The Drum Within

Denise Aragon #1

by James R. Scarantino

Santa Fe detective Denise Aragon must outsmart and outrun corrupt lawyers and judges to stop a celebrity artist who kills for his supplies. The latest victim is the wife of a man she hates: the cold-hearted criminal lawyer, Walter Fager. For the first time in his life he wants the police to succeed. But his twisted protégé, Marcy Thornton, gleefully defends the killer using maneuvers Fager never imagined. Aragon pits lawyer against lawyer to keep her case on life support and enlists the FBI to bypass a state judge trading rulings for Thornton's sexual favors. The lead FBI agent reminds Aragon too much of the dead boyfriend who haunts her dreams. He wants romance. She can't handle it.

Aragon badly misjudges Fager's grief and Thornton's power. The killing ends. But not the way she planned.

Praise:

"First of a welcome series."—Kirkus Reviews

"The Drum Within is a superb novel, and this is a hearty welcome to an insanely talented newcomer, Jim Scarantino."—Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author

"The Drum Within is a gritty police procedural that will make you rethink everything you know about justice. A tour de force of good guys and bad guys. A masterpiece. I loved it."—Robert Dugoni, #1 Amazon and New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Grave

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2016

About the author

James R. Scarantino is a former prosecutor, defense attorney and investigative reporter. He has lived in Philadelphia and Santa Fe. He currently lives with his wife on the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington.

Reviews

[Elite Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rambling Thoughts of a Madman


Sante Fe Detective Denise Aragon had him – the man who committed cold blooded murder. Artist Cody Geronimo was running from the law, stepped into a heavily shrubbed area and phoned his attorney, Marcy Thornton. Aragon was close enough to record his side of the conversation. It was a clear confession. She played the tape for the court. It was thrown out. The judge ruled it ‘attorney-client privilege’. Now Geronimo is set free. Not only that, upon the judge's complaint to the mayor, both Aragon and her partner, Rick Lewis, were suspended. This doesn’t stop Aragon who is more concerned about seeking justice than following rules and regulations.



This story is a well-thought out debut by James R. Scarantino, who according to his bio, had been a prosecutor, defense attorney, and investigative reporter.


Antagonist, Cody Geronimo’s thoughts were so bizarre, I had to think twice whether they were due to drugs or just the crazed mind of a cold-blooded serial killer. Cody was an established and very successful artist. People who viewed his work either really loved it or really hated it – no middle ground.


I found Aragon to be a knowledgeable and gutsy protagonist. This is different from the standard ‘whodunit’. We know the killer. What we don’t know is the extent to which people will go to in order to pursue or eschew justice. And, the best news is this is the ground floor of a brand new crime series.

Fictionzeal

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

[Diane Coto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sante Fe Detective Denise Aragon had him – the man who committed cold blooded murder. Artist Cody Geronimo was running from the law, stepped into a heavily shrubbed area and phoned his attorney, Marcy Thornton. Aragon was close enough to record his side of the conversation. It was a clear confession. She played the tape for the court. It was thrown out. The judge ruled it ‘attorney-client privilege’. Now Geronimo is set free. Not only that, upon the judge’s complaint to the mayor, both Aragon and her partner, Rick Lewis, were suspended. This doesn’t stop Aragon who is more concerned about seeking justice than following rules and regulations.

This story is a well-thought out debut by James R. Scarantino, who according to his bio, had been a prosecutor, defense attorney, and investigative reporter. Antagonist Cody Geronimo’s thoughts were so bizarre, I had to think twice whether it was due to drugs or just the crazed mind of a cold-blooded serial killer. Cody was an established and very successful artist. People who viewed his work either really loved it or really hated it – no middle ground. I found Aragon to be a knowledgeable and gutsy protagonist. This is different from the standard ‘whodunit’. We know the killer. What we don’t know is the extent to which people will go to in order to pursue or eschew justice. And, the best news is this is the ground floor of a brand new crime series. Rating: 4 out of 5.

[Janka H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noir police procedurals novel about the law and the truth.

Denise Aragon is a good cop, believing in the truth. She is also a tough gal with scars on her soul and ready to fight both criminals and bad guys on the law side. She will need this.

There are two cases waiting for her - one seeming like rape and ritual murder, one clear and obvious murder with the perpetrator culprit positively identified by the phone call to their lawyer - and protected by exactly that, the call to their lawyer, claiming client-lawyer protection.
When her opponents being well-paid lawyers more than well equipped to cover evil and court structures without backbone, the fight against criminals is becoming the fight against the corrupt system as well - and this fight might be a difficult and important battle.

All sounds well, so why just 3 stars? Partly because of the personal preferences - I want my mystery novels being about mysteries, their plot oriented towards the crime-solving. This novel is mostly about the fight with the adversaries known - the corrupt system. And this theme gets repeated too often to be interesting anymore for me, to be honest. I also want to see different heroine than tough-as-nails, strong woman outsmarting and outfighting all the men around. Nothing against the strong women! I just miss the "interesting" factor, nowadays you can see too much of corruption and fierce heroines to wish for something new. More, all of the characters are somehow stereotyphical, using the traditional weapons like lies, sex and power to fight within the system in the need of corrections.
Another reason for 3 stars is the unbalanced "speed" of the novel, it can loose its steam in some parts and the reading feels prolonged.

Having said all that - the novel itself is not bad. It is just not what I had hoped for.

[Geneta Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get hooked until about Chapter 7. I always need a "connection" to the main character to really get into the book. Finally, Scarantino explains why Denise Aragon becomes a cop and I get it. She is a caring person. Not cold, not callous, just broken.

[Jennifer Ridgway · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not my normal fare when it comes to reading, so perhaps there are positive aspects that were lost on me. I liked that it wasn't a "who did it," but rather a "how can we get the charges to stick" angle. The lead detective, Denise Aragon, seemed a little too much of a caricature of what a "tough woman" should be, but I liked that she was intelligent and that she was able to put pieces of a puzzle together when others missed them.

There were passages where I felt a little lost and had to reread, only to discover it wasn't me but rather just jumbled writing. I suspect this may be from being a debut and could improve with time.

I also wish the murderer's character had been a little more developed. He commits these brutal murders against women, but there is no background or reasoning as to why, or why his latest veers from his "normal" pattern.

Those who like police procedurals may find much to like in this, and Scarantino has set up what could become a good series in the category.

[Katherine Hyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like gritty police procedurals with a little green chile on top, you will love this book. Debut author James Scarantino writes like the seasoned pro his protagonist is at her job. While the plot spins at dizzying speed, the author still manages to create memorable, nuanced characters. I'm not always a big fan of tough women cops, and Denise Aragon is as tough as they come; but she's also human, honorable, compassionate, and straight, with a backstory that makes her toughness completely believable. Her relationship with her married partner, Lewis, bids fair to become one of the great cop friendships, with no sexual overtones to muddy the waters, while her budding FBI-agent love interest, Rivera, is a character I look forward to getting to know better. As for the murderer—you've never met one more twisted or seemingly less aware of just how twisted he is. Yet the biggest villain of the book is arguably his lawyer.
You'll be tempted to stay up late reading this book, but beware—it may haunt your dreams.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Santa Fe detective, Denise Aragon finds herself in the middle of a cesspool filled with unethical, corrupt and just plain mean lawyers and judges as she tries to prove that artist Cody Geronimo is a cold blooded serial killer. Throw in the body of another young woman and Denise is dealing with an inept police chief on her own force.

The storyline is a good one but the writing doesn't flow smoothly in all places. There are many instances where I found myself confused and feeling scatterbrained, then all would even out and I would go along with the rhythm of the story. Sometimes the writing seemed uneven and stilted, but I feel this will change over time and experience.

I enjoyed the storyline and hope this will be a continuing series because I want to hear more from Detective Denise Aragon.

Enjoy!