opens in a new window
Once a month, we’re spotlighting a Tor/Forge book that will soon become available in paperback. Today, we’re featuring opens in a new windowBenefit of the Doubt by Neal Griffin, coming out in paperback December 29, 2015.
A gripping thriller, Benefit of the Doubt exposes the dark underbelly of policing in small-town America, where local police departments now deal with big-city crimes and corruption. Please enjoy this excerpt.
ONE
The digital timer on the treadmill hit forty minutes and Ben Sawyer fought the nagging urge to quit. Tempted to slow to a brisk walk, Ben cursed himself through clenched teeth. He cranked the speed half a point higher, increased the incline, and gave himself a silent ration of shit for being weak. He despised artificial exercise, but the alternative meant dealing with the slush, soft ice, and bone-snapping potholes that scarred the roads every spring. To make matters worse, Ben knew that after a short respite, summer heat would blanket the countryside with a muggy hatred for all things human. The wet, sticky air would be thick with dragon mosquitoes patrolling the skies like military drones in search of easy targets. An endless parade of miserable seasons. If he spent the rest of his life in the earthbound purgatory of Newberg, Wisconsin, he’d use his last breath to curse the goddamn weather.
In the cramped storage room that doubled as the gym of the Newberg Police Department, Ben ran in place while half a dozen patrol officers held what amounted to nothing more than a circle jerk disguised as a workout. He couldn’t help but overhear as one officer held the group spellbound with his firsthand account of a bizarre dead body call at an all-night grocery store.
