PRAISE FOR NEAL’S WORK
“One of the finest reading experiences of the year… Relish the fierce energy, the verbal skill, and the display of a dazzling talent at work.” (See full review)Booklist Starred Review
Solid standalone. Incredibly sad but realistic.Publishers Weekly
“Griffin knows the dark and violent world he writes about. It is our good fortune he is also possessed of the keen talent to write of it so vividly.”James Carlos Blake, The Ways of Wolfe
“As one of the few national columnists in America who is Latino and the son of a retired cop, I was eager to see how cop-turned-novelist Griffin would craft Omar Ortega, a Mexican American teenager who straddles the line between overzealous cops and bad actors in the neighborhood until his luck runs out. Griffin is a gifted storyteller with plenty of grit and real-life experience to back up the prose.”Ruben Navarrette, National Syndicated Columnist
“With crackling dialogue, dead-on police procedure, and a smart, feisty heroine in Detective Tia Suarez, Neal Griffin delivers.”Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Detective Tia Suarez is everything I love in a heroine: brash, persistent, and smart as a whip. Add Neal Griffin to your list of must-read crime writers!”Tess Gerritsen, author of the Rizzoli and Isles series
“From revenge, betrayal and redemption, Griffin hits the ground running, as reflective throughout the pages of this smashing debut. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Andrew Gross, and Harlan Coben are assured to enjoy this adrenaline ride.” (See full review) Judith D. Collins
“Griffin seems possessed of a raw talent that will see him in good stead as he hones his craft. Be sure to check out this grim first effort.” (See full review) Joe Hartlaub, bookreporter.com
“A great suspense/thriller with a smart plot and pages that offer up in-depth police work and knowledge the author obviously absorbed over his many years in law enforcement. Griffin will most definitely earn avid fans.”Suspense Magazine
“Verdict: This debut novel by a twenty-five year police veteran is a well-written and action-packed crime thriller….sets up the next installment of what promises to be a popular series.”Library Journal
“Penned by a veteran police officer, this debut boasts the creepy, dangerous feel of the film Cape Fear and offers a compelling portrait of ethical burdens that often come with bearing a badge.”Booklist
“Griffin’s debut novel propels readers into the chilling worlds of big-money drugs, small-town corruption, and a murderer who strikes without conscience…Griffin’s work proves superior to the unrealistic fare that often passes for a police thriller.”Kirkus Reviews
“A complicated killer seeking revenge is hunted by a complicated lawman in this unique and suspenseful debut novel by a cop-turned-author who knows the turf. The story moves at warp speed across the heartland.”Joseph Wambaugh, New York Times bestselling author of The New Centurions and The Onion Field
“Benefit of the Doubt needs none — there is no doubt that this fine debut novel is the sure-handed work of an exciting new author.”Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of Savages and Kings of Cool
“A taut and cleverly-plotted page-turner! Griffin is a terrific story-teller, and this compelling tale of revenge and family secrets will keep you guessing from the first chilling line to the unpredictable — and completely surprising — last page.”Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark, Anthony, and Agatha Award-winning author of The Other Woman and The Wrong Girl
“Neal Griffin’s Benefit of the Doubt offers a visionary, scathing, supremely effective peek into the darkness that permeates small town Americana. Drawn in vibrant colors upon an ambitious canvas, this major debut is destined to take its place alongside the work of Robert Parker, C.J. Box and Harlan Coben when it comes to unrelenting suspense and wondrously staged, multi-layered construction served up suburban style. As visually stunning as it is viscerally gripping, Benefit of the Doubt will go down as one of the best crime novels of the year . . . no doubt!”Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong Rain Falling and The Tenth Circle
“Neal Griffin joins an illustrious line of cops-turned writers with this fine debut. The police work is definitive, the emotions run high, and hero Ben Sawyer is one you will root for. Griffin is a solid storyteller and I look forward to more of his work.”T. Jefferson Parker, three time Edgar Award-winning author of The Famous and the Dead and Full Measure
“Benefit of the Doubt is a taut, hard-hitting morality play set in small town America, but rich with big themes: revenge, betrayal and redemption. Neal Griffin is the new kid in town, and he is here to stay.”Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of No Way Back and Everything to Lose