Saturday, August 27, 2011

Ken Lang's Debut Novel 'Walking Among The Dead' Is An Incredible Journey Into The World Of True Crime.


Author
Ken Lang
 Author and real-life Maryland State Police Department detective Ken Lang’s distinctively gutty, insightful, gripping, and informative ‘Walking Among The Dead’ was such an extraordinarily good read that I decided to read Mr. Lang’s incredible publishing debut a second time. As a best-selling author writing in the international espionage/thriller genre’, I am no easy pushover, and am quite frankly somewhat critical of other’s writings at times. However, Lang’s ‘Walking Among The Dead’ had such a unique pulse – a heartbeat, if you will – that called me back to this magnetic true-crime story … as I carefully enjoyed every delightful page as I was consumed and immersed in the perspective, views, ordeals, and humanity of the story’s characters, including the protagonist – Detective Ken Lang!

In an author’s world of writing, perhaps one of the biggest compliments of distinction one writer may give to another is the comments, “I enjoyed and learned so much in your novel, that I read it twice – with the second time carefully taking notes!” Well, that’s what I did – because Lang took me into the world of law enforcement in such a real, no-holds bar way and kept me there!

Walking Among The Dead
by
Ken Lang
In ‘Walking Among The Dead’, we move from one case to another in a rapid-fire way. And clearly very cleverly this was Lang’s point: the cases at times are whirlwinds in themselves, and reaction time for law enforcement is so limited that those who have dedicated themselves to good police work, live in such a fast-moving cyclone: there are limited transitions if any at all, but instead mountains of cases, each with unique issues and problems … all requiring a police officer to demonstrate a plethora of qualities and emotions. And that is where Ken Lang did something quite remarkable: he shared a series of interesting and disturbing cases in a way that allows the reader to become one with the police officers who are out there doing their job.

As a fan of true crime writing and fiction writers with great insight who focus in this area such as Michael Connelly or Patricia Cornwall, I have become accustomed to a certain level of quality writing. Ken Lang not only did not drop the ball to my high standards of reading pleasure, but in fact added a new dimension to my read as I felt the honesty and integrity of his writing so much so that I felt as if I was right there at the scene of a crime or in the squad room, or alone thinking about the many issues that go on when investigating a case.

Ken Lang’s ‘Walking Among The Dead’ is a page-turning true-crime thriller steeped in harsh and cruel realities that are so clear that readers will walk away with a new, deeper understanding of police work, and the human side of those who wear a badge. Equally as important is the fact that ‘Walking Among The Dead’ is a gripping story of realities written by a clever and witty detective whose writing flowed so easily and whose insights were so easy to connect.

I highly recommend to all readers Ken Lang’s ‘Walking Among The Dead’: after all, I read it twice because I thoroughly enjoyed Lang’s debut that much! And I will be the first to order the sequel to ‘Walking Among The Dead’. Well done!



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