Among the Shadows
by Bruce Robert Coffin
on Tour September 12 – October 14, 2016
Synopsis:
Fall in Portland, Maine usually arrives as a welcome respite from summer’s sweltering temperatures and, with the tourists gone, a return to normal life—usually. But when a retired cop is murdered, things heat up quickly, setting the city on edge.
Detective Sergeant John Byron, a second-generation cop, is tasked with investigating the case—at the very moment his life is unraveling. On the outs with his department’s upper echelon, separated from his wife, and feeling the strong pull of the bottle, Byron remains all business as he tries to solve the murder of one of their own. And when another ex-Portland PD officer dies under suspicious circumstances, he quickly realizes there’s much more to these cases than meets the eye. The closer Byron gets to the truth, the greater the danger for him and his fellow detectives.
This taut, atmospheric thriller will appeal to fans of Michael Connelly and John Sandford.
Reviews:
“Compulsively readable, Among the Shadows is that rare cop novel that’s chock full of blood-and-guts detail while taking you on a ride of a lifetime. —Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassins
“Bruce Robert Coffin knows cops — how they talk, how they act, how they think — and he deploys that knowledge to devastating effect in Among the Shadows. A tense, twisty tale of greed, betrayal, and revenge, it heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in crime fiction.” —Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind
“Bruce Robert Coffin is the real deal: not just a veteran homicide detective, but an incredibly gifted storyteller. Among the Shadows is the best debut I’ve read in ages, filled with suspense, great writing, a perfectly realized setting in Portland, Maine (this is probably the most accurate depiction I’ve seen of that big little city), and an intriguing main character. Detective John Byron promises to become a break-out favorite among readers of crime fiction. He’s already one of mine.” —Paul Doiron, author of Widowmaker
“With the twists and racing pace of a thriller and the profound authenticity of a police procedural, Among the Shadows is the kind of debut crime novel that could only be written by an ex-cop.” —Brian Thiem, author of Red Line
“Bruce Robert Coffin’s debut crime novel is a compelling page-turner that keeps you guessing – and rooting for his determined investigator – until the very end.” —Kate Clark Flora, author of Finding Amy
REVIEW
My Thoughts and Opinion: 5 stars
Thirty years ago, members of the Portland PD, were assigned to the Special Reaction Team, one being John Byron’s father. After a deadly shoot out with the SRT during an investigation of a million dollar heist, Byron finds his father after he committed suicide, which has affected him emotionally after all these years.
Now Byron is assigned to an investigation involving the death of another member of the SRT. But soon finds out that it is murder. As the case is progressing, another member is also found dead. Are these murders connected? Who wants the members of the SRT dead and why?
A captivating read! Full of tension and ticking of the clock to find out who is behind these murders. Riveting plot that had this reader on the edge of my seat. Surprises and twists and turns to the very last page with an ending that wasn’t expected.
I am looking forward to reading the next book by Mr. Coffin.
Highly recommend this thrilling read!!
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Published by: Witness Impulse
Publication Date: September 13th 2016
Number of Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780062569462
Series: Detective Byron #1
Don’t forget to grab your copy of Among the Shadows on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or add it to your TBR list on Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
The bitter stench of urine and impending death permeated the small dingy bedroom. Hawk stood next to the bed, looking down at O’Halloran. The ancient warrior lay withered and gaunt. Patches of dull white hair clung to his age-spotted scalp. Eyes, once calculating and sharp, were now yellowed and dim. O’Halloran was dying.
Hawk moved quickly, snatching the pillow from beneath the old man’s head. He covered O’Halloran’s face and pressed down firmly, his well-developed forearms flexed.
O’Halloran thrashed about, nearly toppling the chrome IV stand, but Hawk caught it easily. Muffled screams vibrated up through the pillow. He held fast as O’Halloran’s bony legs slid back and forth like eels under the coverlet, kicking the sheet free on one side. Hawk closed his eyes, attempting to block out the image before him. The old man’s feeble struggles, no match for Hawk’s strength, tapered off, then ceased.
In the next room a clock chimed, shattering the silence and signifying that the hour was at hand.
Warily, Hawk lifted the pillow. The warrior was gone. O’Halloran’s eyes were lifeless and wide, projecting a silent narration of shock and fear. He closed them with a gentle hand, smoothed the disheveled hair, then fluffed the pillow and restored it to its rightful place. Lastly, he slid the old man’s bony white foot back under the sheet and retucked the bedding.
Standing upright, he surveyed the room. Everything appeared in its proper place. O’Halloran looked serene, like he’d simply fallen asleep. Satisfied, Hawk walked from the room.
******
Detective Sergeant John Byron parked his unmarked Taurus behind a black-and-white cruiser. Neither the heat nor humidity were helping his foul mood. Only seven-thirty in the morning and the temperature displayed atop Congress Street’s fourteen-story Chapman Building already read eighty-four degrees. Though September had nearly passed, summer wasn’t quite
ready to release the city from her sweltering grasp.
Portland autumns were normally cool and comfortable. Normally. Tourists returned to whichever godforsaken corner of the globe they had come, kids returned to the classroom, and the days grew increasingly shorter.
Byron’s poor attitude had more to do with the day of the week than the weather. Wednesdays always put him in a bad mood, because it was the day Chief of Police Michael Stanton held his weekly CompStat meeting, a statistical midweek tough-mudder designed to give the upper echelon an opportunity to micromanage. Today’s administrative migraine was accompanied by one of Byron’s own creation. He knew of no better cure than a little hair of the dog, but nothing would land him in hot water with Lieutenant LeRoyer faster than the scent of Irish on his breath. Instead, he opted for the mystical healing properties of ibuprofen and caffeine, with a breath mint chaser. He closed his eyes and swallowed the pills on a wave of black coffee, pausing a moment before giving up the solitude of his car. On his game as always, in spite of his current condition.
Officer Sean Haggerty sat behind the wheel of another police cruiser, parked further down the street under a shady canopy of maples. The veteran officer was speaking with a young auburn-haired woman. Byron guessed she was the nurse, primarily because she wasn’t in hysterics, as most relatives would’ve been. He was pleased to see Hags on the call. Hags did things by the numbers. The same could not be said of every beat cop. They exchanged nods as Byron headed up the driveway.
A skinny uniformed rookie stood sentry at the side door to the Bartley Street home. Byron knew they’d crossed paths before, but couldn’t recall his name. What had once been a phenomenon was occurring with far greater frequency, a clear indication the cops were either getting younger or he wasn’t.
“Morning, Sarge,” the rookie said as he recorded Byron’s name into the crime scene log.
“O’Donnell,” Byron said after stealing a glance at the name tag. He gestured with his thumb toward the street. “That the nurse with Haggerty?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Who’s inside?”
“E.T. Pelligrosso and Detective Joyner. First floor, back bedroom.”
Evidence Technician Gabriel Pelligrosso, a young, flat-topped, ex-soldier, was known for being methodical, thorough, and dependable, traits Byron’s own father had harped on. “If every cop on the job had those qualities, sonny boy, it’d be a sorry fuckin’ day to be a criminal.” Byron stepped inside.
The odor assaulted him upon entering the kitchen. An all too familiar blend of bladder and excremental expulsion, which, thanks to the humidity, would undoubtedly linger in the fabric of his clothing all day.
He listened to their footsteps on the hardwood floor along with the occasional click of Pelligrosso’s camera as they recorded the scene. Not wanting to interrupt them, he waited in the kitchen, making mental notes of everything he saw.
A 2015 Norman Rockwell calendar depicting several boys and a dog running past a No Swimming sign hung on the wall beside the refrigerator. Notations had been made with a red pen in what resembled the flowery script of a woman, perhaps the nurse. The days of the month had been crossed off up to the twenty-third. Someone had been here yesterday. Maybe a family member or one of the nurses. He’d check with Hags.
“Sarge, you out there?” Diane called from down the hall.
Diane Joyner, Portland’s first female African-American detective, was a tough-talking New Yorker. Tall and attractive, she’d lulled more than one bad guy into thinking he could get over on her. Prior to arriving in Portland, she’d worked homicides in the Big Apple for seven years. Byron didn’t know if it was her confidence or thoroughness that made some of the other officers insecure about working with her, but those very same traits made Diane his first choice for partner on murder cases.
“Just waiting on you,” Byron said.
“We’re all set in here.”
Byron walked down the hall and entered the bedroom. “What’ve we got?”
“One stinky stiff,” Diane said. “Formerly Mr. James O’Halloran.”
“O’Halloran?” he asked. Byron had known a James O’Halloran. Was this the same man? The emaciated corpse lying in the bed bore little resemblance to the squared-away Portland police lieutenant from his memory. “Did we find an ID?”
Diane handed him an expired Maine driver’s license. The photo, taken seven years and at least a hundred pounds ago, was definitely Jimmy O. The same man who had sat beside him in the church, on the worst day of Byron’s life.
Don’t Miss Bruce Robert Coffin!
Bruce Robert Coffin is a former detective sergeant with more than twenty-seven years in law enforcement. At the time of his retirement, from the Portland, Maine police department, he supervised all homicide and violent crime investigations for Maine’s largest city. Following the terror attacks of September 11th, Bruce spent four years working counter-terrorism with the FBI, earning the Director’s Award, the highest honor a non-agent can receive.
Q&A with Bruce Robert Coffin
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Yes and no. The plots I create in my novels are fictitious but I draw on personal experiences when describing the actions and thoughts of my characters in order to make the story as realistic as possible. As far as current events are concerned, it really depends. I may insert things that I deem relevant if they’re a good fit with my story. I haven’t designed an entire plot from a current event yet, but who knows, that may change. The ideas for my novels usually begin with ‘what if?’ and proceed from there.
Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
I start at the beginning. When I sit down to write a novel, I’ll already have a general idea in mind. I’ll also know where I want the story to go. What I try to avoid is locking down the synopsis so tightly that nothing is left to chance. I find it’s far better to let the story evolve naturally. Often, in spite of my best attempts at controlling the storyline, the characters may begin speaking loudly about a different direction the story should take. If it makes sense to change course, I do.
Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
Ha! An author friend of mine is fond of saying you should never let them see how the sausage is made but, if you promise not to tell him, I’ll give you a peek. I normally write in the morning. My brain seems to function best earlier in the day. Hard to say why. Could be the coffee. I may pick up the manuscript and begin by editing the previous session or, if the ideas are flowing, I may simply start writing anew. If the writing goes well I shoot for the magical threshold of one thousand words. Some days, when it’s like chiseling stone, I may only get four or five hundred written, other times I’ve banged out thirty-five hundred without breaking a sweat (wish there were more days like these)..
I don’t think I had any real idiosyncrasies when I began writing, but now… It really depends upon the season and the level of outside distractions. During the winter months, I find I have no problem staying home and writing in my studio. Summertime is a whole different animal, with plenty of distractions. For starters, it’s nice outside. Then there are things to do. Hiking. Kayaking. Going to the gym. Mowing the lawn. Washing the car. The beach. You get the picture. I have finally figured out that the best way to beat summer is to pack up my IPad, get in the car, and drive to one of the local libraries. For me it’s like driving to work. The minute I arrive at the library and walk through the door, I’m at work. No distractions, just work. Of course all of those distractions are still there, but for me the trip to the library cures all.
Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Writing is my full time job now. At least when I’m not out promoting. I retired from police work in 2012 and wrote part time. I started my own handyman business, doing home improvements, and did some consulting, but never stopped writing. Now writing is my career.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
There are many but I’ll give you a few. I enjoy reading Stephen King, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Ken Bruen, Robert B. Parker, Kate Flora, Paul Doiron, Brenda Buchanan, and James Hayman. Of course you realize all of my author friends are gonna be miffed that I left them out…
What are you reading now?
At the moment, I’m reading Benefit of the Doubt by Neal Griffin and Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger.
Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
I am. The first draft of book number two in the Detective Byron Mystery Series is nearly complete. I haven’t decided on a title yet, but it will definitely be something cool. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that not all murder victims are beloved. John Byron and his detectives look to track down a killer after a prominent local attorney is found swimming with the fishes.
Fun questions.:
Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
I’d pick Daniel Craig to play John Byron and Jada Pinkett Smith to play Diane Joyner. Any chance I could get a walk on roll?
Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
I’ve written notes for several novels on scrap paper, in notebooks, on receipts, on my cell phone, literally everywhere. The manuscripts I write on my IPad, using a Bluetooth keyboard. I love using the IPad, I’ve written three novels on it.
Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
Oil painting, woodworking, and hiking, not necessarily in that order.
Favorite meal?
Shepherd’s pie and Guinness.
Thank you for stopping by!
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Taking place in Portland Maine is enough to make me want to read it! I love Maine (and I have only visited once, but it was enough to make me want to move there!). This book sounds like such a great read!
“I normally write in the morning. My brain seems to function best earlier in the day. Hard to say why. Could be the coffee.” ~ LOL of course its the coffee!!
Great interview and great review! Going on my wish list!