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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 tend to believe it's really only one or two hardnosed, lone wolf detectives shooting, punching or intimidating criminals as they investigate crimes. These television detectives apply justice in their own way and the image fiction has imprinted on our minds is one of fast paced action by rough and tumble fearless officers. These fictional hero's are always at odds with their bosses, politicians and the law as they dish out justice. They also manage to solve every crime in the amount of time allotted for the show's 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 which 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….a complete lack of teamwork. Law enforcement requires a dedicated team of people who possess many different specialized skill sets, working towards the single goal of processing evidence to aide an officer in making a solid arrest.
There are specialized segments of police work which 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 who search for the answers to who, what, where, when and most importantly why of crimes. Shadow people must be as dedicated, just as driven and determined as the officers they work for. Their knowledge of whatever specialized area they work in must produce accurate evidence for the investigator to work with and must 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 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 very personal goal of his own he buys the equipment of his trade and sets up shop. CW 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 which will force him to reopen an investigation which has haunted him and his friend Cliff. A case which quickly becomes much more than either bargained for. Cliff is a sworn law officer from a medium sized police 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 case so many times, that they know the box's contents by heart. A chance encounter with two other cold cases and theirs, launches a frantic search for serial killers...a very successful group of sadistic killers who're on a mission. A mission which brutally ends the lives of young girls who are relatives of policemen.
You will be 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 investigation. You be part of the desperate race against time, as the investigation starts and then builds with each piece of information found and ends in the arrest phase.
Real life police work is not for the faint of heart and it is work. Mind numbing work which 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….a complete lack of teamwork. Law enforcement requires a dedicated team of people who possess many different specialized skill sets, working towards the single goal of processing evidence to aide an officer in making a solid arrest.
There are specialized segments of police work which 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 who search for the answers to who, what, where, when and most importantly why of crimes. Shadow people must be as dedicated, just as driven and determined as the officers they work for. Their knowledge of whatever specialized area they work in must produce accurate evidence for the investigator to work with and must 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 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 very personal goal of his own he buys the equipment of his trade and sets up shop. CW 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 which will force him to reopen an investigation which has haunted him and his friend Cliff. A case which quickly becomes much more than either bargained for. Cliff is a sworn law officer from a medium sized police 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 case so many times, that they know the box's contents by heart. A chance encounter with two other cold cases and theirs, launches a frantic search for serial killers...a very successful group of sadistic killers who're on a mission. A mission which brutally ends the lives of young girls who are relatives of policemen.
You will be 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 investigation. You be part of the desperate race against time, as the investigation starts and then builds with each piece of information found and ends in the arrest phase.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 21, 2013
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 18, 2016
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.
Displaying 1 of 1 review