Title: Casualty of Innocence: An AJ Conti Novel
Author: James A. Bacca
Publisher: Luminare Press
ISBN: 978-1643887951
Pages: 293
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Reviewed by: Philip Zozzaro

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Tommy Chacon is a sociopathic predator hiding in plain sight, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is an architect and seemingly solid citizen in public; behind closed doors he scans the dark web looking to satiate his own appetites. Tommy is a pederast, but also traffics children to fellow pederasts for top dollar. Once a deal has been made, he must secure the desired prey and send them to the customer, with no defects. Tommy’s latest acquisition didn’t go smoothly, attracting attention, and leading Tommy to commit a double murder. A cover-up of his misdeeds soon follows.

Sara Gray works as a detective for Albuquerque PD. She is a loving, caring woman who dotes on her extended family, her sister and her adopted nephew Yuri. Sara’s problem is separating her occupation from her home life. She talks to Yuri about her work, much to her sister and sister-in-law’s chagrin, but Sara wants Yuri to be aware of the hazards in the world. Sara is even more protective as a series of kids have gone missing across different jurisdictions. Sara is concerned enough to reach out to an old friend, AJ Conti.

AJ Conti is a retired Cop who is seemingly unable to erase trouble from his life. He narrowly escaped with his life after helping bring down corrupt law enforcement, he still

grieves for a murdered fiancé. He currently serves as legal guardian for Brooke, the daughter of good friends who both passed away. AJ desires stability, but Sara asks for his acumen in seeing if the missing kids’ cases are connected. However, AJ and Sara are unaware of other developments that threaten not only their investigation but also their lives. AJ’s enemies haven’t all been vanquished, a man named Rock is hellbent on retribution for AJ’s past work, and will kill anyone who stands in his way.

Casualty of Innocence is a mystery/thriller that hits hard with action from its initial stages. The actions undertaken by Tommy in the opening pages pull at the reader’s emotions, as one longs for an eventual comeuppance for his evil crimes. AJ and Sara make for appealing protagonists as the story progresses, their friendship is strong, they are both on slightly different life paths, but they desire to see justice served is their commonality. As a reader, a great mystery resonates long after the last sentence has been read, this book is no different. Author James Bacca penned a smart and crisp novel.