For a debut novel, the author hit this one out of the park. It is well written with Logan as the main character finding himself on the wrong side of the law. There is a small problem though, he is a cop himself. There seems to be a little under the table bets going on in the squad room of who can arrest the most suspects in a shift. Logan finds himself arresting someone with his partner one day and things get out of hand. The author brings to the surface the headlines of police brutality . The arrest turns violent and at one point Logan sees his reflection . What he saw was a police officer that had turned bad. His anger, his bully tactics and his quest to win a bet had taken him to the depths of darkness. Has your anger ever overtaken you? Logan knew he had gone to far.

What follows is a heart wrenching journey that Logan will take to put his life back together. I liked the way he is shown as a person who struggles with good vs evil. He contemplates his action and makes a decision that will take his life on a roller coaster. His vulnerability was well defined as he struggled to do the right thing. Could you admit you had done something wrong that could cost you your job and perhaps your freedom? Would you turn your friends in or take all the blame? Logan must learn who to trust and allow God to lead him to the right path.

An interesting combination of police procedural and Christian flavored self discovery. First person point of view is not my favorite to read but this was okay and Richards did stick to only that point of view. So the reader is in the dark about what is happening as much as Taul is throughout. I liked the story line and the struggles of Taul as he works to get his life back together as he realizes he is not the person he thought.

If you want to know, in depth, how a police station is run, how laws and procedures are handled this will give you the details, in what feels like word by word from the police manual. I kind of liked it but sometimes it could get a bit tedious. An occasional summary of them would have sufficed for me but I know others would love this incredible detail. Richards does know her stuff. And while there were some editing mistakes scattered throughout the book they did not detract from the story though I did have to go back and reread sentences to figure out what the editors had cut and what had not necessarily been put back to make the sentence read completely smooth. But we know how editors are. I liked the story and would be interested in reading more about Second Home and all the characters we were introduced to. There are a plethora of stories to be told and I am sure Richards would do a great job.

Somewhere in his police career Logan Taul careened off the path of justice. He was no longer the officer upholding the law, but the one breaking it. He saw the monster he was one night when he and his partner rousted a troubled teen, and Logan decided to come clean.

He knew it would be rough, but he wanted to save his job, pay back the child support to the family he walked out on, and make things right. Logan implicated other officers and in turn they came close to taking his life and injuring his family.

Ms. Richards writes a provocative story relating the sometimes insurmountable odds of doing the right thing. When Office Taul hits rock bottom, he holds onto the truth and his beliefs. I stayed up way into the early morning to finish this one. I couldn’t put it down.

Wow! This was such a good book! It kept me up most of the night reading. I enjoyed many things about this story, but especially the fact that the characters weren’t perfect. The people in this book were flawed and very believable. Because of that, they were also endearing. I found myself pulling for them. I appreciated Logan’s attempts to change his life, and I also appreciated the action the book contained. As I read, I got a real taste of what it was like to be a police officer. The pages of this book were infused with drama, suspense, mystery, and emotional tension. And beneath it all, there was the soft, tender message of God’s love and the beauty of second chances. If you enjoy police dramas, I think you will really love this book. I know that I did.

We hear of police brutality, this novel truly exposes it. But more than that, Shattered Trust is a tale that needs to be told in this day of pointing fingers and blaming others. When we face the consequences of our actions and choose to do right, no matter the personal cost, then integrity is honored by God and those who truly see it. That doesn’t make it easy, though. This realistic drama doesn’t sugar coat the issue of dirty cops and deadbeat dads, but the more you read, the more you admire Logan for wanting to turn over a new leaf. He is a strong character we should all applaud.

I don’t typically read this genre, but I heard good things about Chris Richard’s book, so I bought it. I was immediately drawn in by the main character’s quest and self-discovery as well as by the unique people he meets along the way. The plot twists kept things interesting throughout the whole book. Even though it dealt with some difficult subjects, and he went through times of great struggle, somehow the author kept me feeling hopeful throughout, something I really needed with the painful issues the hero and those he cared about faced.