Wednesday, May 3, 2017

AT THEIR OWN GAME by Frank Zafiro (Kindle)

This book was on my Kindle and I must have gotten it when I first signed on, but I don't remember how or why. I'm really sold on the ebook experience, and this is only the beginning.

Finished Mo 5/1/17

Frank Zafiro is the pen name of Frank Scalise. He spent many years with the Spokane, Washington police department and has been a writer since the early 90's. He's also a big fan of hockey- as a player and a fan.

A hard-boiled noir thriller that's a quick and compelling read. Lots of twists, and they're not really unexpected turns in the plot, but complete and unexpected character revelations. Nobody is who they seems to be.

Characters aren't fully developed, but the shocking character revelations are the point of the book. Absolutely no complaints and the book has the feel of a really fantastic graphic novel.

From the book's page at amazon-

"Jake Stankovic has been flying below the radar for years, dealing safely in stolen property crime with his two-man crew. But times are tough, so he decides to step up to the big money with a drug deal. Everything that can go wrong, does. The deal goes bad, a vengeful detective sets his sights on Jake, one of his crew might be a turncoat, and a woman from a long past affair suddenly reappears. All of this would be complicated enough on its own, but for Jake, it's even worse.

The woman is the detective's ex-wife.

And Jake Stankovic used to be a cop. He now is a dealer in used products on the internet and also a dealer in illegal merchandise- 'a fence'. His old girlfriend, Helen (the detective's wife) comes back into his life and convinces Frank that it is time to branch out into the drug game with her connection. Both his partners turn on him, and the novel ends when he kills Helen after he learns that she isn't on his side either.

Now Jake must face new problems and old vendettas in an all-in proposition with lives on the line. He has to find a way to get his money back, keep the girl, and beat everyone involved...At Their Own Game".

The primary rule for a cop and this principle must never be broken- Do Not sleep with another cop's wife, but Jake does. This detective frames him for a crime that he didn't commit, Frank goes to prison, and when he comes out, he works the other side of the law with a couple of partners, Brent and Matt.
The Frame-
One day while off duty Frank walks by a store and notices two men fighting. He breaks up the fight and in the process, he breaks one of their noses. The man with the broken nose turns out to be the security guard for the store who was in the process of trying to stop a shoplifter. The police (egged on by the detective that has it in for Frank) make the case that Frank was a partner with the shoplifter and in on the theft.

Jake Stankovic (Stank)
Brent/ Matt
Helen

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