Benefit of the Doubt

The Newberg Novels, Book 1

By: Neal Griffin

Narrated by: Fleet Cooper

Neal Griffin is a twenty-five year veteran of law enforcement. He's seen it all, from routine patrols to drug enforcement to homicide investigations, from corrupt cops to men and women who went far above and beyond the call of duty.

Benefit of the Doubt is a gripping thriller that exposes the dark underbelly of policing in small-town America, where local police departments now deal with big-city crimes and corruption.

Ben Sawyer was a big-city cop, until he nearly killed a helpless suspect in public. Now a detective in the tiny Wisconsin town where he and his wife grew up, Ben suspects that higher-ups are taking payoffs from local drug lords.

Before long, Ben is off the force. His wife is accused of murder. His only ally is another outcast, a Latina rookie cop. Worse, a killer has escaped from jail with vengeance on his mind, and Newburg - and Ben Sawyer - in his sights.

©2015 Neal Griffin (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

BOLD

Outstanding story. I think it would make a good movie. I've already ordered the second book with Detective Tia.

Frustrating Characters, Disappointing Narrator

This is an intriguing story with a dimwitted hero and it is poorly narrated. Let me start with the good news. Its a story of a good cop who was betrayed by his department after beating up a very evil man. He loses his job and is forced to take a job in a Milwaukee suburb where his father in law is chief of police. But no sooner does he arrive the chief suffers a debilitating stroke. Corrupt cops take over. At the same time a convicted killer is released from prison and begins a twisted series of revenge crimes on the same crooked cops. The story is intriguing enough to finish. Barely.

But our hero is hopelessly naive. He understands he is dealing with corruption but acts surprised and then foolishly when they come after him. His devoted wife receives nothing but jealousy and betrayal from him in return for her loyalty. I have been married 37 years and the shallowness of this cop, especially towards his wife is breathtaking.

The narrator, Fleet Cooper has a great voice. Yet he over dramatizes virtually every line. And some of his voices simply grate on my nerves. Still, with a little work, he could be good. I can just hear the director encouraging him, thinking he sounds okay. But there are too many great narrators to let a performance like this be published.

So the story captured my attention, the hero is an idiot and the narrator did a poor job.

hard boiled

characters shallow and predictable. lnteresting idea wasted with poor storytelling and lack of imagination