Racism. Fear. Violence. Lies and corruption. It’s all part of the culture of the Los Angeles Police Department in Aaron Philip Clark’s Under Color of Law. And, a young Black police officer is caught up in it.

Trevor Finnegan has had some bad days. There was the day he lost his mother to cancer. There was the day his close friendship with Sarada Rao was shattered by violence, a day that changes his career path from artist to avenger. But, when, against his father’s wishes, he enters the LAPD academy and joins the police force, nothing prepares him to watch two senior officers brutally attack and beat a young Black suspect. Finn knows if he wasn’t a cop, if his father hadn’t been a cop, that victim could be him. It makes him more determined than ever to move up in the police department so he can do something about police violence. He’s so naive.

Four years later, Detective Trevor Finnegan isn’t quite so naive. In fact, he’s built a wall around himself and his emotions. No one can reach him. He’s angry at his retired father who now protests against police violence. He knows he’s hated and distrusted by many for his rapid move to detective. He knows he’s compromised his principles to get there, but he still believes he might be able to make a difference. Then, he’s handed a case that he knows is trouble. Trevor’s special assignment is to investigate the murder of Brandon Soledad, a police recruit attending the academy, found naked on a hiking trail. He knows it’s a lie when his superiors tell him it’s a “career maker”. Politically, in the department, it could mean the end of his career.

Aaron Philip Clark’s brutal novel should trouble every reader. It reinforces so many of the stories we’ve seen in newspapers and the news in the last couple years. Although it’s set in 2010 and 2014, the stories of police violence against unarmed Black men could have been in the headlines of newspapers in 2020 and 2021. It illustrates the corruption and racism with the police force, showing the officers who align themselves with white supremacist groups. Yes, there are honest cops in the books, but they’re few and far between. And, for much of the book, Trevor Finnegan isn’t one of them.

How far can one man be pushed? At what point does it become too much to lie and cover up actions of fellow officers, and even yourself? The deadly, dramatic events in Under Color of Law should make all of us uncomfortable. Clark’s novel, inspired by his time as an LAPD recruit, is a frightening, tragic story.

Aaron Philip Clark’s website is https://www.aaronphilipclark.com/

Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark. Thomas & Mercer, 2021. ISBN 9781542030182 (paperback), 303p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.