The Burden of Truth
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
As a serving police officer, Los Angeles Times bestselling author Neal Griffin saw how family ties, loyalty to friends, and their own ambitions could lead young men to make choices that got them hurt, killed, or imprisoned. He explores this complex web of relationships and pressures in The Burden of Truth.
In a small city in southern California, 18 year-old Omar Ortega is about to graduate high school. For years, he’s danced on the fringes of gang life, trying desperately to stay out of the cross-hairs. Once Omar joins the Army, his salary, plus his meager savings, will get his mother and siblings out of the barrio, where they’ve lived since his father was deported.
One night, everything changes. Newly released from prison, Chunks, the gang’s shot-caller, has plans for Omar. That boy, Chunks thinks, needs to be jumped in.
By dawn, Omar will be labeled a cop-killer. Law-and-order advocates and community organizers will battle over Omar’s fate in the court of public opinion while the criminal justice system grips him in its teeth.
One night can destroy a man and all who depend on him.
That he’s innocent does not matter.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Straight-A student Omar Ortega, the 18-year-old hero of this solid standalone from Griffin (the Newberg mysteries), plans to join the army after he graduates from his Vista, Calif., high school. He expects his wages and his savings will get his mother and 16-year-old sister, Sofia, and 13-year-old brother, Hector, into a nice house and out of the barrio where they have been since his father was deported. Omar has managed to stay away from gang life, and keep Sofia and Hector safe. One night, Chunks Gutierrez, newly released from prison, forces Omar to ride with him and two members of his gang in his car. Someone fires a gun from the car, killing a cop, and Omar is later arrested for the crime. Griffin sensitively explores Omar's plight as he's labeled a cop killer, and the emotional growth of police officer Travis Jackson, who at first is convinced Omar is guilty, but comes to realize the evidence points to another culprit. The tense denouement is incredibly sad, but realistic. Fans of contemporary police procedurals will be satisfied.
