"When you sell a man a book, you don't sell him 12 ounces of paper
and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life."
-- Christopher Morley --
The Old,
Previously published:
Guns and Weapons for For Law Enforcement Sept 1997
The Lookout - A publication for Christian Churches
Muzzle Blasts - Monthly Magazine of NMLRA
Murder Express.net 1/25/2002
Reviewed by S. Loper-Herzog
"Retreat" is Ronald M. Schunk's first published mystery. It features
Sam Basro as deputy constable in the small town of Retreat, Kentucky. The
small town borders the Ohio River, minutes from both Ohio and Indiana.
That Mr. Schunk is a retired police officer becomes obvious as
he leads you through correct police procedure, as well as insights into
the mind of law enforcement officers during official duty. Retreat has
been invaded by drugs. Sam has been targeted by unknown pursuers. A local
power plant employee is investigating "missing" electricity. Then there
is a kidnapping, of Sam's wife. Sam must use all of his years of experience
to put the pieces together to stop the drug trade, and to save his wife.
"Retreat" takes the reader on an exciting ride into small town
crime, providing real life obstacles and issues. You can picture Retreat,
with its cast of small town people, and their roles.
This is a great debut. We hope to see more of Deputy Constable
Sam Basro from Ronald Schunk.
Dennis Latham (dlatham@seidata.com), freelance writer and editor,
November 25, 2002,
An Excellent First Novel. When most people think of cops in small towns,
they still might think of Barney Fife from Mayberry. Retreat dispels that
myth. I love novels that start with action. From page one the action is
fast and furious after someone tries to kill police officer Sam Basro during
an ambush.
The characters, both good and bad, seem like real people. That's what
impressed me most about the novel. I thought of them as real people. This
is rare anymore in fiction. Retreat is great escape fiction. What I call
an airport novel because you get caught up in the story and can read it
in one sitting.
An excellent first novel.
A Kentucky Game Warden:
IT WAS A GREAT BOOK..........I love the twist you put in with the kidnapping...
Very well written.
It could really happen, "down here"
1/15/2003
E Book Reviews 6/18/03
Sam Basro, a retired police officer, volunteers as Deputy
Constable for a four-man police department in the Ohio/
Indiana border town of Retreat, Kentucky.
One night, while on routine patrol, Sam attempts to pull
over a white Camaro that runs a stop sign. The out-of-state
driver leads Sam on a harrowing car chase that ends on a
dead end road near the Ohio River. When Sam prepares to
issue a ticket to the law-breaking violator, he is met with
gunfire from two attackers - one wielding a handgun, the
other, a shotgun. Sam protects himself with a fifteen-round
Smith & Wesson, and calls for back-up.
By the time three squad cars arrive, the two men have
disappeared, only to begin another chase in a getaway car.
The two perpetrators are not apprehended and Sam is faced
with the knowledge that he had been set-up to be murdered.
Months before, Sam and another officer arrested twenty-six
drug abusers. Two snitched on distributors, but the main
drug supplier was not revealed. Sam feels his life and maybe
his wife's may be in danger from retribution for the arrests.
>From evidence found at the scene and a tip from a local
power company supervisor, Sam begins an intensive investigation that leads to his wife, Carolyn, being kidnapped. Sam
concentrates all his efforts to identify and locate a local
marijuana manufacturer, and to find Carolyn... alive or dead.
Author, Ronald M. Schunk, a retired police officer, uses his
police background to write an action-packed tale filled with
investigative intrigue. Police procedures are descriptive
and characters real-to-life in situations that could be
occurring right now, today.
Much dialogue is police oriented, while some is like that of
numbskull felons. Impressive use of police skills and techniques makes RETREAT an excellent first novel for Mr. Schunk.
The only drawbacks are minor author intrusion and POV
switching, which to a reader only, would probably not be
obtrusive. On occasion, characters are not expressly
identified, causing a tad bit of confusion when using pro
nouns instead of character names. To me, for a first novel,
these are minor nuances that do not overly distract from the
overall quality of the fiction story.
I highly recommend RETREAT to those persons looking for
police action, intriguing suspense and great investigative
work condensed in an interesting novel.
"Retreat" is now available
from I-universe for 'print on demand' publishing. You may order it from
their website as well as Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com and Walmart.com.
Thank you for your support!
ISBN 0-595-24895-0
Order your personal copy(a 6 x 9
trade paperback) Now from Barnes
and Noble, Amazon.Com,
oriUniverse,
Inc. or order an autographed copy directly
from the author.
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