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Under Color of Law cover art

Under Color of Law

By: Aaron Philip Clark
Narrated by: Preston Butler III
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Summary

The murder of a police recruit pins a black LAPD detective in a deadly web where race, corruption, violence, and cover-ups intersect in this relevant, razor-sharp novel of suspense.

Black rookie cop Trevor “Finn” Finnegan aspires to become a top-ranking officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and fix a broken department. A fast-track promotion to detective in the coveted Robbery-Homicide Division puts him closer to achieving his goal. 

Four years later, calls for police accountability rule the headlines. The city is teeming with protests for racial justice. When the body of a murdered black academy recruit is found in the Angeles National Forest, Finn is tasked to investigate. 

As pressure mounts to solve the crime and avoid a PR nightmare, Finn scours the underbelly of a volatile city where power, violence, and race intersect. But it’s Finn’s past experience as a beat cop that may hold the key to solving the recruit’s murder. The price? The end of Finn’s career...or his life.

©2021 by Aaron Philip Clark. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Harrowing evidence for Spike Lee’s famous claim that everything that happens in America is about race.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Clark’s ripped-from-the-headlines police procedural should make readers uncomfortable. It’s a frightening, tragic tale.” (Library Journal, starred review) 

“This is a smart, suspenseful police procedural with a timely plot.” (Publishers Weekly

What listeners say about Under Color of Law

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*Act of Remorse*

Trevor Finnegan Aka “Finn” is a rookie police officer working in Los Angeles. There is a lot of racial tension in the city and he witnesses something that confirms racial problems within the force with some of the officers. What he sees is a serious and brutal attack via the very officers who were training him. Because of what he witnessed to buy his silence he is rewarded with a fast tracked promotion to detective. His father was also in the force and after Finn’s mother passes it becomes clear that she was the glue that held them together.

Fast forward four years and racial tensions are still running high between the police force and the public. A black police recruit is found dead, he was murdered this serves to ramp up the tension and under pressure to solve the case the police give the job to Finn concerned about optics and this is the case that will make or break Finn.

While Finn takes his role seriously what he does not bank on is that as he is getting closer solving the case the more the guilty want to stop him.
All hell breaks out and when a damming piece of evidence turns up he has to decide to either bury the evidence or go ahead with it even though it could mean the end of the career he so loves….

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  • Carol Anderson
  • 23-10-21

A Must Read for Everyone

Loved it! A thought-provoking book. it had me searching my soul, seriously questioning my motives and reasons for my choices or acts of humanitarianism.... truly about humanity or just my own mission for self worth etc. But it humanized cops' lives and and interactions with public. A real work of dedication to thoughts, feelings of civilians and cops. I read it twice!!! The title along is worth studying. Awesome author.

36 people found this helpful

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  • Michael P. Jennings
  • 07-01-22

Weak read.

Struggled to finish. Disliked the main character. Couldn't believe he ever became an officer in the 1st place. Obviously seriously biased against LA Department in general and white police officers in general. An inept detective that violated rules and procedures at every turn. To go arrest an armed murder suspect by one self. No way. in so many ways this was a weak, unsatisfying read.

33 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 25-11-21

What a sermon

I feel like I have just sat through a sermon on racism, white privilege, ACAB and defund the p. Except for that there may have been a decent story in here somewhere. If you hold all the prejudice the author does then you will probably enjoy it.

24 people found this helpful

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  • Derren Baptiste
  • 29-11-21

Well Rounded.....

Listen @ 1.2x.....simply saves time w/o taking away from the performance.
Good not great detective story (could have used more depth/more twist), but a better moral tale of right vs wrong. And how easily we then to judge people for their choices when we ourselves may make the same decision if faced w/ the same difficult decisions.

17 people found this helpful

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  • Anna
  • 03-10-21

Eye Opening Novel

This was an eye opening novel. The characters were very compelling especially the main character, Trevor. I’ve read a lot of police dramas and frankly was getting tired of the drama. But this is the fresh take that had me invested not only in the mystery but the lives of the characters.

15 people found this helpful

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  • De Watson
  • 27-12-21

I enjoyed the story immensely.

I enjoyed getting to know detective Trevor Finnegan and the rest of the characters under the color of law. The over arching theme of repressed anger of all people, particularly that of Black and Brown people, the moving target of finding the outlet for the anger, disappointment and frustration is tangible to those that can relate. I felt the author did a good job in making Trevor a multidimensional character, but focused on the driving force of his anger. Serata’s character was broken just as much, but she did seem to float through her emotions better than Trevor. Of course she was participating in therapy to help her through. The Dad and Torri, the first girlfriend have their own stories all affected by interacting with Finn. They are all interesting interactions. For me it brings to mind that hurt people hurt people. I would add even unintentionally. It is a simple story, yet complex if you think about all of the implications of its messaging.

14 people found this helpful

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  • Lia
  • 04-10-21

3.5 Stars

This book is a police drama centered on the main character, Detective Trevor “Finn” Finnegan. The book has 17 total chapters, and about 10 hour 20 mins.

The book starts of pretty slowly. After a bit of action in the prologue, the first few chapters are pretty standard police drama. There is quite a bit of focus on the main character's interpersonal relationships; Finn and the woman he's sleeping with, Finn and his father, Finn's status within the police department, etc. This seems to be an attempt to add more depth to the character, and since the book is apparently “Book 1 of 2”, I can understand why the author wants to take the time to establish a background for Finn; but I had really hoped for more action.

We eventually learn about other incidents in Finn's past, and more about Finn's relationships with different characters. Honestly, by the time there are any major developments in the main case Finn is actually working on, I had almost stopped caring entirely. I just personally didn't find the story of the life of Detective Finnegan to be very interesting at all. This was definitely not the suspense story I had imagined.

Overall, the book was good but just a little slow at times. The book really more focused on the life of the main character and all of the people around him, rather than on a specific suspenseful mystery. If you like reading about the daily life of a police detective, and how it can be hard to balance personal life, family, racial identity and duty to the force; then this might be for you.

Preston Butler III was very good with the delivery of the story

14 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 02-11-21

Exceptional!

Extremely well researched and written. The story starts off a little slow but once it picks up it does so in earnest. The emotional roller-coaster the reader goes on with Fin is worth repeating.

11 people found this helpful

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  • Dave T.
  • 28-12-21

Riviting

Enjoyed it, would reccomend it toanybody who likes suspensfull detective stories. Loadedwith true historicalfacts, gives you a better understanding about the world today.

9 people found this helpful

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  • Nikki
  • 20-10-21

Really enjoyed

I read previous reviews where others described as one dimensional, elementary writing and one sided against the majority.

The antagonist from onset is clearly struggling to be more than a black man with boy defined by the melanin in his skin while wearing the color BLUE from his career choice. What voice did he have as a rookie with a racist veteran cop “teaching” him?!

This book was necessary during a time of cops killing blacks, the continued coverups of LAPD , Finn’s continued attempt NOT to be anything like his dad, an ex-cop.

Narrator was good and kept my attention

9 people found this helpful