Done in One

Starred review from November 17, 2014
Jerkins (The Ninth Step) and debut author Thomas, the wife of a retired police sniper, deliver a high-powered bone-rattler of a novel. As a sniper on the Cameron County, Calif., Sheriff’s Department SWAT team, Jacob Denton stands as an anonymous “man apart,” even in this “brotherhood of the elite few.” After his 17th sanctioned kill, he can no longer ignore the high mental and emotional toll of his job. His wife, Jill, a writing teacher sidelined from her firefighting and EMT work by injury, tries to provide solace. When a shooter starts picking off cops, the strain on Denton increases. The chief suspect is Denton’s mentor and friend, Lee Staley, a sniper who retired after he botched his last job and now lives in derelict Hangtown. Even a contrived plot twist can’t dampen this adrenaline-fueled thriller, which casts Denton and his kind as heroes who still believe the American dream is worth protecting. Agent: Robert Guinsler, Sterling Lord Literistic.

January 1, 2015
A shooting in a store propels this tight, compelling look at the life of a SWAT officer. Jake Denton has utilized his sniper skills successfully for his SWAT team, but his superiors and his wife are beginning to wonder if his lack of emotion and profound disassociation from the job are destroying his sanity. Complicating matters is the fact that Denton's mentor is out on psych leave, and it appears that he might be the triggerman in a serious of violent encounters involving police officers. Will Denton be the next one to snap under the pressure? The story feels authentic enough in its view of the SWAT experience to be nonfictionif it weren't for some over-the-top elements in the plot. Still, readers who like the fly-on-the-wall approach to thrillersand the view that technique affords of a usually inaccessible culturewill be all in for this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)