Blue Truth - Hardcover

Cherokee Paul McDonald is the best-selling author of ten novels, including The Patch, Gulfstream, and Summer's Reason. He is an instructor at the Broward County Police Academy, a commentator on crime and law enforcement matters, and a contributor to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and other publications.

A former Fort Lauderdale police sergeant and author of several police novels, McDonald here recounts the day-to-day activities he experienced in his 10 years on the force--pursuits and arrests, interviewing witnesses, first-aid emergencies, etc. McDonald describes the intensity of police work and the terrible psychological toll it exacts as he evolves from idealistic young cop to burned-out veteran. While he can be quite funny, e.g., when he describes strutting motorcycle cops, McDonald's language is crude and, at times, racist, and his attitude is very macho. Many detailed, violent scenes portray police brutality without apology, and, in fact, the message seems to be that violence in the cause of law and order is cool. For a better "inside" police book aimed at the general public, Bill McCarthy and Mike Mallowe's Vice Cop ( LJ 2/15/91) is less gratuitously violent and much more informative about how police work is done.
- Mary Jane Brustman, SUNY at Albany Libs.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.