Graveyard Grove [Paperback]

Ben DeWitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1999

Floyd Carter was one of the best homicide detectives in Detroit. Coming out of the closet didn't change his ability, only his beat. He was the Gay Crimes Division. When one of Detroit's best is brutally murdered outside a gay establishment, Detective Carter is assigned the high profile case, getting stuck with Jefferson Davis Treat, retired wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, as his unofficial partner.

Detective Carter and his unlikely partner's investigation leads them into the underground world of international prescription drug traffic and the sadistic underbelly of the people who profit from it. It becomes an international urban war between organized, vicious criminals and the law enforcement agents who find the Graveyard Grove.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gutsy and gory thriller that aims the bright lights and big guns on international drug traffic....Full of action..." -- The Book Reader, Spring/Summer 2000

"Kept my attention from page 1...It is rewarding to see a gay character not defined by his sex life or lack thereof." -- The American, March 2000

About the Author

Ben DeWitt was an officer in the U.S. Army field artillery for ten years. He served two combat tours in Viet Nam, the first with the First Infantry Division and the second with the Military Advisory Command Viet Nam, living with the Vietnamese military on the Cambodian border. He has worked in the oil fields of Wyoming, Michigan and Texas, mined copper in the open pits of Arizona and worked as a mechanic a thousand feet underground in Wyoming. DeWitt continues to race sports cars, most recently competing in the SCCA 1999 National Run-Offs in his 1959 Austin-Healy Bug-Eye Sprite. He currently writes full time in El Paso, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oso Pr; First Edition edition (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966538749
• ISBN-13: 978-0966538748
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,643,605 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben DeWitt was an officer in the U.S. Army field artillery for ten years. He served two combat tours in Viet Nam, the first with the First Infantry Division and the second with the Military Advisory Command Viet Nam, living with the Vietnamese military on the Cambodian border. He has worked in the oil fields of Wyoming, Michigan and Texas, mined copper in the open pits of Arizona and worked as a mechanic a thousand feet underground in Wyoming. DeWitt has raced cars and motorcycles most of his life and still does when the time and opportunity present themselves. He currently writes full time in Pueblo, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Graveyard Grove" knocks 'em dead!, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Graveyard Grove (Paperback)

Ben Dewitt's third novel, "Graveyard Grove", is a knock-out thriller. Once you pick it up and start to read, you won't be able to put it down until the last page has been turned.

The book follows Jefferson Davis Treat, a retired wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, as he joins up with Floyd Carter, a gay detective with the Detroit police force, as they investigate the murder of Treat's father-in-law, a successful businessman and closet homosexual. As they journey from Detroit to Chicago to El Paso, Texas, they hook up with Bennie Myers, the sexy daughter of another businessman involved in the plot, and the three of them go to work to get to the bottom of a criminal ring that specializes in drugs, prostitution and murder.

DeWitt's specialty is character development and political intrigue, and he delivers these strengths in abundance in "Graveyard Grove". Bennie Myers is DeWitt's most interesting character yet, and her strong personality and intense sexuality give this book a great deal of bite. The interplay between Floyd Carter and Jefferson Treat Davis is always interesting and honest, and DeWitt makes the most of these two very different men working together for a common cause.

DeWitt's knowledge of the workings of the government and the many law enforcement agencies that make up our national security system also gives the book a very realistic flavor. The competitions and jealousies between agencies plays a part in the development of the plot, and an extra flair is the addition of several Mexican agencies since the action takes place mostly in El Paso, Texas and its sister city, Juarez, Mexico.

DeWitt knows the playing area of this book geographically and politically, and he uses both to their fullest extent. If you're looking for a book that captures its plot and players to perfection, "Graveyard Grove" is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great detective novel with strong characters and plot, November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Graveyard Grove (Paperback)

This is the third book released by Ben DeWitt. The first novel "No Other Way" is a Korean war novel. The second "Death of a Hummingbird" is a another action mystery. Like Tom Clancy, Mr. DeWitt shows a strong knowledge of current military technology, global politics, the interaction between global police agencies and the military, and the underlying continuing love/hate relationship of Mexico and the United States. Mr. Dewitt captures much of the continuing conflict and flavor of El Paso, Texas, the location for much of the action of "Graveyard Grove". Although both Mexican and U.S. officials may be annoyed by the story line, it clearly is more authentic than what is published in the news or seen on CNN. Local and international politics and personalities are interlaced with action that often overrides national borders. As in life, it becomes very difficult to know who to trust. High officials trade knowledge across national boundaries for their own benefit. Much of the real work gets done only when personal favors are repaid, not through slow official channels. Several of the characters in "Graveyard Grove" are interesting enough to become the basis for a series of their own like "Spencer for Hire". Floyd Carter, the Detroit homicide detective, is a hardened, believable cop with a distinctly human side that is not often spoken of in fiction writing. Jefferson Davis Treat, the retired Detroit Lions football player is ideally positioned in his business to have some great stories of his own to tell. A life history of Sherman Christy, the hired assasin, could fill volumes. Overall, the story is excellent, the writing flows well, and the characters are interesting. I highly recommend "Graveyard Grove" as a novel that you will find hard to put down before you finish it.