A decent first novel; enough to want me to try her next one... but slow to start and perhaps a bit too much at the end, after the main murder has been solved. The meat of the investigation is quite good storytelling. Enjoyable, but not outstanding. ( )

Using the knowledge of her twenty-seven year long career in the Los Angeles Police Department, author Connie Dial develops a complicated yet fascinating story of the LAPD’s internal affairs. Sergeant Mike Turner is made the lead detective in an in-house murder investigation, when a young female officer is found dead in a car and the only real suspect is hot shot LAPD Deputy Chief Jim McGann. Turner is put on the case and almost immediately feels the pressure.

The story is thorough and the authors knowledge of the police department unbelievable apparent. A problem however falls upon the reader when words, phrases and abbreviations are constantly used to discuss police matters. I had to repeatedly remind myself or look up what things meant or stood for. The number of characters, which grow to become three or four entire branches of the police department, complicate things even further. If the story was told from one single point of view, it may be easier to follow. I found myself waiting for the chapters that were told by Sergeant Turner because I grew to like and trust him, while the other points of view grew tiresome.

If you can stay with the story, through the chaos and confusion of police jargon you will find a well weaved take of murder and corruption. The story is good it just takes some investigating of your own to stick with it. However, if you can, you will not be disappointed. Author Connie Dial writes what she knows and “Internal Affairs” benefits from her knowledge.

www.suspensemagazine.com ( )

I received Internal Affairs by Connie Dial as a LibraryThing Early Reviewers book.

When officer Alexandra Williams is found dead and mutilated in the trunk of a police car by police chief Jim McCann, who also happens to have been carrying on an affair with her, Internal Affairs launches a sprawling investigation that allows the reader to glimpse the darker side of police work.

I'm not typically a fan of procedurals--in print or television--but I was intrigued by the author's law enforcement background and the fast-paced writing style made this novel a fun read. If you like gritty crime dramas, you'll love this. ( )

In her debut novel, former commanding officer of the Los Angeles Police Department [LAPD] Connie Dial uses her experience and knowledge to pen a mystery about the LAPD. By choosing the dichotomous title Dial is able to weave a novel revolving around an Internal Affairs investigation of the LAPD and etch an accurate, multifaceted portrait about the internal affairs of the LAPD. Internal Affairs is both a whodunit and a guide to what drives many of LAPD’s finest.

When the mutilated body of a West Los Angeles police officer is found in the trunk of a police vehicle on the street in front of the LAPD Deputy Chief Jim McGann’s home all signs point to him as the doer. He had an affair with Alexandra Williams. But it cannot be that easy, can it? Welcome to the LAPD where there are good cops, bad cops, and cops who just look the other way until their pensions kick in. Fortunately Sergeant Mike Turner, investigator for Internal Affairs is leading up the case and he is the type of guy who likes boots on the ground investigative work. He doesn’t like to stay behind a desk and climb through the ranks like his girlfriend, Lieutenant Paula Toscano, adjutant for the Chief of Staff. For Paula, rank and propriety is everything. For Mike, justice and solid police work is most important. These concepts clash as the case moves ahead and more members of the LAPD get entangled in the death of Officer Williams.

Internal Affairs is a rewarding, solid intrigue as the case gets increasingly complex and the players are reluctant to get involved in uncovering the truth as their own careers may be jeopardized. Internal Affairs provides a riveting glimpse, both expansive and specific, into what police officers might be going through on a daily, weekly and yearly basis in their careers. With Dial's backstage viewpoint, Internal Affairs provides a snapshot into the lifestyle. Most importantly, the novel delves into the feminist aspect of the police force and the LAPD with “The Mafia,” a group of highly ranked women who meet weekly. Few women make it that far up in the ranks on any police force and Dial touches on this often in the novel. Internal Affairs is an absorbing read for scores of reasons. ( )

An interesting take on the LAPD written by a veteran cop who has been in the trenches for 27 years and took away from that time not only a sense of police procedure but of the politics in the LAPD.
The book is a good read if you enjoy Law and Order or CSI. The one complaint I might make is you dont really care for any of the characters except maybe the main story teller and I usually want to like others but the main hero.
Good book overall ( )