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The Burden of Truth

Review

The Burden of Truth

Neal Griffin's career in law enforcement spanned almost three decades, and he saw the best and worst on both sides of the blue line. His Newberg trilogy is highly prized and critically acclaimed. THE BURDEN OF TRUTH is set halfway across the country from Newberg, Wisconsin, in Vista, California. Nonetheless, it has some subtle ties to the series that play out over the course of a gritty, tragic and memorable story.

Griffin toys a bit with traditional linear narrative here. The prologue drops readers into an explosive vignette, in which an arrest is quickly effectuated in a cramped apartment occupied by what remains of a family of illegal immigrants. Omar Ortega, an 18-year-old high school senior, is the target. The remainder of the book is divided into two parts labeled “Before” and “After.”

"There is plenty of sorrow to be doled out on all sides in THE BURDEN OF TRUTH without the luxury of easy answers. You will be thinking about this deeply layered book and recommending it to others, just as I have been doing."

It is “Before” that is arguably the most important section, as we learn of the events --- both part of the public record and otherwise --- leading up to Omar’s arrest. The young man makes plans to improve his life and elevate the circumstances of his family. However, he faces a number of obstacles, most of them from the low-level street-corner thugs who populate Omar’s neighborhood. The head of the San Diego County Sheriff gang interdiction squad is somehow convinced that Omar is gang-affiliated, which doesn’t help matters. Travis Jackson, a relatively new addition to the sheriff’s department, is somewhere in the middle, sometimes wishing he had never left his small police department in Wisconsin but wanting to prove himself in the dangerous environment of San Diego County.

On a fateful night, Omar puts himself between a very dangerous street gang and his younger brother and sister. When a traffic stop goes wrong in the worst possible way, it appears that he is at fault, leading to the arrest that is prefigured at the beginning of the book. It is in the “After” section where things seem to be at their most hopeless, particularly because readers know much more than the justice system and law enforcement do. Omar acquires some allies who may be able to help him, but he also finds himself facing new enemies in jail. Meanwhile, some members of the sheriff’s department seek out more evidence, while others suffer from confirmation bias. Help is ultimately coming for Omar, but it may be too little and too late.

There is plenty of sorrow to be doled out on all sides in THE BURDEN OF TRUTH without the luxury of easy answers. You will be thinking about this deeply layered book and recommending it to others, just as I have been doing.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub on August 7, 2020

The Burden of Truth
by Neal Griffin

  • Publication Date: July 14, 2020
  • Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books
  • ISBN-10: 0765395622
  • ISBN-13: 9780765395627