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Trevor Finnegan #1
Under Color of Law
The murder of a police recruit pins a Black LAPD detective in a deadly web where race, corruption, violence, and cover-ups intersect in this relevant, razor-sharp novel of suspense.
Black rookie cop Trevor “Finn” Finnegan aspires to become a top-ranking officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and fix a broken department. A fast-track promotion to detective in the coveted Robbery-Homicide Division puts him closer to achieving his goal.
Four years later, calls for police accountability rule the headlines. The city is teeming with protests for racial justice. When the body of a murdered Black academy recruit is found in the Angeles National Forest, Finn is tasked to investigate.
As pressure mounts to solve the crime and avoid a PR nightmare, Finn scours the underbelly of a volatile city where power, violence, and race intersect. But it’s Finn’s past experience as a beat cop that may hold the key to solving the recruit’s murder. The price? The end of Finn’s career…or his life.
Black rookie cop Trevor “Finn” Finnegan aspires to become a top-ranking officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and fix a broken department. A fast-track promotion to detective in the coveted Robbery-Homicide Division puts him closer to achieving his goal.
Four years later, calls for police accountability rule the headlines. The city is teeming with protests for racial justice. When the body of a murdered Black academy recruit is found in the Angeles National Forest, Finn is tasked to investigate.
As pressure mounts to solve the crime and avoid a PR nightmare, Finn scours the underbelly of a volatile city where power, violence, and race intersect. But it’s Finn’s past experience as a beat cop that may hold the key to solving the recruit’s murder. The price? The end of Finn’s career…or his life.
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First published October 1, 2021
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About the author
Aaron Philip Clark
11 books170 followersAaron Philip Clark is a native of Los Angeles, CA. He is a novelist, screenwriter, and former recruit of the Los Angeles Police Department. His first novel, THE SCIENCE OF PAUL: A Novel of Crime (New Pulp Press), was published in 2011. The debut was met with interest and acclaim. Clark followed THE SCIENCE OF PAUL with A HEALTHY FEAR OF MAN (Snubnose Press), published the following year. Both novels featured the morally plagued and emotionally damaged ex-con, Paul Little, as he fought to escape the perils of Philadelphia street culture and return to his deceased grandfather’s farm in North Carolina.
After leaving his career in law enforcement, Clark returned to higher education and continued his work as an educator teaching college-level English, Creative Writing, and Humanities. During this time, Clark wrote UNDER COLOR OF LAW, a police thriller inspired by his experiences with the LAPD. The novel centered on Det. Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, a Black LAPD detective, who is tasked with investigating the murder of a young Black academy recruit amid protests against police brutality and calls for reform. The novel won the 2021 Book Pipeline Adaptation Award and was nominated for the 2022 Best Paperback Original International Thriller Writers Award. BLUE LIKE ME, the second Trevor Finnegan novel, was published on November 8, 2022, by Thomas & Mercer. The third novel in the series, THE BLUEST NIGHT, will be published on October 7, 2025.
To learn more about Aaron Philip Clark, visit www.AaronPhilipClark.com and follow him on social media @_realapcbooks (Twitter).
After leaving his career in law enforcement, Clark returned to higher education and continued his work as an educator teaching college-level English, Creative Writing, and Humanities. During this time, Clark wrote UNDER COLOR OF LAW, a police thriller inspired by his experiences with the LAPD. The novel centered on Det. Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, a Black LAPD detective, who is tasked with investigating the murder of a young Black academy recruit amid protests against police brutality and calls for reform. The novel won the 2021 Book Pipeline Adaptation Award and was nominated for the 2022 Best Paperback Original International Thriller Writers Award. BLUE LIKE ME, the second Trevor Finnegan novel, was published on November 8, 2022, by Thomas & Mercer. The third novel in the series, THE BLUEST NIGHT, will be published on October 7, 2025.
To learn more about Aaron Philip Clark, visit www.AaronPhilipClark.com and follow him on social media @_realapcbooks (Twitter).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 292 reviews
April 20, 2022
I need to think about how to write this one up. I like Clark's writing and I like the bones of this story, but there are some things that I didn't enjoy as much as I had hoped. I wanted to be more firmly behind Finn and his struggles but I had a hard time being empathetic to him. That lack of wanting to fully cheer for him is an odd feeling for me because in essence Finn is a young Black man wanting to succeed in a police department notorious for corruption and racism and he does get over on them by being made a detective young and quick. You'd think that would make me be happy for the character, but somehow it didn't. It's how/why he does it and his shaky respect for his father (whish isn't completely unearned) that's giving me issues. I haven't sorted it out yet but I will be getting book 2 when it releases to see how it continues.
Would I recommend this one? Yes, I am actually thinking of re-reading it to see if it was my mood that kept me off kilter while reading it.
Full review to come.
***I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.***
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Would I recommend this one? Yes, I am actually thinking of re-reading it to see if it was my mood that kept me off kilter while reading it.
Full review to come.
***I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.***
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
November 5, 2021
Real Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because I'll read the next one
I received this title as part of Amazon's First Reads program. It was a month where I, completely uncharacteristically, couldn't make up my mind which of two stories I wanted to read. One was set in Nebraska, one in LA. I have no fondness for either place, having spent more time in both than I would ever have chosen to. But the stories sounded equally compelling.
I set up a poll on my LibraryThing thread after two days of dithering back and forth and being unable to commit to either read. This is so utterly uncharacteristic, so fantastically Not Me, that I was really not sure how I'd come to this pass. Still, my LT buddies voted in their droves, and at the end of the day this title won by, what, four votes? Under ten percent of the total, anyway.
The story is one I'd guess was in the author's trunk for a while. It doesn't feel like something written in a comfortable state of remove from the subject. It's much more immediate, and therefore probably created closer to the time it depicts...Obama Halloween masks!...but it's no less urgent for that.
It really shows that this author is also a screenwriter. His first pages are a lights-and-sirens, pursuit-copter assisted chase that whipped past as fast as it would've on screen. The major notes in the symphony the author's prepared for us are clear; the problem he's decided to write about couldn't (sad to say) still be more timely. What isn't ordinary is the PoV of a cop, a Black cop, on police brutality. On the department's culture, on what it means to try to be a Good Cop, a good Black man, and a decent human being in a system that has little room for any of those identities.
Trevor "Finn" Finnegan stepped off the straight and narrow early in his career at LAPD. What he did is not a mystery; but you should find out from his story. The results of his compromise are simple: He climbed the ladder faster than a Black man should've and is roundly resented by all for it. He has a toxic relationship to his "high yellow" father (and hasn't it been an age since I've heard that term!), an ex-LAPD officer, that was always going to be fraught but never got better. Neither knew how to make it so...his mother's early death didn't help. The men aren't going to be besties, but they have a basic world-view compatibility: No one gives you nothing, just decide how much you'll pay for it.
But what Finn decides to pay is a price that doesn't make for good reading...or living. What happens as a result of this price, this devil's bargain, is devastating. It changes everything. I think it's a change for the better, but that's by no means sure....
Why this is only getting a 3.5-star rating from me comes down to the ghastly sexual politics. There's a pair of women with whom horndog Trevor is involved, in a weird off-kilter way, and his actions do not speak well of him. In relation to one of the women, he all but throws her privileged whiteness in her face while enacting, apparently unironically, male privilege in its most extreme form. He then imagines the other woman in his life will condone, forgive, and accept his bad behavior...and Author Clark's construct of her makes that not improbable. Ugh.
My revolted reservations aside, the writing is deft, it fails to fall into speechification as it sometimes hints at doing, and the plot is one I feel strongly needs to be told. Good people doing bad things for what they tell themselves are noble aims is an evergreen because it's not just relatable it's instructive. I'll read the next book in what promises to be a very interesting series.
I received this title as part of Amazon's First Reads program. It was a month where I, completely uncharacteristically, couldn't make up my mind which of two stories I wanted to read. One was set in Nebraska, one in LA. I have no fondness for either place, having spent more time in both than I would ever have chosen to. But the stories sounded equally compelling.
I set up a poll on my LibraryThing thread after two days of dithering back and forth and being unable to commit to either read. This is so utterly uncharacteristic, so fantastically Not Me, that I was really not sure how I'd come to this pass. Still, my LT buddies voted in their droves, and at the end of the day this title won by, what, four votes? Under ten percent of the total, anyway.
The story is one I'd guess was in the author's trunk for a while. It doesn't feel like something written in a comfortable state of remove from the subject. It's much more immediate, and therefore probably created closer to the time it depicts...Obama Halloween masks!...but it's no less urgent for that.
It really shows that this author is also a screenwriter. His first pages are a lights-and-sirens, pursuit-copter assisted chase that whipped past as fast as it would've on screen. The major notes in the symphony the author's prepared for us are clear; the problem he's decided to write about couldn't (sad to say) still be more timely. What isn't ordinary is the PoV of a cop, a Black cop, on police brutality. On the department's culture, on what it means to try to be a Good Cop, a good Black man, and a decent human being in a system that has little room for any of those identities.
Trevor "Finn" Finnegan stepped off the straight and narrow early in his career at LAPD. What he did is not a mystery; but you should find out from his story. The results of his compromise are simple: He climbed the ladder faster than a Black man should've and is roundly resented by all for it. He has a toxic relationship to his "high yellow" father (and hasn't it been an age since I've heard that term!), an ex-LAPD officer, that was always going to be fraught but never got better. Neither knew how to make it so...his mother's early death didn't help. The men aren't going to be besties, but they have a basic world-view compatibility: No one gives you nothing, just decide how much you'll pay for it.
But what Finn decides to pay is a price that doesn't make for good reading...or living. What happens as a result of this price, this devil's bargain, is devastating. It changes everything. I think it's a change for the better, but that's by no means sure....
Why this is only getting a 3.5-star rating from me comes down to the ghastly sexual politics. There's a pair of women with whom horndog Trevor is involved, in a weird off-kilter way, and his actions do not speak well of him. In relation to one of the women, he all but throws her privileged whiteness in her face while enacting, apparently unironically, male privilege in its most extreme form. He then imagines the other woman in his life will condone, forgive, and accept his bad behavior...and Author Clark's construct of her makes that not improbable. Ugh.
My revolted reservations aside, the writing is deft, it fails to fall into speechification as it sometimes hints at doing, and the plot is one I feel strongly needs to be told. Good people doing bad things for what they tell themselves are noble aims is an evergreen because it's not just relatable it's instructive. I'll read the next book in what promises to be a very interesting series.
April 3, 2022
It has been awhile since I have read such a well written novel that integrates the reality of today with the honest self introspection of a character that plucks the strings of my heart. He is not a good person or bad he is human with all the attributes that brings to mind. The author brings this character alive through the person of a black LAPD detective who must reveal his guilty actions to live with himself during his investigation of a murdered black police recruit. I highly recommend this read and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
October 18, 2021
I had no idea what to expect when Aaron Philip Clark approached me and asked if I would be willing to read and review his book, but boy am I glad that I took a chance on it because it is absolutely incredible. It is powerful, mesmerizing, and heartbreaking all at the same time. In fact, I finished this one over a week ago, but I’m STILL getting lost in my thoughts thinking about it. This one, without a doubt, is completely read-worthy and gets ALL the stars!
Under Color of Law is the first book in a new detective series by Aaron Philip Clark, following Detective Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, a black police officer in the LAPD whose aim is to try and fix the broken and morally corrupt police department. Four years ago, Finn (as a rookie) witnessed a horrific crime done by his fellow officers (one being his training officer). When he tries to report it to the department, he is immediately bribed into changing his story, ultimately leading him to get a fast-tracked promotion to detective. However, this whole incident ends up resurfacing when he is tasked as the lead detective of a new case—a black LAPD recruit, who has not yet made the force, is found naked and murdered along a hiking trail. Over the course of the book, it is revealed that this recruit was murdered by one of their own, and the story that unfolds is absolutely heartbreaking, but also SO powerful.
Although this book is fictional, you can tell that it is HEAVILY influenced by the recent events involving police brutality and by the Black Lives Matter movement. It is set in 2014-2015, around the time that Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in New York (his murder is even referenced in the book), but you can tell that the events of 2020 were at the front of Clark’s mind as he was writing this book.
This book is thrilling and suspenseful. It’s jam-packed with action. It’s entertaining, but absolutely horrific at the same time because of how real the events that take place are. There’s an array of characters—some lovable and inspiring, while there are some that you will hate. This book will have you absolutely GLUED to the pages from the moment you start it. I cannot wait to see where Aaron takes Finn, and the rest of the characters, in the next instalment of this series.
A huge thanks goes to Aaron Philip Clark for gifting me an advanced copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.
Under Color of Law is the first book in a new detective series by Aaron Philip Clark, following Detective Trevor “Finn” Finnegan, a black police officer in the LAPD whose aim is to try and fix the broken and morally corrupt police department. Four years ago, Finn (as a rookie) witnessed a horrific crime done by his fellow officers (one being his training officer). When he tries to report it to the department, he is immediately bribed into changing his story, ultimately leading him to get a fast-tracked promotion to detective. However, this whole incident ends up resurfacing when he is tasked as the lead detective of a new case—a black LAPD recruit, who has not yet made the force, is found naked and murdered along a hiking trail. Over the course of the book, it is revealed that this recruit was murdered by one of their own, and the story that unfolds is absolutely heartbreaking, but also SO powerful.
Although this book is fictional, you can tell that it is HEAVILY influenced by the recent events involving police brutality and by the Black Lives Matter movement. It is set in 2014-2015, around the time that Eric Garner was killed by a police officer in New York (his murder is even referenced in the book), but you can tell that the events of 2020 were at the front of Clark’s mind as he was writing this book.
This book is thrilling and suspenseful. It’s jam-packed with action. It’s entertaining, but absolutely horrific at the same time because of how real the events that take place are. There’s an array of characters—some lovable and inspiring, while there are some that you will hate. This book will have you absolutely GLUED to the pages from the moment you start it. I cannot wait to see where Aaron takes Finn, and the rest of the characters, in the next instalment of this series.
A huge thanks goes to Aaron Philip Clark for gifting me an advanced copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.
January 18, 2023
*Act of Remorse*
Trevor Finnegan Aka “Finn” is a rookie police officer working in Los Angeles. There is a lot of racial tension in the city and he witnesses something that confirms racial problems within the force with some of the officers. What he sees is a serious and brutal attack via the very officers who were training him. Because of what he witnessed to buy his silence he is rewarded with a fast tracked promotion to detective. His father was also in the force and after Finn’s mother passes it becomes clear that she was the glue that held them together.
Fast forward four years and racial tensions are still running high between the police force and the public. A black police recruit is found dead, he was murdered this serves to ramp up the tension and under pressure to solve the case the police give the job to Finn concerned about optics and this is the case that will make or break Finn.
While Finn takes his role seriously what he does not bank on is that as he is getting closer solving the case the more the guilty want to stop him.
All hell breaks out and when a damming piece of evidence turns up he has to decide to either bury the evidence or go ahead with it even though it could mean the end of the career he so loves….
Trevor Finnegan Aka “Finn” is a rookie police officer working in Los Angeles. There is a lot of racial tension in the city and he witnesses something that confirms racial problems within the force with some of the officers. What he sees is a serious and brutal attack via the very officers who were training him. Because of what he witnessed to buy his silence he is rewarded with a fast tracked promotion to detective. His father was also in the force and after Finn’s mother passes it becomes clear that she was the glue that held them together.
Fast forward four years and racial tensions are still running high between the police force and the public. A black police recruit is found dead, he was murdered this serves to ramp up the tension and under pressure to solve the case the police give the job to Finn concerned about optics and this is the case that will make or break Finn.
While Finn takes his role seriously what he does not bank on is that as he is getting closer solving the case the more the guilty want to stop him.
All hell breaks out and when a damming piece of evidence turns up he has to decide to either bury the evidence or go ahead with it even though it could mean the end of the career he so loves….
January 28, 2022
3.5 stars.
Morally compromised and closed off with everyone he knows is a good way to describe the main character of this compelling story. Trevor Finnegan is a LAPD detective, and is called out to the suspicious death of a young, black man, who it turns out is a trainee police officer. During the course of the investigation, Trevor discovers links going back to a case Trevor was on as a rookie; it evokes bad memories, and was in many ways a defining case for his trajectory as a police officer.
I've never read anything by this author before; I liked how he pulled me into this story right away, and showed the tensions within the LAPD and the reactions to the LAPD. Also, I really liked how Aaron Philip Clark showed us the tensions within Trevor, a Black man who is also a policeman, who feels frustration with the public's perception of the LAPD, even while Finn knows there are problems within the force.
I'm eager to read more about Trevor, despite the fact that he's a difficult person to like for much of the book, as he's wedded to his anger and uses the anger to justify some of his poor decisions, and is unwilling to commit to caring about anyone or anything, including his former love of painting. The author, however, handled a turn in Trevor's views and feelings well, and left me wanting to know what's next for this interesting and conflicted character.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Morally compromised and closed off with everyone he knows is a good way to describe the main character of this compelling story. Trevor Finnegan is a LAPD detective, and is called out to the suspicious death of a young, black man, who it turns out is a trainee police officer. During the course of the investigation, Trevor discovers links going back to a case Trevor was on as a rookie; it evokes bad memories, and was in many ways a defining case for his trajectory as a police officer.
I've never read anything by this author before; I liked how he pulled me into this story right away, and showed the tensions within the LAPD and the reactions to the LAPD. Also, I really liked how Aaron Philip Clark showed us the tensions within Trevor, a Black man who is also a policeman, who feels frustration with the public's perception of the LAPD, even while Finn knows there are problems within the force.
I'm eager to read more about Trevor, despite the fact that he's a difficult person to like for much of the book, as he's wedded to his anger and uses the anger to justify some of his poor decisions, and is unwilling to commit to caring about anyone or anything, including his former love of painting. The author, however, handled a turn in Trevor's views and feelings well, and left me wanting to know what's next for this interesting and conflicted character.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.
October 31, 2021
Under Color of Law was a very eye opening mystery thriller. In today's world, it's not hard to see anyone in power not being corrupt. Especially when it comes to the police. In it, you will meet Trevor. He is a detective thrown into a case that links him back to a case where he was a rookie.
Each twist and turn kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked how things were tying back to when he was first starting. It definitely made things interesting and it hurt my heart at times too. The deep and dark things that are kept hidden but are brought into the light definitely makes you sit back and think on all the hard things in life.
If you can't trust a police officer when you are in trouble.. who can you trust?
In the end, I liked what Trevor did in the end because people thought they wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It was definitely worth the read/listen and I'm so happy that I dove into this one.
Each twist and turn kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked how things were tying back to when he was first starting. It definitely made things interesting and it hurt my heart at times too. The deep and dark things that are kept hidden but are brought into the light definitely makes you sit back and think on all the hard things in life.
If you can't trust a police officer when you are in trouble.. who can you trust?
In the end, I liked what Trevor did in the end because people thought they wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of their actions. It was definitely worth the read/listen and I'm so happy that I dove into this one.
September 11, 2021
This is a story about how a man or woman, can lose their way in life. Enter Trevor Finnigan, a black detective in LA , who found himself in an unforgivable place as a rookie. He falsified a report to back the play of his supervisor & 2 other officers. This action, of course, comes back to bite in the butt as so often it does. He explains why he did it, but humans have an unlimited supply of rationalizations to support their behavior. He is basically a good man. That is why some of his choices are so devastating to him. This is a great read. Enjoy!
September 8, 2021
Tense, well-written mystery that offers the reader truths about LAPD, LA, and, realities of living in the city.
Great, honest tale about crime and bravery and second chances. Clark provides the reader with a powerful sense of the police department's history and resistance to change.
Ill read again - and more of his books.
Great, honest tale about crime and bravery and second chances. Clark provides the reader with a powerful sense of the police department's history and resistance to change.
Ill read again - and more of his books.
September 9, 2021
A+
This is a terrific job. I don't know if it's the writing, the plot, the characters, or all of the above. If you enjoyed Bluebird, Bluebird, this is a must read. Can't wait for next in the series
This is a terrific job. I don't know if it's the writing, the plot, the characters, or all of the above. If you enjoyed Bluebird, Bluebird, this is a must read. Can't wait for next in the series
November 5, 2023
Review later 4.75 stars... The story was my first by this author, and I will be back. The suspense and the mystery part were well done. Finnegan had too many balls to juggle, and I knew something would fall in the end. The ancillary characters kept me flipping pages, and digging deeper into each episode. Finnegan's dad was a bitter pill and his co-workers were unscrupulous. The race issues were center stage for most of this story.
Side Note: It is easy to determine a male-written story from a female. The 'voice' is very different. Nothing negative, it's just different.
The limited intimacy was fine in the context of this story. I recommend this story. 4.75 stars.
Side Note: It is easy to determine a male-written story from a female. The 'voice' is very different. Nothing negative, it's just different.
The limited intimacy was fine in the context of this story. I recommend this story. 4.75 stars.
August 17, 2022
Very timely police procedural novel👌🏽
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
Performance: 5 out of 5 stars
Story: 5 out of 5 stars
I discovered this author via a crime-thriller panel he participated in at the 2022 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I was intrigued by the fact that he'd been a trainee before deciding to become an author. To me, his knowledge and plot choices (issues striped from recent headlines as well as infamous past ones) combined well.
I admired the narrator's willingness to give each character a different vocal style. The father character was hands down my favorite voice he did in addition to the MC.
I was impressed overall and will continue this series via audiobook. My pre-order on Audible is official.
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
Performance: 5 out of 5 stars
Story: 5 out of 5 stars
I discovered this author via a crime-thriller panel he participated in at the 2022 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I was intrigued by the fact that he'd been a trainee before deciding to become an author. To me, his knowledge and plot choices (issues striped from recent headlines as well as infamous past ones) combined well.
I admired the narrator's willingness to give each character a different vocal style. The father character was hands down my favorite voice he did in addition to the MC.
I was impressed overall and will continue this series via audiobook. My pre-order on Audible is official.
March 16, 2025
I do not have a criminal mind; therefore, this book opened my eyes to corruption within the LAPD and the violence officers face to protect the community. There is much conflict within officers on the blue wall, people, families, and life in general. In the long run peace officers are people with human emotions.
Brandon Soledad is a black academy recruit who is found murdered in the Angeles National Forest naked and frozen. Trevor "Finn" Finnegan a young black detective is working the case alone to find the killer. It becomes the most crucial four days of his life. To find the killer he must expose the dark side of policing. A good read.
Quotes:
We're a wall that keeps the crime in Inglewood and property values in Westchester stable.
"Gut feelings are important. Never steer me wrong."
It can be satisfying to pull out the badge and watch the faces of those who question my presence go from authoritative sneers to hopeless confusion.
"Seriously?" he asks, looking at the bill, unimpressed.
I don't know if the collective us means black people or just black cops.
Murder is extreme, but love or even just good sex has a way of making people lose whatever sense they might've had.
"The only thing that separates a cop and a convict is getting caught."
My voice is spiked with resentment. "And no one will ever question if you're supposed to be there."
"Detective Finnegan , as your attorney, I don't need to know your reasons, only the facts."
Brandon Soledad is a black academy recruit who is found murdered in the Angeles National Forest naked and frozen. Trevor "Finn" Finnegan a young black detective is working the case alone to find the killer. It becomes the most crucial four days of his life. To find the killer he must expose the dark side of policing. A good read.
Quotes:
We're a wall that keeps the crime in Inglewood and property values in Westchester stable.
"Gut feelings are important. Never steer me wrong."
It can be satisfying to pull out the badge and watch the faces of those who question my presence go from authoritative sneers to hopeless confusion.
"Seriously?" he asks, looking at the bill, unimpressed.
I don't know if the collective us means black people or just black cops.
Murder is extreme, but love or even just good sex has a way of making people lose whatever sense they might've had.
"The only thing that separates a cop and a convict is getting caught."
My voice is spiked with resentment. "And no one will ever question if you're supposed to be there."
"Detective Finnegan , as your attorney, I don't need to know your reasons, only the facts."
October 17, 2021
This was a great book. I read it quickly and was engaged the whole time. Even though you learn pretty quickly who dunnit, you don’t know WHY which was intriguing. Poor Trevor. Man, does he go through it. The book is pretty straightforward with some good twists, but mostly it shines with its political and social commentary. It was a beautiful and heartbreaking book. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series!
January 13, 2022
If you enjoyed Under Color of Law, you'll love my interview with Aaron on the Crime Writers of Color podcast.
Listen here: https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/c...
Listen here: https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/c...
October 12, 2023
It took me a while to finish this one, but not through any fault of the book, or writer's. In fact, this was a great, quick read, with just enough character development, action and issue-driven plotlines to keep me engaged throughout. I loved that the author seems to know Los Angeles like the back of his hand, and describes well its labyrinth of highways and byways, neighborhoods and enclaves. I felt like I was there, but not only that; I got a sense of the culture of the place as well. But more than all that, I'm excited to read more from this author just to see the further development of the MC, Detective Trevor "Finn" Finnegan. I especially liked that interspersed with lots of believable action related to the central conflict, there were also great scenes portraying Finn's interpersonal conflicts; with his father, the woman he's just sleeping with, and with another whom he's always loved.
Finn isn't just torn by being Black and an LAPD detective, he's tortured by a decision he made long ago when he was a rookie, to turn a blind eye to a case of excessive force in return for a fast-track to making detective. Ever since then, he's been conflicted and filled with self-hatred, wavering between wanting to be the kind of cop that "changes things from the inside" and the kind who is sometimes complicit in the worst kind of behavior by other members of the 'brotherhood'. Trevor's self-loathing also originates from another place entirely (which you'll have to read the book to find out about for yourself) and one that he struggles every day to contain. Then he catches a job involving the murder of a Black police recruit, killed while in the police academy. Finn suspects almost immediately that the perpetrator may be law enforcement which reignites all his conflicted emotions about being a cop.
I loved that this book tackled head-on the unique conundrum of Black police officers, working in an institution originated almost solely with the desire to control Black and brown communities and to protect and serve primarily white ones. The legacy of those origins, still present in law enforcement today, are explored with a deft touch but also an undercurrent of what I suspect may be the author's own internal conflict (having been a police recruit himself) and lingering anger. Like most people, I have read (and seen on film) many depictions of Black cops who seem fully bought into the notion that they are unequivocally the "good guys", and I always wondered whether Black police officers truly believe it, or are nursing some very troubling emotions underneath it all. Well, Finn is definitely nursing those kinds of emotions, and it was gratifying as well as interesting to see it depicted so unflinchingly.
I look forward to reading more of this series, and of this author in general. The uncommon admission that the criminal justice system can be rocky terrain even for the Black people on the "right" side of it makes this a book worth reading. I recommend it.
Finn isn't just torn by being Black and an LAPD detective, he's tortured by a decision he made long ago when he was a rookie, to turn a blind eye to a case of excessive force in return for a fast-track to making detective. Ever since then, he's been conflicted and filled with self-hatred, wavering between wanting to be the kind of cop that "changes things from the inside" and the kind who is sometimes complicit in the worst kind of behavior by other members of the 'brotherhood'. Trevor's self-loathing also originates from another place entirely (which you'll have to read the book to find out about for yourself) and one that he struggles every day to contain. Then he catches a job involving the murder of a Black police recruit, killed while in the police academy. Finn suspects almost immediately that the perpetrator may be law enforcement which reignites all his conflicted emotions about being a cop.
I loved that this book tackled head-on the unique conundrum of Black police officers, working in an institution originated almost solely with the desire to control Black and brown communities and to protect and serve primarily white ones. The legacy of those origins, still present in law enforcement today, are explored with a deft touch but also an undercurrent of what I suspect may be the author's own internal conflict (having been a police recruit himself) and lingering anger. Like most people, I have read (and seen on film) many depictions of Black cops who seem fully bought into the notion that they are unequivocally the "good guys", and I always wondered whether Black police officers truly believe it, or are nursing some very troubling emotions underneath it all. Well, Finn is definitely nursing those kinds of emotions, and it was gratifying as well as interesting to see it depicted so unflinchingly.
I look forward to reading more of this series, and of this author in general. The uncommon admission that the criminal justice system can be rocky terrain even for the Black people on the "right" side of it makes this a book worth reading. I recommend it.
May 3, 2025
Whoa!
Like I’ve always said “there’s good and bad in every profession” but once you start blaming everyone for what a few do it becomes such a mess that you can’t trust anyone.
Trevor did screw up when he didn’t open his mouth right from the beginning. If you omit something it always ends up doing worse damage than you think.
I enjoyed the emotional reaction from Trevor and I hope that I get to see more from this character because I believe he’ll get better and better with his career and his personal relationship.
Recommended by La Tonya. Thank you!
Like I’ve always said “there’s good and bad in every profession” but once you start blaming everyone for what a few do it becomes such a mess that you can’t trust anyone.
Trevor did screw up when he didn’t open his mouth right from the beginning. If you omit something it always ends up doing worse damage than you think.
I enjoyed the emotional reaction from Trevor and I hope that I get to see more from this character because I believe he’ll get better and better with his career and his personal relationship.
Recommended by La Tonya. Thank you!
October 31, 2022
This is the beginning of a new crime fiction series featuring LAPD homicide detective Trevor Finnegan. Finn is a good man who hasn’t always done the right thing, but those decisions haunt him and he wants to change. This is set in 2014, but the political and racial climate described in the book surrounding the police could just as easily be set to today. This series is off to a great start.
September 7, 2021
Author Aaron Philip Clark gives readers a gut wrenching crime novel about the LAPD, the separate rules that still exist today for people of color in the street, in the station and in society at large. The emotional toll taken on an African American legacy detective is described in heartbreaking detail and surrounded by a cleverly written multi crime story. It’s technically fiction but based in painful truths. I recommend this story for all readers who want to examine their values, their critical thinking and their societal reactions in today’s world.
September 8, 2021
Excellent reading
Under Color of Law is a sharp edged page turner of a novel. Trevor Finnegan is a black Los Angeles detective whose soul is at odds with his job. Clark’s characterization of Detective Finnegan and the LA police department encourages his readers to consider thought provoking issues while working through two murders. Highly recommended.
Under Color of Law is a sharp edged page turner of a novel. Trevor Finnegan is a black Los Angeles detective whose soul is at odds with his job. Clark’s characterization of Detective Finnegan and the LA police department encourages his readers to consider thought provoking issues while working through two murders. Highly recommended.
September 5, 2021
A book worth reading!
The underlying story of the people of color being treated differently and held down in upward mobility in the LAPD is very telling.
The author seems to be speaking some from personal experience but at the same time weave an interesting tale.
The underlying story of the people of color being treated differently and held down in upward mobility in the LAPD is very telling.
The author seems to be speaking some from personal experience but at the same time weave an interesting tale.
September 6, 2021
A different and needed take on the homicide detective
Detective Finnegan is an important view point in crime fiction, especially for those of us accustomed to reading the traditional white male police structure in crime novels.
Detective Finnegan is an important view point in crime fiction, especially for those of us accustomed to reading the traditional white male police structure in crime novels.
March 21, 2025
This started off as a great police procedural but lost its way in the middle and ended with a thud. Finn is a young black cop who has advanced quickly to the suspicion of others on the force. We eventually learn that he turned a blind eye when his superior officers, Garcia & Boston, beat a black man to death. Finn, now a detective, is called in to work on a homicide of a police academy student named Brandon. His body was frozen to death and then dumped on a hiking trail. As Finn's investigation continues, all signs point to his death being related to the academy, especially when he learns that Garcia is working there. Brandon was friends with a fellow recruit and might have been interested in her romantically and then Finn figures out that she is having an affair with Garcia. Is Brandon dead because he tried to stop the affair? Finn is warned that night that he is getting too close to the truth when he is shot with a bean bag round from a shot gun, a weapon used in academy drills. This proves that he is on the right path and he goes after Garcia and tries to arrest him but has to box with him first, which is ridiculous considering he has broken ribs and a collapsed lung from the shooting, and then he has to chase Garcia in a high speed romp in the early morning hours which ends in Garcia's death when he is thrown from his motorcycle. The department wants to pin everything on Garcia and close the murder case but Finn can't let it go, especially once he finds out that as a teenager Brendon witnessed and recorded the killing of the black man when Finn was just a rookie. Brandon recognized Garcia and must have confronted him and that is why he is dead. But the department doesn't want anything to do with it and suspends Finn. Finn confronts Boston and knows that Brandon was killed in the cryochamber of her new gym but he knows that he doesn't have any evidence. He gives all of his evidence to a lawyer who represents people who sue the department but before anything can come of it Finn is stabbed when riots break out over Garcia being the only one held responsible for Brandon's death. Once he recovers, Finn is on his way to being fired since he can no longer perform his duties. The book ends with him accepting a job from the lawyer to help him fight police corruption. There is another book in the series but I don't think that I will continue with it. Just too many implausible things in this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2022
Sometimes you've known about a book too long for it to live up to what you hope. I heard Clark speak about this one years ago on a podcast when it was still being written and given how much I enjoyed The Furious Way it was easy to get swept up in self-made hype.
Detective Trevor "Finn" Finnegan catches the case that could make his career after the discovery of a LAPD Academy trainee's body. Finn and the body are both black and given LA's history and the nature of the genre, there is more to unpack here than first imagined.
There is something strangely lacking in Finn and I can't decide if it is intentional or not. Clark may be looking to show how much is taken from a person when they decide to become a police officer, to the point where Finn appears to have little personality or interests besides, which ultimately bleeds into how he treats women, specifically Tori.
The other jarring thing is that while excellently written, the backstory between Finn and Sarada feels like it should be spread across a bit more of the book with it being told before and after a rather inconsequential meeting at Sarada's bakery and meaning that Finn doesn't question anybody in the murder case outside the victim's three family members for the first third of the book.
The messaging of the book gets somewhat lost towards the end as we are treated to almost endless escalations of actions resulting from the case. The final chapter itself is intriguing in terms of where things could go in the sequel and ultimately had me interested to see this character grow, especially if my theory on his lack occuring due to his plunging his whole self into being a police officer.
Detective Trevor "Finn" Finnegan catches the case that could make his career after the discovery of a LAPD Academy trainee's body. Finn and the body are both black and given LA's history and the nature of the genre, there is more to unpack here than first imagined.
There is something strangely lacking in Finn and I can't decide if it is intentional or not. Clark may be looking to show how much is taken from a person when they decide to become a police officer, to the point where Finn appears to have little personality or interests besides, which ultimately bleeds into how he treats women, specifically Tori.
The other jarring thing is that while excellently written, the backstory between Finn and Sarada feels like it should be spread across a bit more of the book with it being told before and after a rather inconsequential meeting at Sarada's bakery and meaning that Finn doesn't question anybody in the murder case outside the victim's three family members for the first third of the book.
The messaging of the book gets somewhat lost towards the end as we are treated to almost endless escalations of actions resulting from the case. The final chapter itself is intriguing in terms of where things could go in the sequel and ultimately had me interested to see this character grow, especially if my theory on his lack occuring due to his plunging his whole self into being a police officer.
December 18, 2022
Too by-the-numbers for me. This is pulp fiction but with no weirdness or passion that can sometimes elevate genre fiction.
In the early chapters, I thought it might be like a Harry Bosch book but from a black author and with a black detective. There's a cop who doesn't play well with others who is assigned a sensitive case and there's driving around LA with what freeways and streets are being taken to get to each place, but the structure felt off to me from the start, to me.
Instead of jumping into the case, pages and pages are spent with our hero and the girlfriend he doesn't respect going on about their relationship and then meeting his dad and learning about his girlfriend and I got impatient.
And then when we get to the case, you can feel the author pulling the puppet strings and making the action fit the nothing-new-added political agenda of black cops being ill-treated by the LAPD institution. In hindsight, I realized the book wasn't about solving the case but taking the reader on the hero's journey, which was too thinly realized, to me.
The police culture didn't feel real, which is sometimes OK if the characters are good or the plot is clever or there's a unique perspective ... Hmmm, I'm getting harsher and starting to ramble. Time to wrap up. I didn't mind the book but I will say I wouldn't have read it had I known it would be the way it is -- the overwhelmingly strong reviews misled me, which often happens with Kindle Unlimited books.
In the early chapters, I thought it might be like a Harry Bosch book but from a black author and with a black detective. There's a cop who doesn't play well with others who is assigned a sensitive case and there's driving around LA with what freeways and streets are being taken to get to each place, but the structure felt off to me from the start, to me.
Instead of jumping into the case, pages and pages are spent with our hero and the girlfriend he doesn't respect going on about their relationship and then meeting his dad and learning about his girlfriend and I got impatient.
And then when we get to the case, you can feel the author pulling the puppet strings and making the action fit the nothing-new-added political agenda of black cops being ill-treated by the LAPD institution. In hindsight, I realized the book wasn't about solving the case but taking the reader on the hero's journey, which was too thinly realized, to me.
The police culture didn't feel real, which is sometimes OK if the characters are good or the plot is clever or there's a unique perspective ... Hmmm, I'm getting harsher and starting to ramble. Time to wrap up. I didn't mind the book but I will say I wouldn't have read it had I known it would be the way it is -- the overwhelmingly strong reviews misled me, which often happens with Kindle Unlimited books.
February 28, 2022
Under Color of Law is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Trevor Finnegan, a Black police officer who goes against a corrupt police department in LA. He has witnessed some terrible things and carries a lot of emotional damage. Coupled with the tense situation of police's treatment against Black people, it makes for an engaging story that feels urgent and relevant. It's set in 2014 but the story could well apply to the present time. I thought the writing is smooth and visually appealing - I can imagine watching a movie based on this book.
This is very much a character-driven story so at times it feels as if the plot takes the back seat. I was not entirely taken with Finn and I found his treatment of the women in his life could have been better. But this is a book that deals with racism, fear, difficult choices, and second chances in a thoughtful way. In the end, I liked seeing Finn's character growth and I'm sure this book is just the beginning of his journey.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
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This is very much a character-driven story so at times it feels as if the plot takes the back seat. I was not entirely taken with Finn and I found his treatment of the women in his life could have been better. But this is a book that deals with racism, fear, difficult choices, and second chances in a thoughtful way. In the end, I liked seeing Finn's character growth and I'm sure this book is just the beginning of his journey.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
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September 8, 2021
DNF this one at 56%. I can’t stand first person present tense narration so it started out with a huge disadvantage and just didn’t improve for me. I couldn’t find anything in the characters that made me think there was any humanity in them. I don’t need all characters to be heroes and positivity to abound, and I love an anti-hero, but I need something to draw me into this person and their story, ESPECIALLY with FPPT narration. With this I didn’t get that at all, and the only really interesting and intriguing character was Sarada. Hell, even Tori had more depth and likability than Trevor. I’m a big fan of authors like Karin Slaughter, Kelley Armstrong, Lisa Gardner etc, who create characters that may be awful but they’re still compelling and interesting but this one didn’t connect with me. Even Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, which I don’t always enjoy and find a little patchy at times, have characters I enjoy whilst also hating them at times for being really shitty (yes Lincoln Rhyme I’m looking at you). It’s possible for a character to be dark and brooding, with a deep well of anger close to exploding, to still have some redeeming features, but other than his love for another character (which give him the opportunity to do stupid and reckless things, which actually harm the person he loves) the MC really has none.
The story was pretty predictable (I guessed what was happening for some of it and checked the end). It’s a really interesting and difficult topic and I’m glad it’s being tackled and books like this are being published, but this just didn’t grab me enough.
My baseline for if I’m enjoying a book is how much I’m dying for the chance to sit quietly and read, and with this one I was actively finding reasons why I couldn’t read just yet. So that’s basically the death knell for me and this book. I may finish at some point, and if I do I may read a sequel to see if the characters (specifically the MC) improve after the events of this book, but for now I’m chomping at the bit for a different read!
The story was pretty predictable (I guessed what was happening for some of it and checked the end). It’s a really interesting and difficult topic and I’m glad it’s being tackled and books like this are being published, but this just didn’t grab me enough.
My baseline for if I’m enjoying a book is how much I’m dying for the chance to sit quietly and read, and with this one I was actively finding reasons why I couldn’t read just yet. So that’s basically the death knell for me and this book. I may finish at some point, and if I do I may read a sequel to see if the characters (specifically the MC) improve after the events of this book, but for now I’m chomping at the bit for a different read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2021
Timely Topic
Very good book and a Great start for a series. This book is about a police officer who needs to make a moral decision. Much is riding on tnis decision because it is not easy to make a decision that affects so many people. A good review tells you how the story affects the reader and lets the author tells his story his way. The topic is timely and made me uncomfortable. I wish that the topic was not part of our society but when a book tackles subjects that are uncomfortable for readers the author has taken a huge step toward helping society heal.
I highly recommend that you read this book. We can make a difference for our society by acknowledging that police officers are human and mistakes can be made. It is bad to make a mistake in judgement but the difference for society depends on how the mistakes are hand!ed. Are they hidden or were steps taken to stop those mistakes from happening again. Having the people involved being police officers is what made me uncomfortable. But read this book and determine for yourself about how it makes you feel. Discussions are important for society to improve.
Very good book and a Great start for a series. This book is about a police officer who needs to make a moral decision. Much is riding on tnis decision because it is not easy to make a decision that affects so many people. A good review tells you how the story affects the reader and lets the author tells his story his way. The topic is timely and made me uncomfortable. I wish that the topic was not part of our society but when a book tackles subjects that are uncomfortable for readers the author has taken a huge step toward helping society heal.
I highly recommend that you read this book. We can make a difference for our society by acknowledging that police officers are human and mistakes can be made. It is bad to make a mistake in judgement but the difference for society depends on how the mistakes are hand!ed. Are they hidden or were steps taken to stop those mistakes from happening again. Having the people involved being police officers is what made me uncomfortable. But read this book and determine for yourself about how it makes you feel. Discussions are important for society to improve.
August 17, 2022
Trevor Finnegan is a Black LAPD officer whose career has been accelerated by a moral compromise he made early in his career. His newest case involves the murder of a Black LAPD trainee, and it quickly becomes clear that the recruit's death may have been an attempt to silence him. His colleagues become suspects. Trevor's father is also a former LAPD officer who has his own ideas on how Trevor should proceed. This first in a series tackles ethical dilemmas, departmental politics, old boy networks, police brutality and corruption. Trevor himself is a flawed character--not only in his past actions but also in his current relationships. A flawed first outing that has me curious to see how the author and character develop in later books. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
October 2, 2021
I enjoyed reading this police detective story although it's not a genre I normally seek. The characters are all believable. I learned quite a bit about the inside story of what's going on in America's police departments today vis a vis black suspects and a little about the history of the Los Angeles force. I was surprised to learn there is a sequel. I'm happy with the way the ending was brought about and it didn't leave me with any questions regarding the plot or the characters so I don't think I'll be reading it.
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