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One reader of Outside the Badge Said, “Mitchell
Grobeson's novel is truly overwhelming not only due to the storylines, but due to the immense volume of information and
detail he provides. At times, it was distracting, trying to follow all the policies, politics, and events he portrayed, and
I was hard-pressed to understand where these details fit in with the story. But when I was finished, I realized that it all
added to the overall story of what a gay officer would face in the force. As Mr. Grobeson himself stated, he's not a writer;
he's a story-teller. And I might add . . . a good one at that.
The novel follows two story lines for the majority
of the book, until the end when the two collide. And I do mean collide. The first follows Steve Cainen, a LAPD officer who
has been suffering harassment from most of the department due to rumors that he is gay. Despite receiving no back-up on tough
calls, and finding harassing notes on his locker and personal vehicle, Steve still tries to serve the people of LA to the
best of his ability. And he usually succeeds. The second follows a psychopath (and his cohorts) as he embarks on a self-imposed
crusade to rid LA of all the gay hustlers and the AIDS epidemic he claims they bring. We receive a clear description of each
victim, showing where they came from and why they're on the street. Seeing the victims' "bios" just makes
their ultimate end that much harder to take. When the two stories collide, and Steve meets the psycho, it is truly a clash
of good against evil.
Even more than these main story lines, however, I truly
loved reading Mr. Grobeson's descriptions of Steve's life as a cop. Through his interactions with the local citizens,
whether it be at a Neighborhood Watch meeting, handling gang members, or giving a talk to kids about saying NO to drugs, you
can see a real caring attitude and sincerity in the belief that a police officer can help his/her community. And despite this
being fiction, it does have a awesome dose of reality. For instance, getting gang members to paint over graffiti was tried
by my dad and the local National Guard in a community out West with very similar positive results. Grobeson knows what he's
talking about. The struggle our hero went through, trying to reconcile his love for being a cop, with feeling useless due
to politics beyond his control was very strong. Overall, it painted a picture of a man that does have a story to tell. I'd
love to sit down with the author and find out more about what it was really like out there, but for now, I'll just take
this book and enjoy what he has given us here.
One final word of WARNING: Although I truly did enjoy
this book, the reader should know there are some very graphic torture scenes in this book. It is not for the faint-hearted,
so consider this when purchasing the book.”
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