Scan barcode
A review by sbnich
Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark
4.0
This is a fantastic book, quite possibly because it was so much more than I expected it to be.
Having never heard of Clark, I selected this book from my Amazon First Reads because I have so much going on, I have erred on the side of entertainment reading vs reading that stretches me. It is a mystery/police procedural of sorts, and I expected it to be tense with the crime taking center stage.
Instead, to my surprise, the characters too center stage, the crime was really the setting, and the setting was one of the characters. Clark so richly described L.A., I could easily feel as if I was there, in both its quirky California-ness and its grittiness. The characters, particularly Trevor, were complex, imperfect, and felt real, not like the unexplainably super human or super villan detectives of most procedurals.
Trevor was relatable because he was sometimes unable to restrain his emotion on and off the job; sometimes he was unable to make the perfect choice, which in reality was only a perfect choice in hindsight; sometimes he was the character you wanted to hug and tell him he wasn't as awful as he considered himself.
All in all, a surprisingly complex mystery tackling current issues without being preachy. Clark's prior experience with LAPD and his deep L.A. knowledge shine through.
Having never heard of Clark, I selected this book from my Amazon First Reads because I have so much going on, I have erred on the side of entertainment reading vs reading that stretches me. It is a mystery/police procedural of sorts, and I expected it to be tense with the crime taking center stage.
Instead, to my surprise, the characters too center stage, the crime was really the setting, and the setting was one of the characters. Clark so richly described L.A., I could easily feel as if I was there, in both its quirky California-ness and its grittiness. The characters, particularly Trevor, were complex, imperfect, and felt real, not like the unexplainably super human or super villan detectives of most procedurals.
Trevor was relatable because he was sometimes unable to restrain his emotion on and off the job; sometimes he was unable to make the perfect choice, which in reality was only a perfect choice in hindsight; sometimes he was the character you wanted to hug and tell him he wasn't as awful as he considered himself.
All in all, a surprisingly complex mystery tackling current issues without being preachy. Clark's prior experience with LAPD and his deep L.A. knowledge shine through.