Under Color of Law

Trevor Finnegan, Book 1

By: Aaron Philip Clark

Narrated by: Preston Butler III

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)

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.

Brilliant

Great story for our times. Police procedural with very realistic characters and situations and beautiful writing.

Very timely police procedural novel👌🏽

I discovered this author via a crime-thriller panel he participated in at the 2022 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I was intrigued by the fact that he'd been a trainee before deciding to become an author. To me, his knowledge and plot choices (issues striped from recent headlines as well as infamous past ones) combined well.

I admired the narrator's willingness to give each character a different vocal style. The father character was hands down my favorite voice he did in addition to the MC.

I was impressed overall and will continue this series via audiobook.

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.

If You Like the Bosch novels...

Got this book as one of those Audible Daily Deals. Being a fan of Michael Connelly's LA cop novels, this seemed like it would be a good bet. The author writes well and the narrator is superb.
One of the most memorable parts of the novel, and demonstrates the narrator's skill, is that you are instantly annoyed by a couple of ancillary characters without the writing explicitly stating so.
Give it a shot.

Exciting & Thought Provoking

Exciting mystery with great characters and twists. Manages to be thought provoking and extremely timely while always staying entertaining. Keeps you on the hook and tells a great story. Hidden gem. Definitely worth a listen.

Great book

What a fantastic story. The narrator couldn’t be better. Suspenseful and so true to life.

Enjoyed this police procedural

Some of the writing was a bit stilted, but overall, it was a good story.

Enjoyed Preston’s outstanding read!

I was hoping the ending would have everything neatly wrapped. Possibly, unclosed situations of the plot are the makings of a sequel.

Riviting

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