☆☆➹⁀☆ 4 stars ☆➹⁀☆☆
About the Book:
Calgary, 1976. Life couldn’t be better for Brad Coulter, a Calgary cop. Partnered with his best friend, paid to keep the streets safe from the riff raff. Until a gun battle after an armed robbery leaves him without his partner and grappling with the sudden burst of criminal activity in his otherwise quiet city.
A series of Brinks truck robberies escalate, each one bolder than the last. Cops are losing their lives, and Coulter is determined to catch the thugs, avenge his partner, and keep the streets safe.
His new partner, Jerry Briscoe, an acerbic veteran, challenges Coulter to buck up or get out. Briscoe’s tough love gives Coulter the kick he needs. He applies and wins a spot on the newly developed Tactical Support Unit.
A lone gunman high on glue, a deadbeat father and abusive husband, and a small grow op, prepare Coulter and the TSU team for what is yet to come. The true crisis point that will forever change the face of a city, and the cops that man its streets.
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My Thoughts:
The opening scene of Dwayne Clayden’s Crisis Point is engagingly intense, and it sets the stage for a highly entertaining and action-packed novel. It is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up on 1970s police procedural television programs, and for “younger” readers, it is just an incredibly good read!
Unlike many other books in the genre, Mr. Clayden gives his readers a unique sense of authenticity that comes from his years of experience as a police officer, paramedic, firefighter and EMT. Beyond that realism, Mr. Clayden gives his readers fully developed, empathetic characters. Both his protagonists and antagonists are fully developed. Their motivations are clear, and they have personal lives that drive their choices.
The major storyline of Crisis Point is a series of Brinks Truck robberies (which is very authentic for the period), and interwoven into the novel are several other smaller crimes for the police and the newly established TSU (Canadian version of SWAT). I loved the realism of the police having to focus on more than just one (albeit big) case.
The main character, Brad Coulter, is a young, overly confident young man who finds out the hard way just how much he has to learn. I like this guy. He isn’t perfect and he doesn’t always win. However, his heart and his intentions are always in the right place. He has deep friendships, he has love, and he has losses; Mr. Clayden makes sure his readers feel every single day of Brad Coulter’s existence. From his bruises and sore muscles to his broken heart, Brad Coulter is completely relatable.
I really enjoyed Crisis Point. I liked that the story was told from multiple points of view; it is unusual to get the antagonists story along with that of the police. I loved that the hero had to overcome multiple setbacks. The combination of strong, realistic characters and fast-pace plot have me hooked on Dwayne Clayden’s Brad Coulter series.
About the Author: DWAYNE combines his knowledge and experience as a police officer and paramedic to write realistic crime thrillers. CRISIS POINT, Dwayne’s first novel, was a finalist for the 2015 Crime Writers of Canada, Arthur Ellis Awards.
In his 40 year career, Dwayne has served as a police officer, paramedic, tactical paramedic, firefighter, emergency medical services (EMS) chief, educator, and academic chair.
Dwayne is a popular speaker at conferences and to writing groups presenting on realistic police, medical, and paramedic procedures. The co-author of four paramedic textbooks, he has spoken internationally at EMS conferences for the past three decades.
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