Thursday, April 5, 2012

Curbchek-Reload review that made me laugh

I am going to put a pre-review up here now because I have a feeling that when I get through with this book, there will be no words left inside me to do a final review. 

For those of you who have this on your to-read list, even if you have read the first book, Curbcheck, this book is much different so do not expect "more of the same". It's not. 

These are actual calls, non-embellished, which the author, a former police officer, responded to during his 20 some-odd years on the job. Only the names were changed to protect the guilty. Some of the guilty are street thugs, transients and gangbangers, others wear blue uniforms. Some work in the medical field, some are old and crippled in wheelchairs. It could be that quiet neighbor of yours sitting on his porch. And some are even parents. Where I would describe the stories in the original Curbcheck to be "quirky" or "oddball", I would describe this sequel as "horrific" "tragic" "frightening" "mind-bending". 

I started reading this at 10:00 p.m. last night and have so far read about 15 chapters. I wanted desperately to put this book down about an hour into it, but I couldn't. I kept reading and I know that today I will read more and will finish this book to the end. I know because this book is well written, well thought out and is bending my mind. I know because these "stories" are true. I know because up until 10:00 p.m. last night, I was one of those "daywalkers" mindlessly going through life ever-trusting, unaware and ignorant of the pure unadulterated evil that lurks in this world, while I go about living in my world with a false sense of security. 

While this book is much better than the first book as far as formatting, editing, grammar and spelling, which makes this a much smoother read than the prior book, the experiences that the author talks about in this book (and mind you I am only 15 chapters in) caused me to have a restless night full of nightmares, fear and anxiety. Can a book cause post traumatic stress disorder? Because if it can, this just did. And if simply reading this book has caused me this much fear in 15 short chapters, then I am amazed that the author is suffering only from job related post traumatic stress disorder and not complete insanity from the experiences he has had over the span of 20+ years. If I were in his shoes, dealing with the things that he has seen, particulary when they involve helpless infants and children, I know for a fact I would be in a rubber room. 

I am giving this four stars, because any book that has this kind of effect on me, speaks volumes. I am adding one extra star because the author was classy enough and restrained enough not to pop his x-wife in the mouth after she said he "only writes tickets". If I see her in the street, I will do it for him. 
"Nena" from Goodreads.com

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