Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Death Votes Last
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Rainer, Marc
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.marcrainer.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES: All books are written as Marc Rainer.
PERSONAL
Born Charles Ambrose, 1951, Hattiesburg, MS; married (wife a former Air Force OSI Special Agent).
EDUCATION:United States Air Force Academy graduate.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and lawyer. Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia, beginning c. 1987, promoted to the federal District Court division; Western District of Missouri, beginning 1990, federal prosecutor based in Kansas City, MO; retired 2015.
MIILITARY:Former U.S. Air Force JAG, left active duty 1987.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Marc Rainer, the pseudonym of Charles Ambrose, is author of the “Jeff Trask” crime series of books. An Air Force veteran, Rainer turned to crime writing after serving thirty years as a federal prosecutor, during which time he collected numerous stories from cases. It was Rainer’s wife who urged him to write a book. Rainer has said that Trask is his fictional alter-ego who works on cases in which the plot is based largely on Rainer’s own experiences. He uses actual trial transcripts in his novels but changes the names.
Capital Kill
The first book in the “Jeff Trask” series is titled Capital Kill and introduces readers to the smart, classic-rock loving prosecutor. In his new job as an an assistant U.S. attorney, Trask is assigned to a relatively straightforward murder case which turns out to be much more complicated than anyone thought. The case morphs into an international case that threatens to overburden the legal system.
Trask joins a team of FBI agents and police trying to track down a muderer roaming the streets of Washington, DC. As the brutal murders mount, the investigations leads to an international drug smuggling ring so powerful that no one is safe, including the team conducting the murder investigation. As a rookie U.S. Attorney, Trask is somewhat idealistic and trusts the system. The case, however quickly leads him to become more suspicious, especially when it comes to trust.
“Despite its straightforward formula, the book’s intense action, realistic tone and memorable characters will keep readers engrossed in this popcorn thriller with a superb payoff” wrote a Kirkus Reviews Online contributor. Stephen Bentley, writing for the self-named Stephen Bentley website, remarked: “Capital Kill is a classic example of an author ‘writing what he knows.'”
Horns of the Devil
In Horns of the Devil Trasker once again finds himself working with Detective Dixon Carter, who is on the case of the beheaded son of the ambassador from El Salvador. Found near the Salvadoran embassy, the son appears to have been a member of the Barrio 18 gang. Initially, the primary suspect in the murder are members of the rival MS-13 gang.
Tracsk quickly begins to question that MS-13 as the culprit, especially after a series of follow-up murders look professional in nature. Before long, Trask finds himself a target, along with several other lawyers. A Kirkus Reviews Online contributor called Horns of the Devil “a well-paced mystery featuring an entertainingly complicated protagonist, supported by a robust cast.”
A Winter of Wolves
In A Winter of Wolves Trask goes to the scene of a Park Police officer’s murder at the Lincoln Memorial. As the investigation proceeds, more police officers turn up murdered. At the funeral for one, a gunfight breaks out between the police and Trask, who is also attending the funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. The bad guys turn out to be a band of Islamic terrorists. As a result of the fight, Trask is disqualified from the case and ends up on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, leading Trask to uncover a sinister plot.
“A Winter of Wolves reveals author Marc Rainer’s impressive flair for creating a deftly crafted and memorable novel,” wrote a Small Press Bookwatch contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor online commented: “The lawyer-hero remains, as always, resolute and razor sharp, even when using his gun more than his legal brain.”
Death Votes Last
Death Votes Last, which follows Death’s White Horse, finds Trask working on the case of a U.S. senator who may have been assassinated. The dead senator is Trask’s old friend, Sherwin Graves, the senator from Georgia. Graves apparently died in a car accident, an assumption made by the bottle of Rohypnol pills found on Graves’s body. Trask, however, suspects somethings wrong when its discovered that the bottle was wiped clean of fingerprints with a solvent. Detective Dixon Carter once again appears to work with Trask on the case.
“This case is a hot potato and delves into life in Washington DC,” wrote an EBook Obsessed website contributor, adding: “It points out the difficulties for the Department of Justice created every time the government changes hands.” Noting that “the bad guys are corrupt but still human,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor went on to call Death Votes Last “a rousing, standout series entry.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2018, review of Death Votes Last.
Small Press Bookwatch, January, 2017, review of A Winter of Wolves.
ONLINE
EBook Obsessed, http://ebookobsessed.com/ (November 27, 2017), review of Death Votes Last.
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (June 8, 2012), review of Capital Kill; (February 21, 2013), review of Horns of the Devil; (December 9, 2016), review of A Winter of Wolves.
Marc Rainer website, https://www.marcrainer.com (July 7, 2018).
Stephen Bentley website, https://www.stephenbentley.info/ (February 11, 2018), Stephen Bentley, review of Capital Kill.
Writing Train, https://thewritingtrain.com/ (December 22, 2016), Benjamin Thomas, “Great Interview with Marc Rainer Author of the Jeff Trask Crime Series.”
Marc Rainer (the author’s pseudonym) was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1951. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and a former Air Force JAG and retired federal (civilian) prosecutor.
In 1987, he left active duty and accepted an appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted “street crimes” in the District’s Superior Court, was promoted to the District Court (federal) division, and served on the trial teams in major drug cases, including the prosecution of Jamaican “Posses.” He moved to the Western District of Missouri in 1990, and continued his practice as a federal prosecutor in Kansas City until his retirement in 2015.
He lives in a suburb of a major northwestern city with his wife, a former Air Force OSI Special Agent, and their three rescued dogs.
THE WRITING TRAIN: JOIN THE LOCOMOTION
Great Interview with Marc Rainer Author of the Jeff Trask Crime Series
Posted on December 22, 2016 by Benjamin Thomas
Prosecutor job title on nameplate
Everyone Please Welcome
Marc Rainer Author of the Jeff Trask legal thriller series
welcome-home
About the Author:
Marc Rainer is a former prosecutor in the federal and local courts of the District of Columbia, and a former circuit prosecutor for the U.S. Air Force’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he has more than thirty years experience in the prosecution of major cases. He is married to a former Air Force OSI Special Agent, and lives in a suburb of a major American city.
A Winter of Wolves will be available via Amazon and in select brick-and-mortar retailers as of October 2016.
winter-of-wolves
According to Goodreads
Federal prosecutor Jeff Trask and a team of investigators are on the trail of what they believe is a lone wolf terrorist who is murdering law enforcement officers in the nation’s capital. Their investigation leads them into a firefight with a cell of radical Islamic terrorists who have something much more terrible in mind. If successful, the terrorists’ plan will threaten the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. The fourth book in Marc Rainer’s Jeff Trask crime drama series is a contemporary historical novel incorporating issues associated with many current events.
A Winter of Wolves is also the 4th volume in the series. Check out the first three volumes on Goodreads.
Capitol Kill (Jeff Trask Crime Drama #1)
Horns of the Devil (Jeff Trask Crime Drama #2)
Death’s White Horses (Jeff Trask Crime Drama #3)
Let’s begin….
What led you to become a writer?
After 30 years of service as a federal prosecutor, I had collected hundreds of professional “war stories” from cases. Told correctly, these are also known as “plot lines.” My wife kept saying, “You should write a book,” so I did.
There’s no better fuel than life experience. Excellent!
Which authors inspire your writing the most?
If any served as inspiration, it would be the W.E.B. Griffin father-son team and series, since it showed me how characters could be developed over the course of a series of novels. I also love the way Michael Connelly writes.
Haven’t heard of W. E. B. Griffin, but I also love Michael Connelly. Great source of inspiration!
inspiration
What’s your goal in becoming a writer?
I honestly just wanted to see what I could do. Nothing beyond that. The modest success (about 40,000 sales as a self-published author) has been a pleasant surprise.
Wonderul. I believe it’ll only get better. The reviews are great!
What three things have hindered your writing?
I don’t have three. The only obstacle before I retired was the day job; in other words, having enough time. Since then, the retail bias against self-published authors may have hindered sales, but not the writing itself.
Having enough time is always a struggle.
time-clock
What keeps you motivated?
I just like to write.
That’s good enough motivation for anyone.
“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” -Bill Wheeler
What is my antagonist?
I don’t allow those, don’t have one.
Oh, I love that attitude. Excellent.
Compared to my previous work, what’s it like being a writer?
First, I like my boss a lot more. Second, since I was a career prosecutor, I miss the cops and agents – real-life heroes – with whom I had the pleasure of working for years. Third, my schedule is my own now, and being comfortably retired, there’s no pressure. I’m very fortunate in that way.
This sounds like a very sweet experience. I wish I had it!
home
What would I say to a writer who has given up?
Find something you believe in enough to NOT give up on. Examine yourself. Why did you give up on writing? Lack of financial success? Self doubt? One can be overcome with perseverance. The other is a sign of some deeper issues. Identify them and start to deal with them.
Perseverance is the name of the game. I needed to hear this myself.
What are the key elements to a legal thriller?
I try very hard to avoid formulas. In real-life legal work – especially in solving criminal cases – formulaic approaches can lead to “tunnel vision.” By that, I mean that if you approach a case the same way every time, trying to solve a case using the same method that happened to work the last time, you can miss a lot of clues, make a lot of serious mistakes. Each case involves different people with different motivations. Some criminals act without rational motivation at all; they are creatures of impulse. A crime-based legal thriller by definition has to involve a crime, or series of crimes. After that, I climb on board with my characters for the investigative “ride,” to see where that leads. The solution can occur in or out of the courtroom.
I agree wholeheartedly. Formulas can be quite boring.
justice
Introduce us to the Jeff Trask series.
Trask is my fictional alter-ego. A lot of my plot lines are based upon actual cases, and I use trial transcripts from actual cases in the books, with the usual name changes “to protect the innocent” (and guilty). While Trask and I share a lot of experiences, he probably learns faster on the job than I did. I strive for realism. There aren’t any Hollywood gun fights where the good guys snapshoot someone off the roof of a building a hundred yards away with a handgun, then outrun a string of machine gun bullets. I also try not to use the hackneyed lone, tortured soul, alcoholic detective approach. Complex crimes are not solved by rogue superheroes acting alone. They are solved by teams of good people – cops, medical examiners, forensic specialists, and then prosecutors and their staffs – all working together. I’ve been fortunate enough to earn praise from professionals in these fields who say, “Finally, somebody got it right.” Some critics have said that Trask is “too perfect,” in that he is NOT the typical tortured hero. We all have some demons, but I don’t seek readers who have to look down on a character in order to feel better about themselves. I don’t write literary fiction, and don’t have to apologize for that. The series is about how real teams solve real cases, facing criminals or criminal organizations posing real threats. It also has a lot of dark humor in it, which is also real, in that the guys and gals who do this work for a living have to have that sense of humor to do their jobs without going nuts.
I love the whole team idea to solving crimes. Not conforming to the typical hero complex is a great way to step outside the box.
Outside the box.jpeg
What are the chief characteristics of Jeff Trask?
Smart. Occasionally a smart-ass, in fact. He does not, however, talk down to anyone or use his brain for anything other than finding solutions. He loves classic rock, and always has a jukebox playing in his head, usually providing a theme-based tune to any situation in which he finds himself. For example, in one book, he encounters a crime scene with about a dozen victims – gang members – shot to hell by a rival criminal element. Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party” starts playing in his mind. Trask works well with others as long as they are interested in being part of the solution and not the problem.
The characteristics of the protagonist help readers fall in love with them.
Any planned releases for 2017?
The next book in the series has already started to take shape in my head. It will find its way to a keyboard some time next year.
Looking forward to it! it’ll give me some time to catch up in the series.
coming-soon-1604663__340
Favorite quotes:
“Government’s never react well, but they over-react superbly.” Robert Lassiter, Trask’s fictional mentor.
Connect with Marc Rainer
Facebook | Goodreads | www.marcrainer.com | Amazon
Thanks Marc!
Begin 2017 with a challenge. Join the Book Hoarders Bucket List Reading Challenge.
Join the Goodreads group: Book Hoarders Bucket List Challenge.
A Challenge for Book Hoarders Like Me at SallyAllenBooks.com
Don’t miss the inaugural powerhouse event of 2017!! Check out Mystery Thriller Week on my other site: Mysterythrillerweek.com
Thanks for ridin’ the Train folks! Come again!
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Rainer, Marc: DEATH VOTES LAST
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rainer, Marc DEATH VOTES LAST Gatekeeper Press (Indie Fiction) $13.49 11, 8 ISBN: 978-1-61984-
849-8
In Rainer's (A Winter of Wolves, 2016, etc.) fifth thriller featuring federal prosecutor Jeff Trask, a U.S.
senator's suspicious death may very well be a political assassination.
Trask knows the man on the medical examiner's table in Washington, D.C. He's an old friend, Sherwin
Graves, now a Republican U.S. senator for Georgia, who died when his car ran off the road. There was a
bottle of Rohypnol pills in his pocket, which could indicate that he'd been suicidal. His prints are on the
bottle, too--but the fact that someone had recently wiped it with a solvent is enough for Trask to suspect
murder. A political motive is a possibility: with the U.S. Senate currently split down the middle, one fewer
Republican would give the Democrats an edge. Trask, working with Detective Dixon Carter and others, ties
two more deaths to the senator before bringing charges against those that he believes to be responsible. At
trial, though, Trask faces his share of snags, such as having his boss, Bradley Mantee, who has no
courtroom experience, as his second chair. Also, someone's trying to ensure that a key witness doesn't make
it to the stand, which puts Trask, as a potential obstacle, in peril. Although the protagonist, a "former
military guy," has spent preceding books largely engaged in action scenes, this story places him firmly back
in the courtroom. It's a welcome return, as he shines during jury selection (what he calls "juror elimination")
or while dealing with a judge tossing pertinent evidence. The bad guys are corrupt but still human; the
senator's death, for example, stems from a plan that's rife with blunders. There are a few other notable
supporting characters, including Trask's FBI analyst wife, Lynn, but the mystery plot remains the true focus.
Along the way, Rainer adds charming touches, such as plot-relevant tunes: the Rolling Stones' 1966 song
"Paint it Black" is on the radio at the morgue, and a cynical Trask gets Aerosmith's 2000 song "Jaded" in his
head.
A rousing, standout series entry.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Rainer, Marc: DEATH VOTES LAST." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525461399/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2dcaf5e6.
Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525461399
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A Winter of Wolves
Small Press Bookwatch.
(Jan. 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
A Winter of Wolves
Marc Rainer
www.marcrainer.com
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781537610757, $10.05, PB, 264 pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Federal prosecutor Jeff Trask is summoned to a murder scene. A Park Police officer has been
brutally murdered at the Lincoln Memorial. As Trask and a team of local and federal investigators try to
find the killer, more police officers are murdered. While attending the funeral for one of these victims,
Trask and his team find themselves in a firefight with a cell of radical Islamic terrorists. Disqualified
because of his involvement at the scene at Arlington National Cemetery, Trask is reassigned to Washington
D.C.'s Joint Terrorism Task Force, where he discovers that the firefight at Arlington was only part of a
bigger and much more sinister plot that threatens the entire eastern seaboard.
Critique: A riveting suspense thriller of a novel from beginning to end, "A Winter of Wolves" reveals author
Marc Rainer's impressive flair for creating a deftly crafted and memorable novel that will prove to be an
enduringly popular addition to community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted
that "A Winter of Wolves" is also available in a Kindle format ($3.99).
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"A Winter of Wolves." Small Press Bookwatch, Jan. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A479713668/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e1c66d4c.
Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A479713668
Review: Death Votes Last By Marc Rainer
POSTED NOVEMBER 27, 2017 BY LUCY D IN BOOK REVIEWS, CRIME DRAMA / 0 COMMENTS
Review: Death Votes Last by Marc RainerDeath Votes Last (Jeff Trask Crime Drama Series, #5) by Marc Rainer
five-stars
Series: Jeff Trask Crime Drama #5
Published by Gate Keeper Press on November 8th 2017
Genres: Crime Drama
Pages: 377
Format: eBook
amazon b-n
Goodreads
I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
With an evenly-divided United States Senate, the stakes are high for the nation's political power brokers. The leader of one party decides to change the numbers by arranging the elimination of one of the other party's senators. As the death sends shock waves through the nation's capital, federal prosecutor Jeff Trask and a team of FBI agents and police officers must solve not only the senator's homicide, but the murder of one witness and the attempted murder of another. Further complicating their efforts is the fact that the trial of the killer must take place in the political swamp of Washington, D.C. As Trask and his team investigate the deaths and prepare for the trial of the century, the nation's political fate hangs in the balance.
I love when a series goes back to the basics of what made it great. Like Law & Order, this series gives us the best of both worlds as you follow the story from investigation to conclusion. The court drama was compelling, and the danger from up high felt palpable.
I was engrossed by this story from beginning to end. As I have mentioned before, when an author doesn’t hesitate to kill off main characters, a story like this takes you on the edge of your seat and keeps you in a state of excitment and anxiety.
While prior stories focused on dangerous drug lords and gang crimes, this one shines a spotlight on the more dangerous “criminals” in our legistative system. These men are more dangerous because they legally hold all the power and proving guilt is nearly impossible.
As the balance of power in Washington D.C. changes hands, even Jeff Trask is effected when a new the new administration names a new head of the Justice Department. So far Jeff is keeping his position as Senior Litigation Counsel, but when a death occurs that might be political in nature, Jeff isn’t sure whether his new boss will have his back.
A Senator is dead in what might simply be a run of the mill car accident, until the investigation starts to uncover that Senator Sherwin “Digger” Graves was drugged before his fatal drive home. Was this a personal vendetta or a conspiracy to tilt the balance of power? The Senate is currently split 50/50 and the Senator’s death leaves an opening which could change everything if a Democratic replacement is sent from his home state.
Possible loose-ends are turning up dead and one man steps forward to point the finger at the current Senate Minority Leader, a man who has held a position of power in D.C. for decades. Can Jeff and his team go after one of the most powerful men in Washington with accusations of murder and conspiracy and make it stick? And will Jeff have the support of the new administration when politics and whose side of the line you stand on are very much a part of the problem?
This case is a hot potato and delves into life in Washington D.C. It points out the difficulties for the Department of Justice created every time the government changes hands. How the fat cats in the legislature get richer on selling themselves to the lobbiests. It also points out how difficult it is to hold these powerful men accountable for their actions when they make themselves to be above the law.
Tensions are high in this story as the quickest way out of this prosecution is to remove the witnesses against the Senator, even if they have to get that information out of Jeff and his team by force.
I couldn’t put it down. The story kept me intrigued, anxious and very much pissed off in what can only be seen as failings in our legislative system.
A WINTER OF WOLVES
A Jeff Trask Crime Novel
From the "The Jeff Trask Crime Drama Series" series, volume 4
by Marc Rainer
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KIRKUS REVIEW
This latest entry in the Jeff Trask thriller series finds the federal prosecutor chasing a killer who targets police officers.
Trask, senior litigation counsel for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., is known for his investigative work. When homicide Detective Dixon Carter calls the attorney to a murder scene at the Lincoln Memorial, Trask witnesses the aftermath of Officer Jackie Turner’s brutal death. Subsequent murder victims are cops as well, leading Trask to surmise racially motivated crimes against police, though Turner’s missing gun initially links just two killings. Fearing a “race war,” Trask chooses as his assistant Valerie Fuentes, a competent lawyer but also a levelheaded black woman, to sit at the prosecutor’s table for a probable racially driven trial. The sole lead on the murders, however, is surveillance video showing Turner’s killer, whose only notable physical trait is his colossal size. The murders unfortunately continue, including someone Trask knows, while the attorney, Carter, and others wind up in a blistering gunfight with armed assailants that not everyone comes out of alive. This attack produces an injured baddie with possible answers to the assassinations that now seem to be political as much as racial. Trask, reassigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, searches for the culprit spearheading the murders and unearths a bigger, deadlier plan. The recurring protagonist has gradually become more a man of action than one of legal arguments, and by this fourth series installment, he’s rarely in the courtroom. Readers won’t mind, though, especially by the riveting final act, which delivers plenty of action. There’s an early reveal of bad guys and, essentially, a motive, but each new murder is generally a surprise. Rainer (Death’s White Horses, 2014, etc.) handles the race issue with prudence: Trask says his piece regarding, for example, the Black Lives Matter movement, but Fuentes counters with her own opinion. It gets perhaps a bit excessive when Trask and others have to attend a diversity seminar, with the attorney reiterating his stance when the tale’s already made it abundantly clear. On the upside, plenty of back story on the villains makes them both intriguing and intimidating.
The lawyer-hero remains, as always, resolute and razor sharp, even when using his gun more than his legal brain.
Pub Date: Sept. 30th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5376-1075-7
Page count: 264pp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Program: Kirkus Indie
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9th, 2016
CAPITAL KILL
by Marc Rainer
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KIRKUS REVIEW
Lawyer Jeff Trask is just settling into his new job as an Assistant U.S. Attorney when he becomes embroiled in what seems at first to be a simple murder case, but quickly evolves into a high-stakes international case that could break an already-strapped legal system.
Trask is a rookie U.S Attorney who believes in “the system” and all who participate in it. However, his first case ends up challenging his notion of how to do his job and who to trust. Fans of the legal-thriller genre will recognize the usual suspects: the unlikely cop duo, the wise supervisor and even the insider bad guy. Still, the stock characters are well developed, and the elements are assembled so seamlessly that the story feels fresh. Rainer’s attention to setting also shines through. The streets of Washington, D.C., come alive; those who have lived or worked in the nation’s capital will recognize Rainer’s cunning use of seedy locales to give the action in the book a realistic tone. Perhaps too much time is spent setting up all the major players in this story, so impatient readers will need to resist the urge to flip forward and go directly to the action. Trask, an engaging and relatable main character, frequently finds himself questioning those closest to him as he works to find out who is behind the heinous murders plaguing D.C. Despite being exceedingly intelligent, he comes across as an everyman. Refreshingly, the legal jargon is kept to a minimum, so the reader can focus on the mystery at hand. But the story drags where romance is concerned: Trask’s relationship with Lynn Preston feels forced because it’s developed too quickly. The two meet early in the story, yet although their relationship takes some twists and turns, it rarely feels real, as opposed to the authentic locations and crime scenes. Fortunately, the narrative spends more time with the investigation, giving readers ample opportunity to connect the dots while second guessing nearly everyone’s motivations.
Despite its straightforward formula, the book’s intense action, realistic tone and memorable characters will keep readers engrossed in this popcorn thriller with a superb payoff.
Pub Date: March 31st, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468180213
Page count: 332pp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Program: Kirkus Indie
Review Posted Online: June 8th, 2012
Book Review: Capital Kill by Marc Rainer
by Stephen Bentley | Feb 11, 2018 | Book Reviews | 0 comments
Book Review: Capital Kill by Marc Rainer
Capital Kill (Jeff Trask Crime Drama, #1)Capital Kill by Marc Rainer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Capital Kill is a classic example of an author “writing what he knows.” Marc Rainer is a former prosecutor in the courts of the Washington D.C. and a former lawyer with the US Air Force’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. He is married to a former Air Force OSI Special Agent.
His protagonist, Jeff Trask, shares the same background. In the book we also get to meet Lynn, an Air Force OSI Special Agent.
This is the first in a series based on Jeff Trask and it is labelled as “crime drama.” It is. But it is also a delightful mix of police procedural and legal courtroom thriller. I loved it!
This reader has nearly 30 years of experience of the law both as a former police officer and as trial counsel. This book made me feel like I was part of a major investigation all over again. The author’s writing style drew me in so closely that I felt I was there as part of the team but a mere observer as opposed to an actor.
The plot involves Jamaican gangs, cocaine, murder and mayhem set in and around Washington DC. The characters are well developed and the dialogue realistic. There is nothing about the book that jarred with me.
The book even contains valuable lessons for any prosecutor in real life. Witness Bob Lassiter, Trask’s boss, telling him “… what you just did-clearing an innocent defendant-is even more important than convicting the guilty ones.”
There is also wonderful humour especially in the dialogue between Carter and Ramirez, two detectives. Carter is always seeking to tease Ramirez and does so on one occasion with a scathing, witty criticism of the game of soccer citing more than dubious historical sources then completing the put-down by saying, “You can see what it [football or soccer] did, for example, to Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and His Royal Highness Prince Charles.”
Capital Kill is a cerebral read. If dumbed down is your thing then read something else.
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HORNS OF THE DEVIL
A Jeff Trask Legal Thriller
by Marc Rainer
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KIRKUS REVIEW
Federal prosecutor Jeff Trask returns (Capital Kill, 2012) to work on a case involving murdered Salvadoran gang members.
“This one’s going to be weird,” says detective Dixon Carter after the headless body of the El Salvador ambassador’s son is found near the Salvadoran embassy in Washington, D.C. The FBI suspects gang activity: The son was apparently part of the gang Barrio 18 and killed by members of rival MS-13. But Trask, the assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, questions the gangs’ involvement—particularly when subsequent murders resemble highly professional hits. Soon, several lawyers are marked for death by the same hit men—including Trask himself. The author’s second legal thriller keeps the questions coming: It opens with a murder, quickly introduces a mysterious man with an eye patch and an itchy trigger finger, and drops suspicion on an obvious suspect early on. The novel maintains a steady pace, but the plot is nearly buried under a hodgepodge of murders and attempted murders. (In an essential, helpful scene prior to the final act, Trask runs down every incident, along with every possible motive or modus operandi.) Trask is an engaging lead character: His extraordinary intelligence and eidetic memory are the same reasons he sometimes has trouble concentrating, “floats” into memories or plays songs in his head. Rainer also turns the spotlight on other, equally gripping characters: Carter, tormented by the death of his partner, shuns sleep; FBI Special Agent Michael Crawford, affectionately dubbed “Puddin’,” starts a relationship with a woman who’s a potential source for the feds, and even Nikki and Boo, the dogs Trask adopts, are given personalities all their own.
A well-paced mystery featuring an entertainingly complicated protagonist, supported by a robust cast.
Pub Date: Dec. 7th, 2012
ISBN: 978-1480030237
Page count: 264pp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Program: Kirkus Indie
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21st, 2013