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James Colbert

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James Colbert served in the United States Marine Corps from 1970 to 1971.  After his honorable discharge (E4), he would ultimately find his way to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office where he would serve as a Deputy Sheriff from 1976 to 1978.  He has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas, and a BA from Louisiana State University.  James Colbert is the author Skinny Man, Profit and Sheen, No Special Hurry, All I Have is Blue and God Bless The Child.

Publisher’s Weekly said of All I have is Blue, “The New Orleans cop who calls himself Skinny (introduced in Skinny Man ), his partner Mike Theriot and his girlfriend Ruth find themselves involved with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after Skinny and Ruth see a boat sinking on the Mississippi River. Skinny rescues 10-year-old Dwayne but can't save his father, the captain of the ship. Because the boat exploded, ATF agent Gratzke questions them, then releases Dwayne into Skinny and Ruth's care. They take him to his aunt's house, but she is killed and Dwayne runs away. Skinny is next contacted by a DEA agent who suspects the boat of drug running. Dwayne, the sole witness, is anxiously sought by many, including an ex-con hood who owns a string of nightclubs. Skinny and Ruth set out to find and protect Dwayne when they realize that the boy is being hunted not just for information but also by someone who wants him silenced. Thoughtful, quirky Skinny and down-to-earth Ruth make this somewhat convoluted story enjoyable and exciting.”

According to the book description of Skinny Man,  “In James Colbert's latest suspense novel, the unsuspecting reader will chance upon blondes, naked and well-oiled on chaise lounges, arsonists for hire, redneck vigilantes with IQs no bigger than their zap guns, and a hero as bizarre as they come. In the novel's opening pages, Skinny is on suspension from having totaled his patrol car---Skinny's fifth suspension in 11 years. Born and raised in Gentilly, a racially mixed neighborhood, the pale-faced and gangly Skinny---six foot two, one hundred and twenty-five pounds---learned early that a properly swung Louisville Slugger "substantially improved many of his personal relations." Booted out of Tulane University for taking on an entire fraternity with the aforementioned slugger, Skinny has a certain uneasiness around the privileged and genteel. Brash, unpredictable, and oddly principled, Skinny never refers to himself in the first-person, a habit as endearing as it is eccentric. It is on day two of his 32-day suspension that Skinny is called in to investigate a fire that killed a man. He soon finds himself in a maze of public and personal duplicity, from insurance fraud, to real estate shenanigans, to angry, heady love." "... you miss this one, you've cheated yourself.”

Publisher’s Weekly said of Profit and Sheen, “When two vigilante-style murders are committed on his police beat, Sheen Vicedomini resigns from the New Orleans force rather than face investigation. He has difficulty adapting to his new civilian lifestyle and, lured by the promise of quick wealth, he works briefly for Profit, his girlfriend Andrea's cocaine dealer. He and Andrea unwittingly become the patsies of Profit in a plan to cheat his connection Moses; Sheen loses part of his hand in a shooting and Andrea is killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident. Determined to avenge Andrea's death, Sheen immerses himself in the drug world in order to find Profit, who he believes is responsible for the murder. Sheen also requests access to police files from Avila, an old buddy who owes him a favor. Through a bizarre series of events, Sheen begins to trust Profit and question Avila's integrity. Eventually he finds Andrea's murderer while at the same time he helps to bust a large cocaine network and uncover police corruption. Colbert's first novel is complicated and authentically gritty. His quick-paced story grabs the reader's attention and sustains interest through the twists and turns of the unpredictable plot.”


Skinny Man, By James Colbert, Unabridged 5 Audio Cassettes, Narrated By Mark Hammer
James Colbert  More Info
Profit And Sheen
James Colbert  More Info
No Special Hurry (Atlantic Large Print Series)
James Colbert  More Info
All I Have Is Blue
James Colbert  More Info

The Library Journal said of No Special Hurry, “Low dealings and violent acts abound in this crisp thriller about the murky underside of New Orleans. 'You know what a shit your father is. . . . He's the one who put you in jail." Thus Skinny, the ex-addict undercover cop, introduces himself to Tony Curbel. Curbel has gone to jail rather than implicate his family in drug smuggling; now he has second thoughts about the bargain he has made. The only way out is to spy on his father and uncle, who are suspected of "buying" children in Central America and setting them up in menial jobs here in return for wages. Tony's trust in his family evaporates as he learns of their dealings. This novel, ending on a curiously unresolved note, nevertheless projects an intensity of atmosphere that sweeps the reader along.”

One reader of No Special Hurry said, “Jail doesn't agree with Tony Curbel. That's not surprising: he used to be a proper businessman, a currency trader. It also happens that he's innocent of any crime. Worse still. Tony was framed, and he suspects that his father is responsible. Enter Skinny, a mercenary cop who know that the Curbel family business is something less than respectable. He presents Tony with a wrenching choice: Tony can stay in prison for another few years, or he can spy on his own family. Working undercover for Skinny sounds like the better bet, and Tony has some investigating of his own to do anyway. Then he discovers that his family's "employment agency" isn't all that it seems. There's a reason his father and uncle can provide New Orleans with an endless supply of cheap labor: they buy children. They buy them in Central America, set them up in menial jobs in the United States, and get rich skimming their wages. But then Tony's father disappears, and only by digging up long-buried secrets can Tony prevent his family from tearing itself apart.”

About the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office

The first Sheriff of Jefferson Parish was S. Kerner who served from 1866 to early 1867.  Today, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is a full-service law enforcement agency with an authorized strength of nearly 1600 sworn and non-sworn personnel.  The patrol function of the Sheriff are handled by the operations bureau who are geographically organized into four districts.   Within the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations Bureau the function of SWAT, Street Crimes, Arson and Helicopter services can be found. The Criminal Investigations Bureau handles typical investigative functions such as crimes against persons, burglary, auto theft, robbery and homicide.

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