Beyond the Truth audiobook

John Byron is a copy whose friend, another officer is involved in an Officer Involved Shooting of a kid. The media descends, protests begin and Byron has to find out the truth of what happened. It is a richly complex story with multiple layers and interesting characters. Also, a real feel for police procedure. I really enjoyed it and I can see why it is nominated for an Agatha.

"A gripping atmospheric thriller that finds the dark side of Portland, Maine. The Detective Byron mystery series is one of the finest to arrive in a long time." —#1 New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston"A superbly realistic, tense, and exciting novel." — New York Times bestselling author Reed Farrel ColemanI must confess that Crime Novels were not my genre of choice, however, after reading Bruce Robert Coffin’s “Beyond the Truth” my preconceptions have been shattered.We witness the fear, despair and suspicion that police officers everywhere encounter everyday as they endeavour to serve and protect, as seen through the eyes of Portland, Maine Detective Sergeant John Byron. John is overwhelmed when he comes up against seemingly impenetrable walls at every turn while simultaneously battling his own personal demons. It all begins innocuously enough with a late night robbery of a Laundromat until it turns deadly and doubt is cast upon an officer’s actions. Things go from bad to worse as the avalanche of community unrest, precipitated by politicians playing fast and loose with the truth, department leaks, and a member of the fourth estate abusing the “people’s right to know”, threaten to not only bury the investigation but also crush its participants. The situation is exacerbated by elusive evidence and reluctant witnesses.Is the cascading cataclysm clearly a cruel course of bad decisions and unfortunate events or are there more sinister forces at work? Ultimately Byron is forced to make a choice he may not have the chance to regret in order to finally reveal the truth bringing peace to the tumult?The author skilfully creates an irresistible compulsion to read on in search of the next clue that will surely lead to the truth but the truth is elusive. The reader is swept along in a current of emotion surging in intense grief during a ceremonial last radio call so poignant you will be moved to tears.Bruce Robert Coffin is brilliant at creating a sense of realism so powerful you will feel that you are witness to the events and processes of an actual police investigation. He truly is a master of his craft.“Beyond the Truth” challenged my preconception of crime novels and has emerged triumphant. He has, without doubt, opened my eyes to a genre that hitherto I was predisposed to overlook. Be sure to read Bruce’s bestselling novels Among the Shadows and Beneath the Depths, first two in the Detective Byron Mystery Series from Harper Collins. Also, look for his short story Fool Proof in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's, Best American Mystery Stories 2016.

"Beyond the Truth" delves into the intricate and difficult task of being a policeman. Split second decisions lead to life-altering events, while stress and long hours brand the men and woman of blue with a deep imprint of anguish. Coffin's protagonist, Detective Byron, must wade through the details of a police shooting and killing of a seventeen-year-old, who may have just robbed a laundromat, or possibly it was involving drugs? Byron strives to clear the officer of the shooting when no weapon is found, but office politics weigh in with their heavy hand, and hints of organized crime begin to swirl in upon the wind. Will public opinion win out that the shoot was unjustified? Will Byron give in to the urge to visit the brown liquor? Will his relationship with his former partner and now lover follow the path of his ex-wife? This is a dizzy thrill ride with unexpected twists and turns that will keep you up late into the night waiting to find out what happens Beyond the Truth.

Having read and enjoyed the previous novels, my expectations were pretty high that this one would be great. I wasn't disappointed and in fact think that Beyond the Truth is Bruce Robert Coffin's BEST yet! I was hooked by page 2 and finished the book in a night because who needs sleep when reading this fast paced thriller?! Having lived in Portland it was easy to visualize the geographic areas and nostalgia for businesses I remember from my younger days. I look forward to the next installment of the Detective Byron series.

Beyond the Truth is a fast-paced mystery populated with characters readers care about. The author's attention to detail and personal knowledge of police procedures make this a compelling story that is certain to keep readers turning pages well into the night. Bravo!

Must readThese are some of the best, most true-to-life and sympathetic characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Please, Mr Coffin, write more on this wonderful series.

Great story that felt incredibly authentic. Veteran police officer Sean Haggerty is involved in the questionable shooting of a teen. Loved the way that the author gradually built up a layer of clues and kept the reader guessing.

Beyond the Truth was the third in the Detective Byron series by Bruce Robert Coffin. I enjoyed this book nearly as much as the first. In this installment Detective Byron is faced with explaining the shooting of the star basketball player on the Portland High School team by one of the Portland cops. Byron's department is unable to find the weapon of the high schooler; and the media, mayor and citizens line up to blame the cop for committing a violent crime against an unarmed seventeen year old. The main plot gets complicated by the involvement of a drug ring at the laundromat, where the armed robbery took place by the teenager eventually killed. The plot is solid, and the characters are vividly described, but I gave this four stars, because I have great difficulty relating to self destructive personalities. In this book the main character deals with many inner demons, and I had a hard time accepting that. Nevertheless, book four remains on my Want to Read list.

The Detective Byron series continues to expand the appeal of the police procedural. The author has a unique ability to humanize those behind the badge without romanticizing the work, lionizing law enforcement, or caricaturing the citizenry. In turns gritty and poignant, pulse-pounding and soul-searing, you don't have to be a connoisseur of the subgenre to get hooked on this series.Beyond the Truth is in many ways a story "ripped from the headlines": a fictional account of a police-involved shooting and its aftermath that feels as real as anything you might see on the nightly news. Coffin's nearly three decades in law enforcement thrusts the immediacy of the job and its perils--physical and psychological, moral and ethical--into your hands. Good luck trying to put it down at a reasonable bedtime.

Another great book. I am enjoying this series and I am glad that my library took my recommendation and purchased the book.

Wow! Another winner for Coffin. Because I am a Portlander, I enjoy the locations in these books. Putting that aside, the story is fantastic. It starts with a bang, literally, and pretty much keeps up that pace. The characters are well developed and we come to care for them in one form or another. At least I did. The emotional impact of this book was surprising and I found myself in tears. I like a book that grabs me in the feelings. I loved having an audiobook. The narration was decent but I did notice a few pronunciations that indicated the reader was “from away.” Route and Promenade come to mind. An excellent book, well worth the wait. Now we get to wait for the next one.

Love Bruce Coffin's Det. Byron series! Having served and supervised the homicide and violent crimes for the Portand Maine Police department for 27 years, one knows Bruce is telling you like it is! Plus, Bruce is always able to spin some humor into his stories. He is a great story teller/writer! Bruce's books just get better and better!

Bruce Robert Coffin's BEYOND THE TRUTH is a gritty and relentless tale of Detective Sergeant John Byron and his squad of Portland, Maine police investigators on the trail of truth about one of their own -- Officer Sean Haggerty, who in the pursuit of two robbers shoots one while the other gets away.The dead robber turns out to be a high school student and star basketball player. Haggerty thought he saw the muzzle flash of a gun before he fired. No gun is found on the scene and the second robber has disappeared like a ghost.This sets the stage for a pressure-packed case that cranks up a media frenzy, angry protesters and nasty political infighting within the department and with a mayor determined to score points at police expense to further her political career. At first, all signs point to bad shoot, which will ruin Haggerty's career and leave an indelible black mark on the department. But Byron is a grinder who doggedly pushes his squad to dig deeper to find the hidden truth -- be it the missing gun and second robber or confirmation that Haggerty shot an unarmed teenager. To lead his squad, Byron must compartmentalize his friendship with Haggerty and his duty to get to the bottom of this case. That's just the first of many turns of the screw on Byron's emotions.It gets worse. An FBI agent lets Byron know that Haggerty, who is also the high school's resource officer, is a suspect in an ongoing bureau drug case. All leads continue to lead to nowhere. The public's fury builds. Then Haggerty is shot in a drive-by hit ordered up by convict doing time in the state pen -- a bad hombre Haggerty put behind bars.Although Coffin's latest book is labeled a police procedural, at heart it is a mystery told from the cop's point of view. The author is a former detective who uses his experience to tell a realistic tale of a high-profile police investigation -- without histrionics, but with the unstoppable momentum of a freight train. There's plenty of action and knowing details about political infighting and the emotional toll paid by the officers investigating this case. But to find out the meaning of the title, you're going to have to pick up a copy of Coffin's latest. You won't be disappointed and you'll probably buy his other books.

A fabulous read. A number of distinctive stories are interwoven: What happened the night Sean worked overtime ... at the park and at the convenience store?John and alcohol. The gun ... was there a gun? Drugs at Portland High School. The Maine winter. The FBI investigation. Diane’s future with the department and with John. Politics in the city and in the department. Lies and more lies. The kids and their many interactions with peers and parents. You’ll like a lot of them and feel for them in the interview room. As these all come together it is impossible to put this book down. Maybe in just a few more pages there will be a good place to pause, but there isn’t - not until the end of the last sentence. Don’t miss this outstanding entry in this consistently solid police procedural series.I have only recently discovered Bruce Robert Coffin’s Detective John Byron books - thank you to the booksellers at the independent bookstore Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2020 in these times of great unrest about policing they should be required reading. With his decades of on the ground experience as a law enforcement officer, Coffin presents the human cost of doing this work. He highlights both the heroes and the bad apples. He recognizes that the power the job gives them requires more from them. He deftly reminds readers that those who we turn to in times of need, those who we also fear, are largely a mix of ordinary and some extraordinary human beings with all the problems found in everyone exacerbated by a profession which can require split second life and death decisions. The vast majority who receive little notice are good and caring individuals. Others who are rotten taint the whole group, can be unfairly protected, and need to be held accountable. His experience and resulting viewpoint as presented by the characters in his books needs and deserves to be heard.

Wow! This book literally began with a bang and continued to blow me away until the end. I could not put it down! The pacing was fantastic and reinforced the mounting tension all the way to the very end. Don't start this one if you have anything else that needs to get done because it will be incredibly difficult to disconnect once the pages start turning. Or if you're like me and read after the kids go to bed, who needs sleep anyway right?!?! Despite being the third book in the series, I never felt as though I was missing anything. There was just enough information presented to understand past events while also garnering intrigue to actually go back and read the previous books to fill in the gaps. I can't wait to read more because if this book was any indication of the author's previous works, I've got a few more sleepless nights ahead of me! This was a great example of what a compelling police procedural should be! It was so immersive and relevant with a plot that not only grabbed your attention, but held it throughout as well. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author used his experience with law enforcement to craft a convincing case that spotlighted characters from all facets of the investigative and criminal sides, including political and media motivations as well. These multiple points of view captured the perfect balance between the power dynamics at play where crime is involved. There are so many shades of gray behind any given action or motive and the author was able to masterfully capture this realism that only someone with so much insight in the field would be able to express. His deft writing conveyed the methodology of an investigation so that any layman could understand the process and any reader would be able to enjoy it. The dialogue flowed naturally and the clues and evidence were introduced seamlessly, while also quite surprisingly so as to add a twist and turn that kept you guessing right along with the characters. Overall, high expectations have been set for this series and I'm so eager for more!

Bruce Coffin is a former homicide detective with a lot of great stories to tell. And that’s sure what he does in BEYOND THE TRUTH – the latest in his Detective Byron mysteries series about a fictional police sergeant in Portland, Me. This is a real “ripped from today’s headlines” thriller about the controversy that erupts when police shoot and kill a popular high school student during a robbery. The case turns out to be much more complex than it first seems though, and its up to Bryon – along with a great cast of other law enforcement characters – to find out the truth about what really happened. Coffin’s knowledge of police procedure really shines through in this book. And, as others have pointed out, he makes the city of Portland come alive in the same way Michael Connelly does for Los Angeles or Robert B. Parker did for Boston. Most important of all though - it’s a great read! Highly recommended!

Bruce Coffin is a new author for me, but after reading he’s latest Detective John  Byron novel, number three in the series, I look forward to reading more. Beyond the Truth is a detailed police  procedural. A fast  paced tale about a Portland, Maine police officer, a man with a long and stellar record, who finds himself involved in the shooting of a teenage robbery suspect. The kid, a local high school sports star, had a gun, but no gun is found at the scene. During the investigation, Byron has to deal the press, politicians, and his superiors all with their own agendas that could impede the truth. Meanwhile, Byron has his own personal demons to battle.  Beyond the Truth is a complex tale with nicely drawn characters, and a super ending that won’t disappoint.

When I first started reading this book I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved in another detective novel.It didn’t take long before that changed and I didn’t want to lay the book down.If you have anything important you need to do, don’t start reading this. When you do start reading you certainly won’t want to put the book down for something as mundane as meals or sleep. Maybe you can just line up some snacks in front of you before you pick up this book.I’m such a girl. I have to admit that I needed a few tissues before the book ended.I didn’t really want Beyond the Truth to end. Hopefully, Mr. Coffin has many more Detective Byron mysteries in the pipeline. I certainly hope one of them will emerge soon.***Book provided without charge by PICT.***