Gangs, Cops and the Supernatural

Bringing the total number of books listed to 692, the newly added police writers include a gang member who became a cop, a fictional private investigator whose murder cases have a supernatural twist, southern grace meeting urban reality and an excellent academic piece on retail theft prevention.

In 1989, Mona Ruiz joined the Santa Ana Police Department (California). She has worked patrol, gangs and narcotics. A native of Santa Ana, she became a police officer after overcoming her youthful involvement with gangs and an abusive marriage. According to Arte Publico Press, “This engrossing memoir charts Ruiz’s journey toward self-identity, tracing the tortuous path of her life—a life in which Ruiz assumed contradictory roles: gang chola, high school drop-out, disowned daughter, battered wife, welfare mother, student, and policewoman. At each step in the journey, Ruiz faced violence, ridicule, and skepticism. She nevertheless prevailed in exchanging her badge of social defiance for one of protecting her community.”

Richard Abshire was a captain in charge of the Dallas Police Department's Tactical Section from January 1975 to December 1977. He left the department in 1979 and is a reporter in The Dallas Morning News' Garland bureau. Richard is most notable for the fictional character Jack Kyle, “an ex-cop, turned Dallas gumshoe, your typical hard-boiled operative: middle-aged, divorced, broke and -- surprise, surprise -- more than a little cynical. Still, while not breaking any new ground, the series did get compliments for its plotting and characterization.” Moreover, he co-authored several books in the “gant” series with former Dallas police officer William Clair. The “Gant” books feature an ex-homicide detective who investigates cases with a super-natural twist.

Laurie Drummond began her police career as a dispatcher in Ithaca, New York. She moved to Louisiana where she first took an assignment as a plainclothes officer in the crime prevention division of Louisiana State University. Ultimately, she joined the Baton Rouge Police Department and began working uniformed patrol. A serious car accident ended Drummond’s police career, but open the door to her writing career.

Her first book is “Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You: Stories.” According to Publisher’s Weekly, “Combining Southern grace and urban brutality, ex-cop Drummond debuts with 10 short stories grouped into five blistering fictional portraits of Baton Rouge policewomen. Each lady is tough even without her bulletproof vest, and all are plagued by death and corruption as they undertake the bracing, dehumanizing enforcement of justice.”

Over one third of the people who are dedicated to the domestic protection of America are civilian employees of police departments. While Police-Writers.com focuses on sworn state and local police officers, civilian employees are honored and listed under a separate category (However, their books are not included in the total count). Liz Martinez is an adjunct professor at Interboro Institute, a two-year college in New York City that offers a Security Management degree program. After a career during which she honed her retail security skills, she switched gears from a management position into writing, editing and teaching. She holds a New York State security certification and is a member of ASIS International's New York City Chapter's Diversity Council and the Police Writers Association.

She graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a B.A. in criminal justice. Moreover, Liz was as New York Police Department Auxiliary police officer for five years. Her book, “The Retail Manager's Guide to Crime and Loss Prevention: Protecting Your Business from Theft, Fraud and Violence,” draws on her practical and academic experience in the retail security field. According to one reviewer, “This book is easy to understand, and it has everything in it that a retail person needs to know in order to reduce thefts and other kinds of losses in a store. I've looked at other books, but they're too complicated. This one lays the topics out in a logical way, and the writer doesn't try to impress you with big words--just the facts!”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 280 police officers (representing 114 police departments) and their 692 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.