April 22, 2020joynealkidney

The Lawman: Against Flesh and Blood

AgainstYoutold (2)

The Book

Detective Will Diaz still must deal with the demons of his past. And while he does that, he and his buddy, RJ Madril, hunt a man who raped a girl at gunpoint. During the hunt, they begin to learn that something bigger and more insidious than either can imagine is lurking. Hints of betrayal and questions for which there are only frightening answers will begin to haunt Will, RJ, and the people they know and love.

The Author

AblanWilliam (3)

Will Ablan is a native of the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado. Raised a cowboy, his sights were set on distant horizons. Light years away in fact. He studied Astronomy at Adams State University, and in his senior year, began to suspect he was taking a degree in something he couldn’t get a job in.

It was a suspicion that would prove correct. After graduating and not finding a job, he began looking elsewhere. He had a gained some Law Enforcement experience working with the Campus Police force, and so began applying and test for local departments. He figured it would be a cold day in Hell before they hired him.

Events would prove he was totally mistaken in that, and he ended up working as a Law Enforcement officer for over twenty years. Somewhere in the middle of all this, events would dictate that he step out of his comfort zone, and he enlisted in the United States Army as a Military Policeman. His experience as a civilian police officer proved invaluable to him in the Army as he worked undercover narcotics, plain clothes investigations, and VIP security. During this he deployed to the Persian Gulf for the Gulf War.

After the Gulf War, he worked Emergency Management in the San Luis Valley.

Eventually he moved into the Information Technology field, and has worked in it for the past twenty years. He’s considered an expert in VMware, Security, and Auditing, and has written extensively on those subjects.

He and his wife currently reside in Greeley, Colorado

https://williamablan.wordpress.com

My Thoughts

Detective Will Diaz, back from serving in the Gulf War and with a new faith in Christ, lets the reader follow him though the authentic but seedy side of police work in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Scenes are gritty and language frank, especially since the central crime in this book is a rape.

Will, an astronomy fan, takes us through his thought processes, recovering and recording evidence, following leads, and eventually taking down the culprit. Besides being likable, thoughtful, and intelligent, Detective Diaz is flawed and vulnerable.

Characters include an ex-SEAL who is now a pastor, a ‘Nam tunnel rat who’s returned as an addict with PTSD, and more army veterans of the Gulf War now in law enforcement. Will’s friends and family are empathetic and real.

He has just survived his first year as a civilian cop, but a friend asks why he didn’t use deadly force when he clearly could have. Detective Diaz struggles with that and other ethical issues of police work, but the story is a redemptive one. I look forward to more compelling stories about Will Diaz and his cohorts.

The book has typos and needs some background fleshing out, but is a very satisfying novel.

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