Proving Ground (Lourdes Robles, #1) by Peter Blauner

Proving Ground (Lourdes Robles, #1) Reviews

• 
  Antigone

  Nathaniel Dresden is a veteran of the war in Iraq and has returned home with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Misfortune has equipped him with anger issues and a propensity to black out during incidents of violence - so when his father, a famous New York civil rights attorney and Natty's rebellious reason for enlisting in the first place, winds up murdered on a street corner, his name launches to the top of the list of potential perpetrators. Proving Ground sets to work unraveling the crime from two disparate perspectives, that of the prime suspect and the rogue detective assigned to the case, who finds herself in need of a win.
  
  Blauner has a good fix on the fundamentals of PTSD, which provides his protagonist with a core of undeniable authenticity. In fact, Dresden has enough meat on the bone to have carried the entire enterprise, and I wish his author had trusted this. He did not. The introduction of Latina cop, Lourdes Robles, who failed to receive the same amount of research or analysis in the development phase, is nothing short of intrusive. She enters the story as a caricature of all the tough-talking, hard-knocking yet internally panicked women found in the worst of modern-day procedural fare. Hers is a tragic misread of the feminine mind, and sinks to its most egregious when touching on the sexual. There are crime novelists who can depict the siren song of a woman of any class, culture or circumstance. This is because attention has been paid. Blauner, it seems, was content to wing it.
  
  And let's just double-down on the consternation here. Turns out our author has decided to launch a series featuring the character of Lourdes Robles. The second installment, Sunrise Highway, is his fresh release. As foolishly optimistic as I am, I did make an attempt.
  
  Could not finish it.
  
• 
  Carol

  ***DNF*** I read a novel by this author and then downloaded or bought a few others to read. This one didn't get started after about 1/3 and I gave up.
• 
  Dave

  
  
  Blauner seemingly effortlessly weaves between several stories with exceedingly complex characters. Proving Ground is far more than just another police procedural. Shuffling back and forth in alternating chapters, we get the story of Natty Dread (aka Nathaniel Dresden), Iraq War veteran who can't stop reliving the worst moments of the conflict, including an IED which took out his buddy's lower half and an innocent kid shot in the heat of battle. The war has a grip on Natty, a veritable stranglehold which results in fits of anger and blackouts and an unending quest for penance. His father, a famed hippie-era civil rights legal legend has been murdered late at night in a Brooklyn Park and Natty lets his rage carry him into a bar fight and a night in a cell with half the city's firefighters out for his scalp.
  
  The alternating chapters pick up with NYPD Detective Lourdes Robles, the first in her family to graduate college, whose family didn't really survive the projects unscarred or whole. She has several strikes against her on the force and she's got to prove she belongs. Robles catches the Dresden murder case with an aging partner whose skills are second to none, but who is rumored to go into parks at night off the clock and beat the hell out of drug dealers.
  
  Turns out the murder case though is a tough nut to crack given that Natty's dad was suing the FBI on behalf of a postman who was said to have been smuggling bomb parts. And now the FBI wants to cut in on Robles' case and cut her out.
  
  With all these disparate stories of war, crime, and legal intrigue playing out, the book could either fail miserably or succeed astonishingly well. It's a thriller that you just can't put down.
• 
  Maha

  Proving Ground is the first installment in the new and very compelling series by Peter Blauner. I have to admit that it was quite a different and compelling read.
  
  Nathaniel Dresden, Natty, had served in the US army in Iraq. Now back from Iraq, he is still fighting his daemons. He had accidentally shot a 7 year old kid back there in Iraq and this dreadful event is still haunting him. He can’t get over what he did and saw in Iraq and it seems impossible for him to forgive himself and move on with his life. He had joined the army as an act of rebellion against his father, David Dresden. David had dedicated his life as a defense attorney to fight for civil rights.
  
  Robles is a police officer working hard to prove herself. Being both Hispanic and a woman, she feels she has to do extra effort to prove her ground. She’s a strong woman yet she has to fight her way through her career.
  
  But when David Dresden is murdered, Natty’s world is shattered. He comes home to stay with his mother but his search for the truth takes him into dark passages.
  
  Meanwhile, Robles is working with Sullivan to solve David’s case. They follow every lead and they are confronted with many unexpected hurdles along the way. The more they dig into this case the darker and more entangled it seems.
  
  The truth has multiple faces. There seems to be no straight answer. Moreover, there are no saints and no daemons. The plot is very compelling and gives the reader a lot to think about.
  
  Peter Blauner does a great job setting the ground for this very compelling series. The characters are so well crafted. He introduces us to two brilliant characters, Natty and Robles. They are so real. They seem to breathe on the pages. You can sense their vulnerabilities, weaknesses, insecurities and also their pride and power.  They have all the contradictions of the human soul.
  
  The plot is amazingly built. It’s very complicated and real. Peter Blauner throws so many characters into this blend and lets the interaction takes us on a very compelling and thrilling path. What I liked most was the real life edge to it. Life is moving on. There’s no time for the characters to sit back and dwell on their losses. They are forced to move on even if they are suffering under the weight of their own baggage. Also there are no blinding signs saying “Here’s the good guy” or “This is the bad guy”. As I said, no saints and no daemons. They are humans. They all have their baggage and even the darkest of them has his or her bright sides.
  
  Proving Ground is the grand opening to a very promising series. The pace starts slow at the first half of the book but everything goes so fast in the second half. I think that was for the sake of setting the ground for the series. In all cases, it’s worth the wait. You should be patient enough with the first half because it’s really worth it. I also loved the ending. It gives so many options and alternatives for future installments.
  
  Proving Ground is one of the best novels I read this year. I will be impatiently waiting for the next installment.
  
  **Special thanks to the NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for supplying my copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. **
  
  
  For all my reviews please visit
  http://www.meshascorner.net
  
• 
  Julie

  Characters and plot didn't come together for me until the last third of the story. When it finally did, the characters came alive and felt like they were driving the plot instead of the other way around.
  
  The story did a good job of showing a soldier trying to get back to life after war and how hard that is. I would describe the story as a family-mystery-who dunnit-cop-courtroom drama.
  
  About one-third of the way into the story, I didn't care much about any of the characters. Though I was interested to know more. I felt like I was reading a tv script more so than a novel at the one-third mark. The author felt like a writer that was a master at plot but not quite so much when it came to character. Though decent, there was just a disconnect for me.
  
  About midway through the novel, as three main players are having a tense conversation, it stuck out like a sore thumb that none of the characters I'd spent time getting to know seemed unique. I could hear the author in all of it, what he wanted the character to say, or some cute dialog he'd put aside (and this was the moment he was going to use it). Cutting banter does not a character make.
  
  Yet about midway, it started feeling like a few of the main players had a secret or knew something crucial. This is what kept me reading, to find who killed the dead guy.
  
  At the two-thirds point, the main characters still didn't seem to have unique voices - yet some of the minor characters just popped. Things started heating up in the plot and I was very curious how it would all work out. The author gets high marks for plot throughout.
  
  The one character that seemed the most real at this point was the dead guy. His presence, or lack thereof, felt real. Every character thinking or speaking of him felt authentic. That didn't feel fake or like they were going through the motions. Maybe that was the point ~ the dead guy as the protagonist? In a strange way, he did have an arc.
  
  Even though the bones of all the main characters were there, it seemed more like a pile of bricks for an actor to make his own. I kept waiting for flesh and blood characters to jump from the page.
  
  Chapter 20 was confusing as it started off with the protagonist talking about his dad's home office. It sounded like inner first person dialog and then seems to awkwardly jump to what seems outside the protagonist. Yet it made me think that when trauma happens such as with war or death, people do sometimes step outside themselves in some way. Maybe the dialog was a representation of that. Though the inner dialog of the horrors of war seemed off. Having never been at war, I imagine it would be more like flashes. But I could be off on this point.
  
  Some of the dialog, for example between mother and son, seemed inauthentic. There's a shorthand with family where sometimes a grunt or silence can not only be more realistic, but more powerful.
  
  Then the chapter with the aunt and the female detective happens and the aunt's character - who we don't really know - is so damn alive, her dialog is hers and hers alone, she is flesh and blood. It was striking how authentic her voice was compared to the main characters.
  
  And then things start to heat up, the characters and dialog start to pop. It's as if a 1960s jiffy pop had been sitting on the heat with only a few kernels popped and wham, suddenly, it starts popping away as the foil top puffs up. It's as if it took this long for the writer to get to know his characters.
  
  The last third of the book was significantly better than the first two parts, as far as characters feeling fleshed out and real. It's like the awkward dance the characters were doing with the plot finally got into sync.
  
  The plot was better than the characters for most of the book, and then like a stew finally ready to he served, it was great. If the whole novel had been as good as the last third, I could have given this one more star. I definitely think this would make a good movie with a few tweaks and the right casting.
  
  There were a few times I guessed what was coming but overall the story has satisfying twists and turns and doesn't end in any cookie cutter fashion. There are no cookie cutter bad guys or good guys here.
  
  The story made me ponder war and inner cities. When we go to war with another country, soldiers go into residential neighborhoods with people like you and me that are probably feeling the same way we would if hostile foreign entities showed up on our doorsteps with war weapons. Kids are growing up in neighborhoods now that are hard to separate from war zones. The threats are as plentiful and the safety as hard to come by as 24K solid gold bars flying out of a poodle's ass.
  
  At the end, not everything is tied up on a silver platter but there is resolution and revelation.
  
  It would be interesting to carry this forward to another story with parallels of the protaganist (soldier) and antagonist (female cop). Though, I have a feeling the author may have seen the cop as the protagonist. It would be interesting seeing their stories unfold and more of their histories revealed as it feels there is a lot there to discover.
• 
  Michael Martz

  'Proving Ground', Peter Blauner's first novel in a long time, is a gritty crime story starring a cast of tough Brooklyn cops with a plethora of somehow connected murders to clear, a PTSD victim of the Iraq war who happens to be the son of a famous attorney who was just murdered, and some dynamite action and dialogue. I've seen Blauner's writing in this one described as being Richard Price-like, and I'd heartily agree with that. I couldn't put a finger on specifically how they're similar, other than the overall feel, pace, milieu, and storytelling seem to be very comparable. That's high praise.
  
  The plot is sort of a conventional who-done-it, complicated by the general disdain most of the characters have for the main murder victim (he was a criminal defense attorney who represented many really bad actors), his son's background and behavior, the involvement of the FBI, and a pervasive feeling that nothing's like it seems. I don't want to spoil the plot, but everything is connected in some way, and in the end even more connections are revealed. Although by the conclusion of 'Proving Ground' we know what happened and who did what, I wouldn't say it wraps up nicely for all parties.
  
  This novel goes on my 'best of the year' shelf. The writing is great, dialogue is spot-on, the characters are fully developed, and the author paints realistic pictures of the environment. Loved it!
• 
  Patricia

  PROVING GROUND is a fantastic read! Nathaniel survived the war in Iraq but is left with mental issues. When his father, a civil rights attorney, is murdered, Nathaniel returns to New York. Nathaniel, who has had father issues since childhood, is told that his dad was in the middle of suing the FBI. Trying to discover who murderer is, a dirty law enforcer or a criminal, Nathaniel makes many shocking discoveries. There is a surprising twist at the end. I highly recommend this novel. I can't wait for the next one!
• 
  Nancy McFarlane

  Two people have something to prove. Lourdes Robles is a homicide detective just off of probation who must prove she deserves to be back on the job. And, Nathaniel Dresden is a prosecuting attorney who has yet to get over what he did and saw in Iraq and who needs to prove to himself that he is capable of living a life he can be proud of. When his father, a defense attorney who always championed the underdog and disadvantaged, and who was always fighting the establishment is murdered. Natty comes home to be with his mother and try and forgive himself for never really getting along with or understanding his father. What follows is a suspenseful, action-packed, and at times, dark story. A story of love and hate and betrayal that you won’t want to put down.
• 
  Kris (My Novelesque Life)

  RATING: 2 STARS
  
  (Review Not on Blog)
  
  I called it...a DNF at 55%. At 55% there still did not seem to be action...a lot of talk but no show. I stopped because the snail pace was killing me and the characters were not engaging enough to care where they ended up. Moving onto to something else.
• 
  Larry Fontenot

  I had just finished T Jefferson Parker's new book Room of White Fire when my wife brought home this book by Peter Blauner. I like T Jeff and I've read many of his books and he is an excellent writer. The main character in Blauner's book has a similar background that T Jeff's main character has in Room of White Fire, a survivor of the Iraq war with experiences we all know about but never have been told in detail. But I think Proving Ground is just a bit better in its development of the characters. The story lines are different, but the war time experiences are directly responsible for some of the behavior of the characters. These experiences are directly involved in the plot of T Jeff's excellent book, but less so in the Blauner book. But the interplay among the characters in Proving Ground is more realistic and less "showy" and the backgrounds of the characters are much more interesting. The blurbs on the Blauner book says that this is his first book in a decade so I have no idea if his early stuff was up to this high level. But it appears that this new book is the start of a series featuring police officer Lourdes Robles, so I'll certainly keep my antenna up for the next one.
• 
  Tim

  I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley to read and review
  
  PROVING GROUND by Peter Blauner, author of
  Casino Moon, and several other books, begins with Nathaniel Dresden aka “Natty Dread” a soldier in Iraq who is skilled in interrogation. Natty is the son of a well known defense attorney named David Dresden, and was given his nickname by his father David, a Bob Marley fan and a liberal in every sense of the word.
  
  Natty is on the team sent to locate Ahmar, the reported one responsible for the death of a man known to Natty as ‘Borat’, an informant with a resemblance to the character portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen in the comedy with the same name as the title, and is well like by the American soldiers. Borat has been recently beheaded in front of his family, and the soldiers are out for revenge which leads them to the home of an Iraqi family that a man has said much might be harboring Ahmar.
  Tragedy results from their raid on the family's home with Natty responsible for the outcome creating an unshakable image that affects him for the duration of the book.
  
  Later, the story picks up with Natty in jail after putting a probationary fire fighter in NYC in the hospital after a bar brawl the previous night, and we learn Natty was drunk and violent in the wake of his father’s murder.
  
  Natty stays with his mother while going through court ordered therapy for PTSD to avoid jail time, and we learn that Natty has been a prosecutor in Florida before coming back home following his father’s death.
  
  David, Natty’s father had been involved in the high-profile case known as ‘The Mailman Case’ involving the FBI along with David's partner Ben who has in the past been a mentor to Natty.
  
  Lourdes Robles, a young female detective assigned to her first case since disciplinary action for her previous partner’s behavior, is assigned to the case along with a long-time veteran named Sullivan.
  
  Natty finds himself a suspect in his own father's murder, which only adds to his already heavy load he's been dealing with as he tries to adapt to civilian life while battling PTSD that comes with suicidal thoughts, and flashbacks to his time in Iraq.
  
  Peter Blauner has written a very good full length novel about a subject that has probably been overdone recently by other authors and screenwriters, yet has done so in a way that makes it not seem clichéd and builds interest as the book progresses detailing Natty’s past and filling in holes that explain the relationship between him and his mother, father, and Ben.
  
  I'd recommend this book to anyone pulling for someone coming from a difficult situation wanting to come to grips with it and move on, as well as anyone who has an interest in the struggles of a veteran returning to civilian life back home, and this book was even more touching to read over the recent holiday where we honor those who have served, and those who have given their lives for country.
• 
  Matt Schiavenza

  Nathaniel Dresden, Natty Dread for short, returns to the U.S. from a tour in Iraq with a battlefield death weighing on his conscience. But soon Natty faces a new crisis: His father David, a prominent civil rights litigator, is found murdered near the family's home in Brooklyn. The leftist father and soldier son didn't always see eye to eye; Natty, in fact, always got along better with David's larger-than-life law partner Ben Grimaldi.
  
  But soon Natty plunges into an investigation of his father's death. Also on the hunt are Lourdes, a tough Latina cop from the New York City projects, and her veteran partner Sullivan. The more Natty digs in, the more questions arise. Plenty of people had beef with his father — but who wanted him killed? And is Ben Grimaldi — law partner, family friend, father figure — precisely who he says he is?
  
  Proving Ground is a rollicking summer read — I tore through it in two afternoons sitting on the beach. Blauner has a keen ear for dialogue and a journalist's attention to detail on police and legal procedure, lending the book a credibility that others in the genre lack. And as a resident of Brooklyn myself, I got a kick out of reading a murder mystery set in my old neighborhood.
• 
  Bob

  Blauner Returns With A Bang!
  
  It's been about eleven years since Peter Blauner's last book, at which time he had been one of my "must read" authors. With his new book, Proving Ground, Blauner returns to not only being one of my "must reads," he returns to being one of my most favorite thriller/mystery writers. Thus, it seems almost needless to say that Proving Ground is a book I'd highly recommend.
  
  Consistent with each of Blauner's previous six very good-to-excellent crime novels, Proving Ground is another book that rises to the top of its genre due to:
  ... its emotionally-charged and intricate plot,
  ... its very rich, multi-dimensional, credible and complex cast of primary and secondary characters (in particular, Natty Dread and Lourdes Robles),
  ...its smart dialogue,
  ...its strong prose that enables the reader to capture the "mood, sights, sounds and smells" of NYC, and particularly areas of Brooklyn, and
  ...its ability to provide sufficiently realistic twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages to find out what happens next.
  
  For these reasons, Blauner's writing in Proving Ground reminds me of Richard Price's crime-based novels (e.g., Clockers, Lush Life, Freedomland) in that its driving force is the richness of its complex characters moreso than on an abundance of action scenes.
  
  Do yourself a favor and add Proving Ground to your reading list; and while you're at it, pick up one or more copies of Blauner's other books -- Slipping Into Darkness, The Last Good Day, Man Of The Hour, The Intruder, Casino Moon and Slow Motion Riot.
• 
  Michael

  My review for this book was originally published by Library Journal:
  
  In the latest from Edgar Award winner (Slow Motion Riot) and TV producer (Blue Bloods) Blauner, an Iraq war veteran returns home to New York following the murder of his father, an activist attorney who was suing the FBI for the “enhanced interrogation” of his Muslim client. Nathaniel Dresden, armed with a law degree and barely suppressed postwar rage, turns to his father’s law partner Ben Grimaldi for a chance to work on the case. His efforts catch the attention of Brooklyn detective Lourdes Robles, in need of redemption after a public embarrassment that nearly ended her career, and her inscrutable partner Kevin Sullivan. As Natty’s personal investigation begins to expose secrets such as old flames and killed witnesses, all of Natty’s loyalties—to himself, to Ben, even to his father—will be challenged. Blauner writes with depth but with urgency, especially in the revelatory final chapters, and his characters are vividly drawn. VERDICT As complex and as gritty as a Richard Price book, Blauner’s first novel in more than ten years was worth the wait.
  
  Copyright ©2017 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
• 
  Robert Intriago

  I see a movie or a TV show, based on this book, or series in the future. I picked up this book as a result of a Washington Post review and the fact that the author was an Edgar award winner. I was not disappointed as I truly enjoyed reading. The characters appeared real and captivating and the plot was tightly woven. Let’s start by saying the main trunk of the story is a police procedural involving the main character Lourdes, and her partner Sullivan, an old hand at murder investigation. The branches of the tree involve an array of characters from an Iraq war veteran with PTSD to drug dealers, an FBI conspiracy, murder, a civil liberties attorney, a child of the sixties, etc., etc. The plot is linear with some flashbacks to the incidents in the Iraq war but they are appropriate to the story and do not interfere with the even flow of the plot. The authors description of how people dress based on their profession is quite good and accurate. Evidence of this is a bar scene in the second half of the book in which he gives a detailed description of the gear worn by different people. The only drawback I had with the book was the fact that some of the dialogue gets confusing as to who is talking
• 
  Lisa Wells

  This would not be a book I would have just randomly picked up, but once I started, I could not put it down.(I'm not typically a crime/mystery reader.) However, I had been craving a compelling read and had just said to someone, "I need a Hunt for Red October" or an early John Grisham. And I found it in Proving Ground.
  
  Beyond being a solid crime story, Blauner weaves in details of neighborhoods of NY, his keen awareness of his environment and description of characters and places that provide rich visuals, surprises, and a few laughs, too. What struck me as more significant is Blauner's realistic portrayal of what it's like to live in a modern world while living with the pains of war. His research into veterans' lives and experiences shine through in the rich details and important narratives he has woven into Proving Ground.
  
  Hopefully, Blauner is toiling away at the next Loudres Robles story of this series!
• 
  Jennifer

  This book is a gritty murder mystery. Parts of it were a bit too coincidental but I found it interesting for two reasons. One, the main character Natty is a veteran from Iraq who is dealing with some serious PTSD. Having read about this, (Thank You for Your Service), I thought it added some interesting complexity to the story as did Natty's relationship with his father who was an ACLU type lawyer who took on lost causes and of course was opposed to the invasion of Iraq. The plot also dealt with the consequences of torture. All in all, not your typical murder mystery but one that included some very real contemporary issues.
• 
  Andy Plonka

  What a great book! This book is the first from this author in a decade. I hope that doesn't mean we won't get another for another decade. Proving Ground has it all : unique characters that draw you in and make you care about them, an interesting plot, and a setting while familiar to New Yorkers provides its own flavor and charm. Without spoiling the story or the superb ending, Blauner's sense of pace and just enough description to pull you in rather than drive you away results in a perfect novel.
• 
  Chris

  (5)-Peter Blauner's trademark world-weary cynicism didn't dissipate during the ten year hiatus since his last novel. This book was with the wait, it has an intricate plot and rich characters set against the cultural stew of Brooklyn and a backstory of a returned soldier battling with PTSD issues. The social relevance is icing on the cake, though, this is riveting crime fiction and a worthy read.
• 
  David Madara

  Great start of a new series! Defense attorney David Dresden gets killed and his son
  who just returned from the Army is a suspect. Lourdes is on the case and she doesn't
  take anything for granted... Can Lourdes get to the bottom of the case?
  
  I liked this book, and can't wait for more in this series...
• 
  Sherrie

  I certainly hope it doesn't take another decade for Peter Blauner to write the sequel to this book, because it was very good. Good characters, lots of plot twists and turns, and wonderful descriptions made this a fun book to read. Until I see the sequel has been published, I will have to content myself with watching "Blue Bloods", for which Mr. Blauner is the executive producer.
• 
  Nancy Cook Lauer

  A crime novel from the perspective of an Iraq vet suffering from PTSD is one of the last places I'd expect lyrically descriptive and sometimes downright humorous passages, but here it is. The plot, introducing gung-ho police detective Lourdes Robles, ticks along in a fairly ordinary way, but it's the snappy dialogue and smooth writing that win this one for me.
• 
  Bonnie Brody

  Second Lieutenant Natty Dresden returns to Brooklyn from Iraq only to find his father murdered shortly after his return. Natty's father was a famous civil rights lawyer and there were many unresolved issues between father and son. Natty, like his father, is a lawyer but he works as a prosecutor rather than a defender, and Natty's signing up for the army was in direct opposition to his father's wishes.
  
  Natty suffers from PTSD and is seeing a therapist with whom he is very guarded. Seeing a therapist is part of his orders from the military so that he can deal with his alcohol and drug issues as well as his anger. Natty also has panic attacks when triggered by events or situations that remind him of his painful past.
  
  At the time of his murder, Natty's father, along with his partner Ben, are involved in a big legal case. They are suing the FBI for detaining and torturing an innocent man. Natty decides to join forces with Ben on the case and also help search for his father's killer.
  
  The two police officers, Lourdes and Sully, are fighting the FBI for jurisdiction on the Dresden murder. It seems that no one can settle whose bailiwick the murder belongs with. Lourdes is a young woman who has come up through the ranks and was recently put on leave because of her ex-partner's behavior. Now that she is partnered with Sully, she is nervous about keeping her active status.
  
  The novel has complex aspects as it goes back and forth from the police, to the FBI and then to Natty and Ben. The reader is never sure of who is hiding what and whose back is at risk. The writing is good but some of the back story and complexities felt like red herrings.
  
  The legal case is what holds this novel together and Natty "can see why his father fell in love with the case. It has the Holy Grail elements he looked for but could so seldom find in one place: the innocent victim, the false accusation, the vast government conspiracy, and above all, the David and Goliath long odds." Read and enjoy!!
• 
  Jessica (the naptime writer)

  Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
  
  3.5 ⭐️
  
  
  Nathaniel “Natty” Dresden, a veteran of the Iraq War who experiences PTSD over what he did & what happened to him there, has returned to the US unwilling/unable to connect with his father, a defense attorney who didn’t approve of his choice to enlist in the first place.
  
  After his father’s murdered in the midst of a case involving suing the FBI, Natty learns more about his life than he probably wanted to. Natty wants to figure out what happened to his dad, & why, & a certain important person in his life begins to look more & more suspicious.
  
  Also investigating the case is Detective Lourdes Robles who has something to prove after she was recently sidelined for a former partner’s behavior. She wants this win.
  
  Peter Blauner’s Proving Ground offers a solid mystery told in an intriguing voice. My favorite moments are the character-driven ones, when Blauner shares the secrets & memories each holds close behind their respective defensive armor.
  
  While I enjoyed this read, I found myself disappointed by the end, which feels somewhat odd to me. After everything that Natty shares, everything he’s been through, I didn’t understand why he responded to the final events the way he did, & there’s one storyline throughout that I just didn’t 100% get.
  
  Proving Ground is an interesting thriller & I was glad to uncover the mysteries at the heart of it but I also have some quibbles.
  
• 
  Susan

  I do not remember how this author or book blipped on my radar but I’m glad it did. I do know that after bringing it home with me I read a couple of negative reviews and dialed down my expectations. I got a few chapters in and was interrupted by some unexpected time sensitive business that required most of my attention this past week. Having picked up a big stack of requested library books yesterday I decided to either dig in and finish Proving Ground or set it free.
  
  I had no problem finishing, absolutely no temptation to skim let alone DNF, and personally found this to be a good page turner. It’s a mystery with some meat I found worth my time. Sure, in almost all thrillers and mysteries there needs to be some suspension of belief and perhaps you could find fault with some legal aspect here or there, but I appreciated the storyline and character growth. I have feelings about series, mostly fear that they will grow tired and formulaic, so I don’t know if I will pick up the next book in this series but I wouldn’t be mad to run into Lourdes Robles again and kind of hope her partner Sully somehow finds his way into the pages despite mandatory retirement.
• 
  Nancy

  An example of the writing - reasons I didn't get past Page 16:
  
  Beautiful Bobby, Romeo-eyed with a Guido Elvis pompadour and a small pink baby butt of a bald spot, shrugs at his subject.
  “Mork from Ork here. Ten minutes, no ID, no hablo. He’s either deaf and dumb or thinks we’re from the intergalactic border patrol.”
  .......
  
  "A tall, red-faced man with 1977 sideburns and bloodhound eyes has lumbered over in a black raincoat, uniformed cops getting out of his way like meerkats fleeing an elephant.
  “Kevin Sullivan, Brooklyn South Homicide,” he introduces himself in the diffident grumble of a country priest with a Marlboro habit.
  So this is Him: the Last of the Mohicans. His reputation precedes him, but he’s actually more imposing than Lourdes expected. Maybe six-five, six-six, two fifty—the kind of big that makes everyone else have to adjust their seats when he gets in a car. Said to be peaceful of disposition until provoked—then potentially terrifying. Up close, he looks to be in his early sixties but his ruddy complexion is still so pockmarked from adolescent acne that it appears small animals have been gnawing on his face. He smells of Old Spice and patchouli. His mop of black hair has no shading or nuance. More Grecian Formula Apache than Sitting Bull Natural