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Kenneth
R. Lewis, the chief of police of the Rogue River Police Department (Oregon), began his law enforcement career with the Spokane
Police Department (Washington) in 1972. During his over 30 years in law enforcement he has been a patrol
officer, deputy sheriff, detective, sergeant and for the last 17 years, chief of police.
According to the book description of
Little Blue Whales, A sadistic killer stalks the summer beaches of Oregon, striking at random locations
and then the small coastal city of Cutter Point. As newly hired Cutter Point police chief Kevin Kearnes battles for control
of his dysfunctional agency, fighting corrupt city officials and members within his own department, an accidental meeting
with a beautiful and secretive woman leads to a second chance at love. That is, until an old horror from his past resurfaces,
manifesting itself in the same murder cases he's investigating, and he is about to learn that the most dangerous secrets
to keep...are the ones you don't know you have.
Theodore Feit said of Little Blue
Whales, “ The author is a Chief of Police in Oregon, as is the protagonist of this splendid debut novel.
While it is the story of a messianic serial killer, it is really about how a repressed memory of a childhood incident
can affect a grown person's life.
Kevin Kearnes was a policeman in Dodger City, with
a wife and two sons he loved, until things went downhill for some reason and his marriage ended in divorce. He
applied for and won the job of Police Chief in Cutter City, Oregon, in which the mayor and his cronies in city government
and the police department were so corrupt that they fired and hired police chiefs almost annually.
Kevin, of course, not only has to stand up and battle
the corruption, but undertake to conduct an investigation into the disappearance and murder of four young boys while battling
his own demons from the past and coming to grips with a possible new love.
The book is an impressive start for
a first-time novelist. It flows smoothly, is tightly plotted and believable. Obviously
he author's experience as a police chief lends authenticity to the crime novel, but more impressive is the skill with which
he portrays human emotions. No mention is made as to whether or not Mr. Lewis is hard at work at a follow-up
effort. Let's hope he is.”
Shane Gericke (author of Cut to the Bone and Blown Away) said of Little
Blue Whales, “A spectacular thriller that slams your gut like a major league bat. The author knows hiscops, crooks, and secrets, and it shows from the very first page. Don’t miss this
one!”
Robert Walker (author of Dead On and
City of the Absent said of Little Blue Whales, “Lewis displays a masterful hand at work in
this layered, extremely well-crafted tale. This is authentic crime fiction at its best.”
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