2 out of 4 stars
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Betrayal in Blue, by Mark M. Bello, is a sequel to his Betrayal of Faith and Betrayal of Justice, in his Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series. Zack is a prominent and highly talented lawyer willing to take on difficult and high-profile cases when he believes in his client’s innocence. Jack Dylan is a police officer of considerable skill – especially in his ability to have the right hunch about a case. He is also willing to risk his career (and life) to follow his hunches in the pursuit of justice against considerable odds, including opposition from the ‘system’, whether it be his law enforcement colleagues, the legal apparatus, federal agencies, etc.
Betrayal of Justice was about their clearing of a Muslim woman of murder charges resulting from her attempt to solve a mosque bombing by white supremacists. Betrayal in Blue is about a new white supremacist terrorist plot (in revenge for the failure of the previous one) that Jack gets wind of. This time sarin gas is the chosen weapon. The FBI take over the case, but fail to capture the instigator. Unable to convince his chief to pursue the case independently, Jack, with help from his closest colleagues, pursues the suspect to the small, quaint lakeside fishing town of Manistee, Michigan. Jack makes a tactical error while attempting to coax clues from his suspect. This leads to an explosive incident resulting in Jack’s being charged with the man’s murder.
This novel is full of creative uses of intelligence sources, electronic trails, etc. (whether or not they are realistic), tension between various law enforcement organizations, and intransigent local officials. Much of the plot, especially the pre-trial and in-and-out of courtroom dramatics, has a sense of familiarity to it. Not all twists of the plot were entirely predictable, but the overall arc had few surprises. This reviewer found his interest maintained primarily by wondering if events would ever take a drastic and totally unanticipated turn. This was not to be.
The final outcome of the trial, with Zack defending, ends up hanging on some last-minute expert evidence and testimony; this was the source of much of the modest sense of tension provided for the reader. The main concluding episode was somewhat anticlimactic because certain conspicuously missing evidence had been obvious to the reader.
This is an entertaining and diverting book, if the reader doesn’t mind the familiar character and plot elements, its tendency to use clichés, or its low level of tension or suspense. Most of the characters seem likeable; even those who were obstacles to the protagonists are mostly well-meaning but misguided folks – though perhaps too concerned with their own vested interests rather than the facts. Ironically, much of the low-tension feel of the book may have been provided by the breezy and agreeable tone in which it was written, and the relative lack of truly villainous individuals.
There is a background theme in these novels about an ‘America first’ president who is seen as responsible for exacerbating the white nationalist trend. Overall this seems an unnecessary plot device regardless of one’s politics.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. If half-stars were available, I might give it 2.5 because of the overall entertainment (enjoyability) value of the writing style. It is suitable for anyone who enjoys the law enforcement / courtroom drama genre written with a light touch.
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Betrayal in Blue
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