Review by mphelp2 -- Twisted But True by Darren Burch
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Review by mphelp2 -- Twisted But True by Darren Burch
[Following is a volunteer review of "Twisted But True" by Darren Burch.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Without much research or personal investigation, the world of the police force may seem daunting and unimaginably demanding to the average person. Enter former officer Darren Burch, also a military veteran, who offers insight into the life of a police officer. Through witty rhetoric and a descriptive narrative that drops the reader right into the scenes, Twisted but True is a book that reveals what it means to not only be a cop, but to be a normal person working as a cop; that is, to be able to reflect on mistakes and keep up a humorous tone about even the more gruesome aspects of cases so that readers can relate to and understand the emotions and processes behind every scenario. Despite some repetitive writing and the author’s voice sometimes verging on superiority-complex, I would give this book three out of four stars since it is both captivating and an informative read.
Each chapter presents a new story in Burch’s life as a police officer. Opening with an origin story of sorts, Burch explains that his need to help others and serve his community has been present throughout his entire life. As the bystander of a fatal car wreck, a then-seventeen-year-old Burch tried to rescue a young woman from a burning car, but couldn’t get her out in time. From there he decided that all he wanted to do in life was try to help others. A very noble story told from a very noble man, Burch’s constant reminder about how desperately he needed to be a hero is slightly distracting from the overarching detail of the story itself. Along with simply presenting the cases and how he handled them, Burch often interjected his narrative with self-praising quips-- understandably, as his job and his actions were worth these merits, but having to read about his hero-complex over and over grew a little tiring. Luckily this did not appear all throughout the book, just mostly in the beginning. Perhaps this could be attributed to his need to explain his feelings and actions, but it was just a little too hammered-on.
Furthermore, Twisted but True is a book comprised not of story-building description, but flat-out “here’s-what-happens-now” narrative. Rather than build the stories outside of sensory detail, Burch has the habit of stating, “This is where it gets really twisted,” or, “This next story is especially dark.” I think that a more removed voice often helps stories flow and build themselves, rather than having to rely on explicitly stating what the story is like. There were a lot of these show-me-don’t-tell-me cases throughout the book. This can be a result of Burch writing in less of a creative nonfiction tone and more of a “gather ‘round, listen up” tone. That being said, these inserts did not take away from Burch’s ability to actually build the scene incorporating all of the reader’s senses.
Not only does Burch go above and beyond with his great descriptions, there is a side of his voice that I appreciated more: his sense of humor. Burch was able to overcome his initial hero-writing and tell these stories in a humanistic way, making them relatable to the reader and exposing just how realistic these seemingly-crazy events were. Having no personal or familial experience in this line of work, the book was really eye-opening into the life of a police officer. Burch opened the doors and allowed a peek into the room of the hectic (sometimes-funny) but overall intense work that he did for decades. On top of everything, he included details from his personal life as a husband and father that brought him more to life as a person and not just a hero-cop.
Overall, Twisted but True is a captivating, funny, and intense story that a real-life man tried to pin down into real-life retellings. Darren Burch not only successfully told his career history, but also managed to make it fast-paced and not boring. Despite the aforementioned opinions on his use of voice and style, I think this book is very deserving of its three-star rating, and I recommend it to read for anyone, not only those who might have an interest in becoming an officer.
******
Twisted But True
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
3 out of 4 stars
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Without much research or personal investigation, the world of the police force may seem daunting and unimaginably demanding to the average person. Enter former officer Darren Burch, also a military veteran, who offers insight into the life of a police officer. Through witty rhetoric and a descriptive narrative that drops the reader right into the scenes, Twisted but True is a book that reveals what it means to not only be a cop, but to be a normal person working as a cop; that is, to be able to reflect on mistakes and keep up a humorous tone about even the more gruesome aspects of cases so that readers can relate to and understand the emotions and processes behind every scenario. Despite some repetitive writing and the author’s voice sometimes verging on superiority-complex, I would give this book three out of four stars since it is both captivating and an informative read.
Each chapter presents a new story in Burch’s life as a police officer. Opening with an origin story of sorts, Burch explains that his need to help others and serve his community has been present throughout his entire life. As the bystander of a fatal car wreck, a then-seventeen-year-old Burch tried to rescue a young woman from a burning car, but couldn’t get her out in time. From there he decided that all he wanted to do in life was try to help others. A very noble story told from a very noble man, Burch’s constant reminder about how desperately he needed to be a hero is slightly distracting from the overarching detail of the story itself. Along with simply presenting the cases and how he handled them, Burch often interjected his narrative with self-praising quips-- understandably, as his job and his actions were worth these merits, but having to read about his hero-complex over and over grew a little tiring. Luckily this did not appear all throughout the book, just mostly in the beginning. Perhaps this could be attributed to his need to explain his feelings and actions, but it was just a little too hammered-on.
Furthermore, Twisted but True is a book comprised not of story-building description, but flat-out “here’s-what-happens-now” narrative. Rather than build the stories outside of sensory detail, Burch has the habit of stating, “This is where it gets really twisted,” or, “This next story is especially dark.” I think that a more removed voice often helps stories flow and build themselves, rather than having to rely on explicitly stating what the story is like. There were a lot of these show-me-don’t-tell-me cases throughout the book. This can be a result of Burch writing in less of a creative nonfiction tone and more of a “gather ‘round, listen up” tone. That being said, these inserts did not take away from Burch’s ability to actually build the scene incorporating all of the reader’s senses.
Not only does Burch go above and beyond with his great descriptions, there is a side of his voice that I appreciated more: his sense of humor. Burch was able to overcome his initial hero-writing and tell these stories in a humanistic way, making them relatable to the reader and exposing just how realistic these seemingly-crazy events were. Having no personal or familial experience in this line of work, the book was really eye-opening into the life of a police officer. Burch opened the doors and allowed a peek into the room of the hectic (sometimes-funny) but overall intense work that he did for decades. On top of everything, he included details from his personal life as a husband and father that brought him more to life as a person and not just a hero-cop.
Overall, Twisted but True is a captivating, funny, and intense story that a real-life man tried to pin down into real-life retellings. Darren Burch not only successfully told his career history, but also managed to make it fast-paced and not boring. Despite the aforementioned opinions on his use of voice and style, I think this book is very deserving of its three-star rating, and I recommend it to read for anyone, not only those who might have an interest in becoming an officer.
******
Twisted But True
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: And Throw Away The Skins by Scott Archer Jones
