Review of Twisted But True

[Oyeleye Oyedeji]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Twisted But True" by Darren Burch.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Are you like me that have always wondered, "What does the police really do?"? Well, you do not have to wonder anymore. Why? Darren Burch has made available the answer to this in his collection of personal police stories, Twisted but True.

The book is more or less autobiographical as all the stories detailed in it, stories involving police, happened to Darren. This walk in the memory lane started from the time the author joined the army, left it, applied for a job at the CIA, was found not to be fit for the job, and later joined the police. All the events before his time in the police force were given in a somewhat summarized manner, giving ample room for the relation of the events that are twisted yet true.

The book is packed with many astounding features. One of such is the introduction to every story. These introductions give the reader the background information to the tales thereby aiding the easy grasping of the stories. They serve, to me, as part of the build-up to the punch line of the stories. Like in the tale of a man who used an unusual object to masturbate which led to almost dismemberment of his genitalia. The introductory part of this incident lent enough suspense to the climax of the story that if not for the pity for the "victim" one would be rolling in laughter on getting to the punch line.

Another astounding feature is the presence of a central element that tied the individual stories together, the author. Darren inserted pieces of information about his personal life into each story. These little pieces served as a bonding agent that amalgamated individual stories into one big tale. The reader got to know what rank the author was or what promotion he just got. In order words, the tales are arranged in a timeline manner in line with the author's advancement in years and career. This feature made the novel very organized and enjoyable to the reader.

What I do not like in the book? Nothing. The book is so good a read that the few errors I found cannot be counted against it as a drawback. Its good side outweighs its bad side. For this reason, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, and I recommend this book to anyone who is inquisitive about police work or considers a career in the force.

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Twisted But True
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