Heather’s Bookshelf: Under the Banner of Valor- A Valorie Dawes Thriller
Author: Gary Corbin
Released: 05/07/24
Genre: Police Procedural
“The scene brought back a mental image—one that her therapist insisted on calling a ‘reconstructed memory’. One she hadn’t witnessed in person, but saw on television, in newspapers, and in her then thirteen-year-old imagination dozens of times.”
“Under the Banner of Valor” is book 5 of the “Valorie Dawes Thrillers” series. This book was read as a standalone.
Val Dawes is a member of the WAVE (Women’s Anti-Violence Emergency) squad, focused on protecting women and investigating violent crimes against them. When family planning clinics receive threats and their websites are attacked, she and her partner, Grimes, investigate. Terrible circumstances pull Grimes from service, requiring Val to reluctantly rely on her boss, Petroni, her boyfriend and fellow cop Gil and a fellow investigator-on-loan, Jan.
Meanwhile, Val’s best friend since childhood, Beth, is considering having an abortion. In support of her friend, Val accompanies her to her appointments and promises to support her no matter what she decides. Val’s personal and professional life collide when a anti-abortionist shoots and kills two women at a local clinic. Will Val find the killer and the group he’s part of before it’s too late?
Trigger Warning: violence (including gun), fanaticism, abortion, anti-abortion sentiment, adult language (including sexist and derogatory), sniper, sexual situations
Overall, I enjoyed this story. The story is told through two main POVs. The first is Detective Valorie Dawes. She’s likable, putting loyalty, protecting the community, and her sense of duty above all else. This doesn’t always benefit her as her self-assuredness and smarts often come off as arrogance to those around her. The second is of “Stafford”, a trained sniper attempting to take his personal shortcomings and past relationship fails out on those he sees as contributing to unfair treatments of male “incels”. The two POVs as well as the author’s concealment of the sniper’s true identity until the end of the book contribute to great overall pacing. There’s also quite a bit of MMA mixed in (practice and tournaments) which also contribute to pushing along the storyline. This story reads as very “now” in America. It covers quite a few political and cultural topics and the sniper is so relevant that a very popular comic book satire show had to place a warning prior to the finale. Maybe a little too close to home? A probably overlooked aspect of this story is the relationship between Val and Gil. The author does an excellent job in writing in a relationship that doesn’t have a lot of time to flourish in this story, but it’s clear they share history and love. They complement each other and support one another…and clearly have chemistry! The ending was also well done, wrapping everything up nicely and setting it up for the next book. The reveal of Stafford’s true identity was not a super shocker, but there was a little mystery between possible suspects down to the end.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A police procedural highlighted by a likable protagonist, events that feel very now, and good pacing.
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