Customer Reviews

Vegas: One Cop's Journey: A Novel from the Streets of Sin City

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I am a Las Vegas native familiar with Kim Thomas' capacity with the Metropolitan Police Dept. While crime genre is of particular interest to me, I admit I read this book because I felt akin to it. I imagine it is a safe and overall general and accurate account of his tenure with the LVMPD. In the absence of specifics indicative to "Sin City", one can conclude crime is crime, regardless the venue. It moves quickly,easily and is a well-narrated first endeavor. I did however, find it spackled with editing errors.

One Cop's Journey takes you to the real world of law enforcement and the life of one special dedicated cop with the right values and work ethics.
I do own the book and have met Kim Thomas on two occasions. He is energetic and has the right outlook on law enforcement. I found the book one that could be read more than once and look forward to his second book.
He is an excellent speaker, witty and very very interesting. I highly recommend One Cop's Journey for both genders.

If you've never gone on a ride-along--I have twice--this book is the next best thing. It's one cop's journey, but even better, it's a journey for the reader. Ride along and learn of the tedium and the excitement police officers experience in their day-to-day grind. Learn of the perseverance involved, and how heroic efforts lead to exhilarating conclusions--or crushing disappointment. You've seen the tv show "Cops," but that's just the busting part of an officer's job. This book takes you from the squad car to the locker room to the captain's office, where politics and red tape and personal grievances sometimes make it almost impossible to do the job a good cop wants to do.

Cam, the likeable leading man in this book, takes you through police academy, police romance, police boozing, and police commiserating, from novice cop to detective. You may not agree with everything he does, but you'll understand his motivation and you can't help rooting for him.

Cam escorts you through the back streets of one of America's most intriguing cities. He speeds you up and down the Las Vegas Strip on his bicycle, through the back doors of casinos, and into Vegas's famous video surveillance control centers. In his squad car, he drives you through gangland, hookerville, and drug city. Yes, Las Vegas has much more than 24-hour neon and 32-ounce margaritas in souvenir glasses. The city has its share of miscreants, not to mention visitors-behaving-badly.

My ride-alongs many years ago gave me a life-long appreciation for law enforcement officers and the jobs they do. I watched the cops I rode with pat down drunks soaked in vomit and urine. I watched them politely take abuse at the front doors of strangers in the midst of domestic disturbances. I saw them chase down vandals and robbers with twenty or more pounds of equipment strapped on them. This book is a ride-along with a back story. An easy read, a page-turner, and an eye-opener. I highly recommend it.

Review for Vegas - one cop's journey

I have had an opportunity to read Vegas - one cop's journey, by Kim Thomas. His years of experience as a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer and detective are obvious from the opening chapter. The characters he creates are real-to-life, from the cops, to the civilians, to the crooks. The story follows the police career of Cam Madden, from his days in the Academy through his advancement to detective. Madden is a human being, and like all of us he is not perfect. But neither is the world in which he lives and works. The scenarios Officer Madden has to deal with, both in his professional and private lives, are all too real. Often they aren't pretty. But that's the reality of it. If you want to know what it's really like to be a cop in Las Vegas, you need to hop in the black & white with Cam Madden and patrol the streets of Sin City.

My congratulations to Kim for producing a story that tells it like it is.

Denny Griffin, author of Policing Las Vegas and The Battle for Las Vegas - The Law versus the Mob

This book is so amazing. My boyfriend is going to be a law enforcement officer in Las Vegas, and it's so awesome to read about a police officers day-to-day. After being a skeptical girlfriend, worrying about this profession, I am very excited for him and look foward to hearing his stories.

This is a GREAT book! One of the best I've read.

I am a former law enforcement officer from Las Vegas, NV , although I do not know Kim Thomas personally, I could certainly relate to the places, the smells, the heat and the situations that his charcter endures throughout the book.

I felt like I was riding in the passenger seat as I read the book.

Thanks for a good read and I hope to see more.

Well, I want to say first for full disclosure that I know Kim. I also want to say that knowing him this book was something akin to seeing an entire other side to someone you are familiar with. Kim delivers great stories with a base in the realality of what it takes to survive in the world that is public service.

From foot chases and department politics, to the evaluation of female tourist on the Vegas strip, Kim writes about characters and events that make being on the job as a cop one of the best and worst professions around.

It is easy to root for the protaganist in this book because of his clear understanding of himself and what he is trying to accomplish. From surviving the academy, graduating probation, to keeping it together when working for a Sargent who was retired while on duty the lead in this book reveals his true nature as a cop who really believes in his oath to protect and serve.
If you are thinking about being a cop this story relates the facts, not just the highlights and perceived glamour of the job.