Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand

I knew Bertrand had the kind of mettle to crank out a winner and he did. Mark has woven a tail that is not only very interesting, it is fast paced and so male. The only thing that could make it better is a little less editing knife. Some paragraphs and/or scenes seemed to have been cut to the point of almost incoherence. But, I get it. That is how men think most of the time. A few words here and there actually speak volumes. But, it does cause the story flow to stutter once in a while. On the other hand...

The reader is drawn into the world of policing when a man is on the cusp of a comeback. It makes for a very satisfying read. The characters are believable, the protagonist is strong, vulnerable, wise, impatient, and downright likable. Just when you think Roland and Charlotte may be heading for divorce, they're over the rough water and back together with both oars in the water.

Another interesting point is that this story is told from an unbeliever's POV, looking into the Christian world with no little amount of skepticism. Unusual? Not really, but so well done that you forget all others that went before this story.

This is five stars out of five. A Worthy read and it's a keeper.

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Back On Murder Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by J. Mark Betrand


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.



Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.


The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.

A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:

Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...


Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.


Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Back On Murder, go HERE.