A review by scknitter
Benefit of the Doubt by Neal Griffin

5.0

Ben Sawyer was forced out of his big city cop job and returned to his small home town in WI as a detective under his father-in-law who is chief of police. He is resented by fellow cops who don’t think he earned his position and when his father-in-law suffers a stroke the acting chief tries to make his life even more miserable than it already is. At the same time a police scam 10 years prior sets off a chain of events that gets out of control and ends up with Ben’s wife in prison accused of murder. Small town cops with big bubba mentalities destroy evidence and attempt to cover up the new crimes being perpetrated by the victim of the old scam. Ben finally earns the trust of another outcast officer and together they are able to figure out who is to blame for the string of crimes and more importantly, why he is intent on revenge. Neal Griffin may be a debut author but this thrilling, cleverly plotted novel exhibits an in-depth knowledge of corruption, vengeance, violence, and good police work learned from over 25 years in law enforcement.