At Their Own Game

Another high five for Frank Zafiro. At Their Own Game and it was wonderful as expected. You would figure someone who was a cop would know how to put forth believable stories from a legal standing. What is right, who is wrong… At Their Own Game is a cop story, but not from the expected point of view… This is one of those stories you cannot put down as you really want to find out what is going on, who is doing what, and what the outcome will be. The characters are believable and it is easy to see them in your mind, to picture them weighing their options and acting upon what is happening. Frank can tell a story from any or all sides and make it believable and make you feel for and side with the character - whether he is a good guy or bad guy - then again, Is he a good guy or bad guy? You decide…

Wow, what a ride! Where are the good guys? I thought I was going to fall for Jake, even tho he was a thief. But as the story proceeds, no one is good. Jake says, "We may be criminals, but we're not bad guys." Ha! If you like police procedurals on the darker side, this one is very good. Fast paced. Twists you don't expect. A woman to complicate everything. Traitors. Violence. Language. It's all here.
I listened to Audible version. The narrator was excellent! He has several voices which was very helpful for me as there are many characters to keep track of.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Having attended high school and college at Gonzaga, Spokane is a city I know well. Frank Zafiro takes me down memory lanes.
His stories are always filled with Action and excitement. If you keep writing, I will keep reading. Thanks for a great read.

Too much profanity for my liking. Don't care to read any more of his writing. Not my taste in drama.

At Their Own Game: A SpoCompton Crime Novel by Frank Zafiro revolves around former police officer Jacob Stankovic. He runs a small criminal enterprise using Matt for short range stuff and Brent for long haul gigs. Though he is now on the other side from his former fellow officers of the law, he has worked to keep things relatively clean these past seven years and kept things small time to stay off the radar of everyone. Especially one Detective who got seriously upset over the fact that Jacob, when he was still a cop, spent a lot of time between the sheets with the Detective’s wife.

Who would have thought he would take things so personally?

He has been running things small and tight with no issues. His number one rule was no drugs. Thanks to desperate circumstances, Jacob Stankovic broke that rule and now things are blowing up. The drug deal went sideways though it might still be salvageable. That is one problem. Another one is the fact that minutes after the drug deal went haywire, Matt got picked up by the cops and is in jail with that same Detective leaning on him.

Jacob Stankovic has never had to kill anyone before. If things keep going wrong, he may have to rethink his rule against murders.

At Their Own Game: A SpoCompton Crime Novel is another intense read from the mind of Frank Zafiro. A former officer himself, Frank Zafiro brings a gritty realism to all his characters. These are not super hero cops like you read in other books where the cops are perfect, or nearly perfect, at home and at work. The officers and former officers in Frank Zafiro’s tales are flawed human beings. Some are just way more flawed than others. Under pressure, those circumstances coupled with inner flaws, can and often do become major issues.

Issues that drive action and result in very intense read. Such is the case here in At Their Own Game: A SpoCompton Crime Novel. Another strong read from author Frank Zafiro and like his other books, very much worth your time.

I purchased my copy to read and review back in the middle of October.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2020

I liked the plot-kept me interested and the characters were believable

A riveting crime novel with a lot of twists and turns you won't expect. From beginning to end full of action and intrigue. Great descriptions and characters with a good plot and surprising end.

That threw you for a loop. But even in the beginning women would have expected that she was a user. Took him awhile to see clearly.