up seeing something that soon is a major issue. Kim eventually is implicated in a possible corruption scheme and has to make a run. She gets shot and eventually winds up at a bar in Hoboken.

Read along and follow the steps that Kim needs to perform in order to stay alive. Read along and learn what Kim saw and what reason she then became targeted. Discover who helps her and who beside Kurt is after her.

The story will keep you involved in the story right till the end. It is definitely worth the read, don't miss out!

[DianaRaven]

CROSSING THE BLUE LINE is a Crime Mystery Thriller by J.R. Cloice. This well written, fast-paced thriller has a twisted plot that will keep you guessing what happens next. The suspense builds steadily with lots of twists and turns packed into this story. 

The action starts when a corrupt NYPD officer is killed by the drug dealer, Omega. When Officer Kim Parsons and her partner manage to capture Omega alive, she must protect him from aggressive fellow officers who want to be judge, jury, and executioner. Then Kim sees something she shouldn't have. Her moral compass soon has her being accused of being corrupt and even in business with Omega. Now she's on the run from her fellow officers. Somehow, she needs to prove her innocence and expose who really is corrupt.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Chere Gruver]

While on patrol with her partner, Kim spots someone she thinks is the cop killer everyone in her department is after. Turns out, she was right and she ends up arresting him and pretty much protecting him from the other cops that show up. Now the fun begins when the other cops offer her the opportunity to join them. Yup, they’re crooked cops and Kim has no intention of joining. What follows is Kim doing her best to stay alive and clear her name when they say she is the crooked one. There is plenty of suspense and danger and shooting going on in this story, more than enough to keep any action junkie happy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Roger]

Crossing The Blue Line: A Crime Mystery Thriller, my sixth read from author J.R. Cloice, the best book she's written to date (the second time in a row I've written that)! An enjoyable 198-page read that I completed in one sitting. “I received a complementary Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to reading more from this author as they're published since I've read everything she's written to date. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Constance Norgaard]

Crossing The Blue Line: A Psychological Crime Thriller J.R.Cloice

An interesting police psychological thriller. Corruption at a high level with some sad results. Everyone is after a young police women who happens upon discussing events in the police department. It leads to sad results and family entanglement.

[Kenneth Lingenfelter]

Kim is a police officer that saw her fellow officers with a lot of money. They offer her to join them and she refuses. She is now a target and they are trying to kill her. A page turning thriller that I could not put down.

[Nicole Collins]

The story will keep you involved in the story right till the end. It is definitely worth the read, don't miss out!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.!

[Erma L. Williams]

This is a well written, entertaining book full of thrills and twists. My neighbors were probably wondering what I was reading because I screamed “no” out loud so many times. Read this book when you have some time because you won’t be able to put it down.

[Rhanway]

Heart in your throat!

I couldn't stop reading this story!! The heroine through no fault of her own keeps getting "beaten up" by family, friends and life while doing the right thing time after time! Best ending ever but of course a surprise! Ready for more from Ms. Cloice:)

[Dan Colby]

Enjoyable read. Started just a tad slow for me, but became a page turner rather quickly and became a read that I couldn’t put down. It had me wanting to know how it would end.

[Rosemary Pizzullo]

This book held my interest from the first page to the last. It shows that the people you trust and admire most are the ones you shouldn’t. It also shows that the people you shouldn’t trust are the ones you can only trust. It also shows how people in power can ruin a person's life.
The heroine, Kim Parsons, must learn who she can trust and who she cannot trust as she tries to find proof that she is not guilty of being a part of the corruption in the police force, as she tries not to get caught, or worse – get killed.
Warning: Do not read this book before bedtime, because you won’t be able to get a good night’s rest.
I hope all of J.R. Cloice’s stories are as suspenseful as this one. She is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.