Sentinel’s Dilemma
Michael E. Witzgall
File Size: 1309 KB
Print Length: 376 pages
Publication Date: April 4, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07QD9CXMZ
BOOK BLURB– After losing his leg in a vicious life or death fight, Dallas Police Detective Sgt. Rene LaFleet must cope not only with the loss of his leg, but also the agonizing decision to stay in law enforcement. Always in the front of his mind is the question, can he still do the job, or worse, is he going to get himself or someone else killed? Struggling with this dilemma does not put crime on hold. LaFleet and his team of highly skilled detectives must track down a serial rapist, and a serial killer that by all indications are working together.
COMMENTS – While the writing is top-notch and the opening of the book immediately pulls the reader into the drama and makes a strong emotional connection to the central character of Renee LaFleet, I really had a hard time with what followed; a number of jumps in timelines with snippits about characters that were so brief I had to wonder if they were going to play an important part in the story and when? And was the whole story going to be presented in that style?
That unusual choice of presentation pulled me away from my reader investment in the story when I first started to read this book about a month ago. I wanted the timeline to stay focused on LaFleet who was introduced in the stunning prologue, and I was quite irritated at the intrusion of those other people and those other incidents. I’m sure it was all connected at some point, but, unfortunately, not soon enough to keep me reading.
That may not be a problem for other readers, and this is a good police-procedural novel, written by a man with law-enforcement experience, so everything rings true from jargon to procedure.
To be fair to the author, I recently picked the book back up and looked past those timeline issues in order to write this review. In the twenty or thirty pages I read, I noted that the focus went back to LaFleet, so I may continue reading. I really do like LaFleet and his partner, Tex. They have a way of interacting that shows how close they are without the author “telling” us the depth of that partnership, and I appreciate the humor, especially when LaFleet reflects that back on himself.
I do recommend this book to readers who enjoy police procedural mysteries with strong characters and a lot of drama.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR – The son of a career military officer, Mike Witzgall spent twelve years on active duty as a non-commissioned and commissioned officer. While in the military, Mike served in the US Marine Corps’ elite Force Reconnaissance teams and then later as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Infantry and Military Police Corps.
In 1988, after numerous deployments around the world, Mike left the military as a Captain and joined the Dallas Police Department. He served as a patrolman in south Dallas and as a member of a Tactical team (SWAT). Mike’s career with Dallas ended after a severe line of duty injury forced him into early retirement. Mike continues to contribute positively to the law enforcement community today by sharing his experience and wisdom with his fellow officers through mentoring and providing the best training available to their tactical teams. He has written numerous articles for law enforcement magazines and has published eight tactical training manuals.
Currently, Mike is co-owner of Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc, which specializes in teaching SWAT courses. Since its inception in 1998, Charlie-Mike Enterprises, Inc. has taught over 5000 officers from 500 different law enforcement agencies.
You can find out more about the author and his books on the WEBSITE SENTINELSCHOICE visit him on FACEBOOK and GOODREADS
Come back on Wednesday when Mike will be my guest with a wonderful post about his grandfather. It’s a terrific story, so I do hope you will come check it out. Until then, be safe, be happy. And enjoy the Labor Day Holiday.
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