The Execution of Justice by Michael Phelps

Product DescriptionMichael Walsh, as a uniformed police officer faces down a deranged man, on the front porch of his home, holding a gun to the head of his five year old daughter. The man had just shot his partner, and was threatening to kill Walsh, his daughter, and as many others as he could. In the frigid air, Walsh talks the man into releasing his little girl and surrendering. Inside the home, police find the body of his slain wife. Two months later, Walsh is promoted to Detective, and is paired with an old mentor, Detective Sergeant Jack Lovell, in the elite Robbery & Homicide Division of the Indianapolis Police Department. At age 27, with only six years experience as a patrol officer, he is the youngest member of the Robbery & Homicide unit. A series of armed robberies leads Walsh and his mentor, Lovell on an eight month hunt for a gang of vicious criminals, with the killing of one of their own, and then the murder of a Brinks Armored Truck guard, it is a race to identify, locate and capture the gang before they kill again. Two weeks before Christmas, the chase ends. Walsh’s friend and mentor is killed instantly in a barrage of gunfire in the pre-dawn hours. His shooting leads to a two and a half hour gun battle between the police and the barricaded suspects. Walsh’s life is thrust into a spiraling tail-spin. His wife cannot take the stress of being a cop’s wife, she leaves him. He is guilt-ridden over the death of his partner. Thoughts of suicide enter his alcohol soaked mind. What will he do? Will he survive?

My thoughts“Execution of Justice” is not a fast paced thriller, but an evenly flowing drama. Michael Phelps first novel shows what it is like to be a cop, both professionally and personally. While Detective Mike Walsh succeeds at his job, he fails at his marriage. While the portrayal of being on the job and dealing with criminals is fine, when Phelps writes about the home life of the detective, there is too much that doesn’t need to be there, like the too much detail in what he eats, when and if he has sex. I don’t know if he was trying to show how mundane his personal life was as compared to how stressful the job was. I just felt it slowed the story. Also, it is stated that this is the first of the “Detective Mike Walsh” series. If so, there has to be more conflict which builds up to a climax to keep me interested, as opposed to reading what essential is a journal of the character’s life. Otherwise, it’s a good start.