JELLY BRYCE: THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

by Mike Conti

The third and final installment of the JELLY BRYCE Trilogy, The Man in the Mirror follows FBI Special Agent Delf "Jelly" Bryce through the tumultuous war years from 1941 until his death in 1974. Many things changed for Jelly during this time period, as both he and the country he loved matured while dealing with threats both from within and without. This is a story of true courage, amazing physical ability, and personal honor tempered by the inner struggles of a man driven to do the right thing in a world in which that path is not always clear. Inspired by historical events. "Ideally, I suppose every writer of history hopes someone will take their work and improve upon it. I cannot praise Mike Conti’s Jelly Bryce trilogy too highly. He has breathed life into Jelly Bryce in ways my biography could not; ways in which the dry facts of newspaper articles, police reports, personnel files and even interviews of some friends and relatives have fallen short. I only wish Jelly could have read the trilogy. I believe he would have approved." -- Ron Owens Author of "Jelly Bryce, Legendary Lawman"

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2016

Reviews

[Darryl Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jelly Bryce — The Man In The Mirror" is the final instalment in Mike Conti’s Jelly Bryce trilogy and, if you have read the first two, missing out on this one would be like reading a murder mystery and not bothering to read the final chapter to find out whodunnit. For the uninitiated, Jelly Bryce was a legendary lawman who carved out a career, firstly in the Oklahoma City Police Department then with the FBI. His ability as a quick draw shooter as well as his impressive investigative skills made him one of the most memorable law enforcers of his era. But even legends have a private life and Jelly’s was just as fascinating as his day job. He was closely acquainted with his FBI boss, J. Edgar Hoover, not a person easy to get close to. This helped to provide him with incredible insight into the innermost workings of American society at every level; it would be surprising if much of what he gleaned were not taken with him to the grave. Jelly served his country throughout the most interesting periods of the twentieth century: The Great Depression, World War II, the Soviet threat, the rise of Communism, the McCarthy era and the creation of the CIA. "Jelly Bryce — The Man In The Mirror," like the earlier novels in the trilogy, reads like a biography though it is really historical fiction.

Mike Conti, a former lawman himself, has undertaken research of mammoth proportions to write this trilogy, and at times it reads like a history lesson. This latest in the series contains strands of factual material seamlessly woven into the fabric of the fictional tale to produce a life tapestry that is both fascinating and entertaining. At times I thought there was a little too much of Jelly’s personal life which made the story drag somewhat but that said, it does enable the reader to understand just what made the man tick. Jelly wasn’t just a sharp shooter; he was a complex, multi-layered character, possessing an almost super human ability with a gun but having inner conflicts that would occasionally float to the surface. This book, like the earlier ones in the series, is exceptionally well written, hard to put down, and, as a bonus you’ll come away with an in depth knowledge of the life and times of one of the most famous U.S. lawmen of the 20th century.

[Lisa Kearns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third and final book about the life and career of Jelly Bryce is every bit as well researched and written as the first two books (The Legend Begins, and FBI Odyssey - both of which I also reviewed) and I read it almost without stopping over two days. The second book ended with Bryce working for the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, and this one starts in 1941 with his recruitment into the newly formed OSS (precursor to the CIA). As WWII looms, Bryce's years of law enforcement experience and his natural instincts help usher in an entirely new era of espionage and foreign intelligence.

Bryce is middle aged by this point, and has been mentally hardened by his years of fighting bad guys and staying alive by depending on his wits and skills. His personal life has suffered because of his inability to "turn off" after working hours, and his loneliness shows. He has a strained relationship with his son, and also has to face the deaths or retirements of his previous career mentors. His lightning-fast draw and his amazingly acute vision have kept him alive all these years, but he is slowly facing his mortality.

The author does an excellent job of delving into the mind of Jelly Bryce, and portraying the ways that law enforcement changes the people who live it every day. The author is also a former police officer, so his explanations of firearms, ballistics and methods of solving crimes has a very realistic ring to them. I especially liked studying all the photos included in this book, to form a mental image of this national hero.

I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys biographies, books about gunslingers or crime fighting, or stories about the early days of the US learning to protect itself from foreign threats. This book stands alone but I suggest reading the first two books for a complete picture of this intriguing man.