Undercover: Burned

A Detective Carlo D’Scenzi Novel, Book 1

By: BJ Harris

Narrated by: Mike Marocco

His bravery and quick thinking earned him accolades while working patrol, but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter in his career. Detective Carlo D’Scenzi finds himself plunged into a new abyss with the Blues, Detroit’s elite investigative task force.

His first Undercover assignment, infiltrating the sinister heroin traffickers known as Big Papa’s Boys, pushes Carlo to the edge. The peril escalates when the gangsters unmask Carlo and make his family a target. Racing against time, Carlo must play the high stakes game of confronting the gangsters while torn between duty and the deeply personal mission to save those he holds dear.

"Despite the fact that undercover work is not conducted on a schedule, Sundays were saved for the D’Scenzi family. His wife Becky, who had been busy pulling weeds in the front yard, came around the house to the backyard where Carlo was trimming hedges. He recognized the troubled look on Becky’s face and carefully placed the trimmers on the ground as she approached him.

Becky told him, “Honey, there is a car out front with a man in it. I think he was using his cellphone to record me and the house.”

Carlo immediately shifted from peaceful suburban family man to fully alert papa bear. He rapidly fired questions at Becky. Where exactly is the car? What’s the guy look like? Are you sure there is only one person in the car? Is the car facing east or west? Why did you notice him?

While Becky was answering her husband’s questions, he drew the snub nosed .38 Chiefs Special from his right front pocket and double checked that it was ready to rock and roll, which didn’t help Becky feel any better about the situation. After mining as much information as he could from Becky, he directed her to get the kids and go into the basement in case this situation went bad. “It may be nothing but let me check it out.”

Carlo peeked around the corner of the house and located the vehicle and driver. Becky was spot on, it did appear that the driver was either taking photos or video of his house. He held the .38 in his right hand and put his hand in his pocket and quickly worked out the fact that it was impossible to approach the vehicle unseen.

With the information he had, he didn’t know whether this was a benign situation, a neighbor’s guest or realtor, or a gang banger set on hurting his family. Carlo decided that a direct approach was needed.

He casually walked from the backyard, down the driveway toward the street. He purposefully avoided looking at the driver. Once he got to the end of the driveway, he squatted down and acted as if he was adjusting one of the sprinkler heads in his front lawn. He was now within 15 yards of the vehicle and driver, not an easy shot with a snubby, but Carlo was confident he could get it done. He thought, “Let’s do it, close that distance and be ready for immediate action.”

©2023 Michael Scott Marocco (P)2023 Michael Scott Marocco

Couldn't Put It Down

The characters are vivid, the story is well written and action packed. The production is well narrated and I will be buying #2! Well Done BJ

Will keep you on the edge of your seat!

A fantastic thriller! Puts you in the driver seat of a hardcore, undercover investigation. Almost immediately I felt the urge to keep listening due to how engaging the story was. The narrator also provided just the right amount of emotion to make this feel reel. Highly recommended!

Great read

The story is engaging and very well written, with increasing depth and character development as it progresses. Looking forward to book two!

Keeps you engaged and wanting more!

Each page leaves you wanting more. Great read that is full of action and suspense. Loved every bit of it. Can’t wait to start the next one!

A definite requirement for the up and coming....

This is a real must read/listen story for anyone coming into the line of work. The dangers may seem distant, but are all too real when it comes cop work.
Put yourself in these situations and determine if you have what it takes to bend without breaking.
I can't wait to hear the next one and where it leads.

Entertaining and Realistic

From the opening chapter to the final chapter I was in suspense. I often wonder what police life is like when undercover. I feel as though this book is possibly as close to undercover as it can be. I enjoyed the ups and downs of the Deputy and all his partners. Sounds like the field can be stressful for the law enforcement community and even their family at times. Definitely going to listen to the rest of the books in the series as they come out.