Tales of Tomasewski by Del Staecker

[Reginald E. Burnette]

Have you ever felt misunderstood and under-appreciated?  Flat out rejected??  Dumped on a shelf, somewhere, with all your accomplishments ignored and forgotten?

If so, then you must have some idea how Jake Thompson, disgraced Chicago detective, and the most isolated soul in the mid-west must feel.

 

Eight years ago, Jake Thompson was a young, up-and-coming detective, with a history of good crime solving skills on the tough Chicago streets.  Then, through a series of errors, which led to the death of a suspect and the critically wounding of his partner, Jake went from hero to goat overnight.

 

The press and his superiors hounded him out of his career.  Well, almost!   His career was spared…somewhat.  He found himself unceremoniously dumped in that loser unit known as The Administrative Investigation Unit (AIU). 

 

Here, with other losers, misfits, and unwanted Chicago, PD throw-a-ways, Jake found himself running down assignments that most respectable departments refused to touch. 

 

Without a chance for promotion, or recognition, Jake began spiraling down a path of bourbon drinking self-pity, and remorse. 

 

 But after years of nonsupport and an almost solitary existence, there are still those who believe in his considerable talents as a tough, smart street cop.

 

• There is Earline, Jakes favorite waitress from “Jimmy’s Diner” who refuses to allow him to forget the kind of cop he REALLY is
• There is Eddie Moocha, who we meet in “Duct Man”.  Without Jake’s compassion, Eddie would be sitting in a jail cell somewhere
• Ashley Morant, the former lover who dumped him years ago, knows that only Jake can help her in her latest crisis
• And Jimmy McIldoon, the smartest cop in Hong Kong knows that no one (not even himself) can solve cases quite like Jake Thompson

 

If you like crime-busting the old fashioned way, without all the fancy gadgets, high-tech wizards, and super-hero like “heroes”, then I think you might like Tales of Tomasewski. 

 

Personally, I don’t read many short stories.  I like full-length novels that allow me time to get to know the characters intimately.  But this book is different.  It is short stories, linked together chronologically, to give it that full-length “feel”.

 

It is, in fact, an introduction to Jake Thompson and his world.  I have the feeling we haven’t heard the last of this Chicago detective.

[Robyn Jones]

Hey Reginald, I subcribed to your blog. Your collection of short stories looks good. I like down and out guys and an odd collections of characters. This is me, http://robgirlbooks.blogspot.com/.