"God, if this keeps happening, we'll be chasing them to death and never know what they've been up to."
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Farrel's Last Case by Gerald R. Wright Trafford Publishing
book review by Barbara Mims Deming
Detective Chief Inspector Ian Farrel is a good cop, so dedicated to his work that his wife leaves him. In the four years since, he's developed a short fuse when things don't go well on the job. The on-going surveillance of a cheap crook with ties to a top local criminal is an example. When he goes missing, the word on the street is that both men are connected to a new "Mr. Big," head of an international group called Hydra working out of a nearby industrial area. Farrel is not happy.
Personally, he has reconnected with an old girlfriend. Now a widow, Elizabeth is someone he can discuss the job with and receive comfort from. He also secretly takes on the protection of a girl-of-the-night who witnessed one of his surveillances. And, there's D.C. Copley, the nephew of the Assistant Chief Constable. He has the makings of a "good copper" Farrel proclaims while offering guidance.
Foreigners (Russians to be exact) become noticeable in the area. As the police continue inquiries, bodies begin to appear; all have some connection to Hydra's location, but each time law enforcement makes a raid, the place is clean. It doesn't take long for Farrel and Copley to realize a mole is performing double duty out of their local station. Is it a rookie copper, a mid-level officer with a grudge, or could it be someone higher up the chain of command?
From the beginning, the author's military and civil police background gives his writing a heavy touch of realism. Wright brings the reader behind the scenes of the small-town police unit while offering a challenge to the reader to discover the identity of the mole. The violent showdown and the revelation of a sinister character offer a hint of future meetings with Farrel—which readers should certainly appreciate.