“You experience the emotions, distractions, frustrations
and successes of the characters in every chapter of In the Line of Duty. I found
her heartfelt details to be spot on with a line-of-duty death. Being able to
put such a tragic situation into words, is difficult in itself, but she does it
with compassion, knowledge and respect for those in uniform who know what it is
like to lose a brother or sister in blue.”
-- Carl J. Harper, Training Officer, ERT (SWAT)
Sadly, as humans,
we tend to judge that which we don’t understand. And let’s be honest, most of
us haven’t stood in the shoes of a police officer. We’ve never faced an armed
subject at one o’clock in the morning or had to make life-and-death decisions
on a daily basis. We’ve never had to focus in a traumatic situation and make a
significant judgment call. We’ve never had to face families and friends who
have been left behind and tell them that their loved one won’t be coming home.
In
general, people either point fingers at the police or put them up on pedestals.
No one is perfect, however, and sometimes that pedestal cracks. Instead of doing
either of these things, though, I think it’s most important that we respect our
law enforcement officers and accept that they are human, just like the rest of
us. They have families and friends. They have feelings. They have hopes and
dreams.
In the Line of Duty was
inspired by my love of law enforcement, for those who serve and who have
served, but I also wanted to write a book that showed the human side of
policing. I wanted to paint a vivid picture that shows that police are people
and illustrate how the loss of a brother in blue affects them—not only on a
professional level but more importantly, on a personal one.
The
characters in my book must carry on after a great loss to find the person who
killed their fellow officer. Their grief tears apart relationships, changes
people’s viewpoints, and has them acknowledging their own mortality, just as it
would anyone.
So the
next time you see a police officer, remind yourself that police are people,
too, and deserve the same compassion and kindness as you or me.
--Carolyn Arnold
Author of In the Line of Duty (Detective Madison
Knight series)
Excerpt from In the Line of Duty, Chapter 3:
Troy gripped the
sink in the men’s washroom at the Stiles police station with both hands and
stared at himself in the mirror. He’d lost men close to him before. The last
one was two years ago, and the officer had been killed in a car accident while
off duty. He’d left behind two kids and a wife. But Barry…he was different.
Life always equaled death, of course. It was a simple equation to accept until
it touched close to home. And
that’s what Barry’s death was for him--personal.
Losing Barry made it clear just how
dangerous this job could be and how fragile life was. One minute here, the next
gone. Barry had just been pumping gas, a routine thing, something people did
all the time without any thought to their safety. Those on the outside would
say that’s the risk he took being in law enforcement. Yes, there was the chance
any one of them wouldn’t return home from a shift, but it wasn’t something Troy
consciously thought about before heading to work.
In fact, when serving in a SWAT
capacity, he’d say it was one of the safest positions within the Stiles PD.
SWAT had the toys, and when they showed up to manage a situation, it was often
brought under control rather quickly. Even the majority of criminals didn’t
want to tango with an AR-15 and armored vehicles. Besides, dwelling on one’s
mortality wasn’t healthy. But when something like this happened to one of their
own, it spurred on such self-reflection. It could have easily been him in the
morgue, or one of his team members. Or Madison…
His
insides quivered with rage as his heartbeat slowed with his grief. He squeezed
his eyes shut.
“I’ve
got Dad’s car tonight,” Barry says. “We’ll take it out on the back roads and
see what she’s really capable of.”
“Your dad’s a cop, Barry,” Troy reminds
him.
“So? What he doesn’t know won’t hurt
him.” Barry takes a few steps down the hall of their high school but stops and
spins when Troy doesn’t follow. “Come on, man. Don’t make me take Lyman.”
Troy
came back from his thoughts and opened his eyes to find himself staring at his reflection.
That
night had been one of the best ever. Barry had sent the car airborne by racing
over the railway tracks on the outskirts of the city. They’d even conned some
seniors into getting beer for them and drank it by the tracks later that night.
Barry
had made Troy feel alive…
Pain
knotted in his chest, the regrets over skipping drinks with Barry last week
paired with losing a part of his childhood somehow.
Troy
pinched the bridge of his nose as the memories continued to rush over him.
“I just got my acceptance letter.” Barry
holds the envelope in his hand. “This college has the hottest chicks… Not that
it would matter to you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s Lauren and Troy sitting in a
tree…” Barry sings.
“Seriously? You’re like a girl sometimes,
you know that? A big, emotional girl.”
“Hey!” Barry punches him playfully in
the arm.
Madison
punched him in the arm sometimes, too…
God, what would he have done if
Madison were the one who’d been killed?
You’ve reached the end of the
excerpt, but In the Line of Duty is
available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover from popular retailers.
About
In the Line of Duty:
He devoted his life to seeking justice.
But would she get any for him?
It
was an ordinary day for police officer Barry Weir. It was the end of shift, he
was tired, and he just wanted to get home to his wife and kids. But someone had
other plans for him, shooting him down and forcing him to make the ultimate
sacrifice.
When
news of Weir’s murder reaches the precinct, it leaves Detective Madison Knight
and every cop in the Stiles PD itching for revenge. It cuts Madison’s
boyfriend, colleague, and Weir’s childhood friend, Troy Matthews, deepest of
all, driving him away from everyone he loves just when they need one another
the most.
With
evidence pointing to a gang-related drive-by, Madison and her team investigate
the town’s seedy underbelly in search of justice for their fallen brother. But
the deeper they dig, the more convoluted the case becomes. Now they need to
figure out if this was a random shooting as part of a gang initiation, a
straight-up hate crime, or a targeted kill. But with members of the Stiles PD
under attack, they have to do it fast…before more officers pay with their
lives.
About the Detective
Madison Knight Series:
Murder.
Investigation. The pursuit of justice. Do you love trying to figure out whodunit? How about
investigating alongside police detectives from the crime scene to the forensics
lab and everywhere in between? Do you love a strong female lead? Then I invite
you to meet Detective Madison Knight as she solves murders with her male
partner, utilizing good old-fashioned investigative work aided by modern
technology.
This is the perfect book
series for fans of Law & Order, CSI, Blue
Bloods, Rizzoli & Isles, Women’s
Murder Club, and Hawaii Five-O.
Read in any order or follow
the series from the beginning: Ties That Bind, Justified, Sacrifice,
Found Innocent, Just Cause, Deadly Impulse, In the Line of Duty, Life Sentence
(Bonus Prequel).
About the Author
Carolyn
Arnold is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a
speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction
series and has written nearly thirty books. Both her female detective and FBI
profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate
and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark, POLICE PROCEDURALS
RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Connect
with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
