Snitch

What do you get when you put together an "almost-retired" cop, a former clown, and a know-it-all? A police task force, of course. Ron Yeager has been working a desk job since being injured a few years prior. When he's asked to train and lead a special task force, he's not sure he still has what it takes. Mackenzie "Mack" Hazard is a clown turned cop who is out to prove herself. Will her outspoken faith deter her from making her way through the ranks? No one, including Mack herself, is sure that she's ready for this task force. Will she learn the ropes in time or will this be more than she can handle? And then there's Jesse Lunden, the cop who's already seen plenty of task force action. Can he swallow his pride and learn from sergeant Yeager or will his hot head get in the way? Snitch is the second book in the Occupational Hazard series. The hilarious cast sets the scene for a novel that has it all - mystery, comedy and even a little romance. Gutteridge has a light-hearted way of writing that endears the characters to the reader. Gutteridge is the author of the Boo series and the Storm series of books as well as a number of other mystery novels. Gutteridge is also a talented screenwriter and has been published many times in that genre as well.

I have to say that when Rene Gutteridge started this new series with SCOOP it had me worried. SCOOP was really confusing to me. I didn't get half of the supposedly funny scenarios written within and at the end, I was left unfullfilled. With some trepidation, I decided to give her another go with SNITCH. Am I glad I did! SNITCH was MUCH better! The characters were much more fleshed out and I actually got the cute scenes that the author is known for. This book really reminded me of the BOO series. I could really see Mack having a series of her own showing the different cases she could work as an undercover cop. Maybe that's something for the future???

When asked to head up a task force to bust an auto theft ring in Las Vegas, Sergeant Ron Yeager isn't sure he wants to leave his desk job. Oh, he knows he still has what it takes. He's just not sure he has the nerve to face his wife if he takes an undercover assignment this close to retirement! And when his overeager pastor inserts himself onto Ron's mismatched team of officers, he begins to suspect they don't have a prayer of a chance. The resulting madcap adventure is full of unexpected twists, comical developments, and a wonderful example of living your faith at work. Gutteridge's witty writing kept me chuckling all the way to the end. I loved this book, and I think you will, too.

Rene Gutteridge continues to shine with the latest book in her Occupational Hazards series, Snitch. This series follows the adventures of the Hazard children, a family that was homeschooled by their parents while helping to run the family clown business. When their parents pass away in a tragic hot tub accident, the adult children go to find their place in the world. For Mackenzie "Mack" Hazard, her place is as a police officer in Las Vegas. She is chosen for a special undercover task force involving stolen vehicles, though this decision is questioned by the aging head of the task force, Ron Yeager. His task is to train this rag-tag bunch of officers into a unit able to bring down this crime ring. He may have lots of experience, but nothing prepared him for Jesse, his hotshot maverick; Dozer, the loveable narcoleptic; Wiz, who likes to visit the bathroom; Mack, who wears her faith like "an ever-present badge"; and the mysterious Kyle. The stakes get higher as the team must learn to trust one another to even survive. This sounds like your typical crime/suspense novel. It is, but then again it is anything but. Gutteridge is perhaps the funniest author currently writing Christian novels. The story moves along and draws you in, but it is the zany cast of characters and the zig-zag journey the author takes you on that makes this book sparkle. I have an hour bus commute to work one-way, and I had to stifle many laughs so I wouldn't draw the stares of my fellow passengers. The book was a great read - my only complaint is that I was drawn in so much that I am already finished! I'm not ready for it to be over. Gutteridge has an original voice and talent with keeping you guessing that you don't feel like you're reading - you feel like you're along for the ride of a real-life sitcom. I heartily recommend this book and the previous book in the series, Scoop . Now we have to wait until Skid, the third book, hits the runways.

Although retirement looms on the near horizon and he earned the desk job, Las Vegas police sergeant Ron Yeager is bored. Thus when the brass asks him if he would agree to train an undercover task force of rookies to infiltrate an auto theft gang, Ron euphorically says yes. He may have reconsidered his agreeing if he met his inexperienced team before his acceptance. Ron meets his squad and instantly knows some idiot must be punishing him as they make the worst choices he could imagine going undercover inside the underbelly of Sin City. The squad includes an open Christian Mackenzie "Mack" Hazard trying to get converts, super-egotistical Jesse "know it all" Lunden trying to get Ron's job, and Dozer trying to stay awake more minutes than Disney's Sleepy. Ron thinks this trio will send him into disability retirement due to high blood pressure. The second Occupational Hazards tale (see SNOOP) is a delightful police procedural due to a strong prime cast. Ron is fabulous as he wonders what insanity led him to say yes. His tyros are eccentrically different as Mack makes her religious beliefs known to her teammates, Jesse makes it clear he knows more than anyone else including Ron, and Dozer cannot stay awake. Humor and police on the job training and investigation fit nicely together in Rene Gutteridge's fun inspirational tale. Harriet Klausner