Deadly Force

July 29, 1996
In a prefatory note, Stroud (Close Pursuit) states that his goal is "to illustrate very disturbing trends in federal law enforcement." In this account of the career, from 1991 to 1995, of Marshal Luke Zitto, he concentrates on Zitto's major case, the search for a rapist and multiple murderer who hacked his victims to death with a tomahawk. The odyssey took Zitto from the South Bronx to Washington, D.C., to Buffalo and ended in the suspect's capture. Along the way, Stroud cites innumerable instances of interagency battling (FBI vs. DEA vs. ATF vs. USMS) and interdepartmental turf wars (Justice vs. Treasury), from which only the criminals profited. In a concluding note, he takes a pessimistic view of future federal law enforcement, fearing the FBI (which he doesn't like) will swallow up the other agencies. While his thesis is well substantiated, much of Stroud's book is written in a novelistic style.

May 1, 1996
First it was New York City homicide detectives (Close Pursuit). Then it was U.S. Army infantry sergeants (Iron Bravo). Now it's U.S. Marshals who get the day-in-a-life treatment from Stroud.

August 1, 1996
Founded in 1789, the United States Marshals Service is the oldest law enforcement agency in the United States. In this book, Stroud (Iron Brave, LJ 11/15/94) attempts to provide an inside story of what a U.S. marshal experiences on the job. From the outset, Stroud states that names and places have been changed to protect those involved. The main character is Luke Zitto, a marshal whose life was changed when his wife and son left him for one of the witnesses in the witness program. The main antagonist, known as the Yellow Man, is a rapist and murderer who hacks his victims to death with a tomahawk. Although he sheds light on the dark and seedy side of a marshal's life, Stroud uses a diary format that is difficult to follow. Just when the author has the reader's attention, he shifts to another scene. Libraries would be wise to skip this book.--Michael Sawyer, Clinton P.L., Ia.