{"product_id":"9780765395627","title":"The Burden of Truth","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Burden of Truth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Neal Griffin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAs a serving police officer, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Neal Griffin saw how family ties, loyalty to friends, and their own ambitions could lead young men to make choices that got them hurt, killed, or imprisoned. He explores this complex web of relationships and pressures in \u003ci\u003eThe Burden of Truth\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a small city in southern California, 18 year-old Omar Ortega is about to graduate high school. For years, he’s danced on the fringes of gang life, trying desperately to stay out of the cross-hairs. Once Omar joins the Army, his salary, plus his meager savings, will get his mother and siblings out of the barrio, where they’ve lived since his father was deported. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne night, everything changes. Newly released from prison, Chunks, the gang’s shot-caller, has plans for Omar. That boy, Chunks thinks, needs to be jumped in. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy dawn, Omar will be labeled a cop-killer. Law-and-order advocates and community organizers will battle over Omar’s fate in the court of public opinion while the criminal justice system grips him in its teeth. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne night can destroy a man and all who depend on him. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat he’s innocent does not matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“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, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ways of Wolfe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“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 his neighborhood until his lucks runs out. Telling that story, with all its realism and necessary color—but also with the nuance, honesty and complexity it deserves—is no easy task. [Griffin is] a gifted storyteller with plenty of grit and real-life experience to back up the prose.”—Ruben Navarette\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780765395627\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Forge Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40735798067406,"sku":"9780765395627","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_5ba7fcad-ac60-4eab-9c04-590d37355576.jpg?v=1641274146","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780765395627","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}