Book Review: The Injustice of Valor

Reviewed by Erin Britton

Is a vigilante killer always simply a murderer?

While the seasoned residents of Greenville, Connecticut are unfazed when the mountain town’s power grid fails late one winter’s night, plunging the community into darkness, at least one person is positively thankful for it: “It was the perfect time and place to dump a body.”

Unfortunately for those accustomed to Greenville’s rural idyll, the corpse’s ignominious disposal in the Torrington River is only the start of another whole heap of trouble that’s about to land on the town. 

It’s late February 2020. COVID-19 is about to arrive, but The Redeemer is on a mission, one that not even a global pandemic can interrupt. The goal is to rid the world of all the sex offenders who have avoided punishment or been released from incarceration too soon, and it’s an enjoyable goal at that. “Ridding the planet of another sex offender who’d escaped justice, freed on some bullshit technicality argued by unethical lawyers, was a sight to be witnessed. Savored, even.” The chance to torture these perverts is particularly appealing, as is the ability to film it all for the authorities.

For Officer Valorie Dawes of Clayton PD’s Women’s Anti-Violence Emergency (WAVE) squad, the Redeemer’s mission and the subsequent identification of the body in the river as Jason Larkin (“Teen predator, got picked up soliciting high school girls with drugs and alcohol.”), the suspect in a WAVE case who walked on a technicality, means an unwelcome one-hour drive to Greenville to assist local detectives. Still, at least it provides a distraction from worrying about her recently strained relationship with Sergeant Gil Kryzinski.

Whatever she was expecting to learn from her fellow officers about Larkin’s death, it’s nothing compared to actually having to watch it via a video on the mobile phone the Redeemer thoughtfully inserted into the corpse. “The gloved hand reappeared, this time with a straight razor, which the gloved hand used to shave the victim’s pubic area. More squirming on Val’s part. Then the hand appeared again with a surgeon’s scalpel.” It’s extremely gory and disturbing stuff, and Dawes is quickly convinced that there’s a deranged murderer on the loose.

Her colleagues don’t share her concerns, however, not even when another pedophile the WAVE squad has been investigating disappears. There’s just not much interest in protecting perverts, not even from a potential serial killer. “Half the detectives in the department would rather give this killer an award.” Then what already seems like an impossible case becomes even worse when an old enemy in the force helps frame Dawes for assaulting another officer and she is suspended from duty. 

Dawes knows there’s more to the Redeemer than meets the eye, but she’s going to have to look into the case on her own. And that’s not the only matter requiring her attention. When police IT expert Shelby Clearwater, a close friend of Dawes, disappears under mysterious circumstances, she fears the worst and determines to launch another solo investigation to find the truth and, hopefully, her friend.

The Injustice of Valor, the sixth installment in Gary Corbin’s series starring Officer Valorie Dawes, marks another explosive episode in her checkered law enforcement career. Having proved herself adept at tackling both criminals and terrorists during the course of previous cases, she’s more than equipped to track down a serial killer. Given the Redeemer’s modus operandi, there’s plenty of brutal and bloody violence involved in Dawes’ dogged pursuit. It’s sometimes distressing, but never gratuitous. 

In addition to the physical violence, there’s considerable sexual violence and references to sexual assault too. Dawes is herself the victim of an assault, and then she is falsely accused of assaulting a fellow officer. There’s some seriously murky business afoot besides the serial murders, and very few of the police officers other than Dawes emerge looking good. In fact, it’s amazing any crimes are solved in Clayton, given how the police verge between serious reticence to act and overt fabrication of evidence, and that’s without considering the dubious hiring and promotion practices.

There seems to be significant corruption—to say nothing of incompetence—in the force. In particular, those who have read Under the Banner of Valor will realize just how unwelcome the reappearance of Detective Ed “Tackle Box” Simpson is, both for Dawes and for justice in general. And there are other faces from the past who also seem intent on causing as much trouble as possible. They might not rival the Redeemer when it comes to evil and brutality, but they’re still awful.

Even the good cops are pretty dubious, actually. The Injustice of Valor features episodes of homophobia and transphobia involving both the “good” and the “bad” guys. There’s also a serious suggestion of institutional sexism/misogyny in how the complaint against Dawes is handled and how other cops react to it. It’s definitely no cozy crime novel. Rather, it is a gritty and realistic thriller that doesn’t shy away from showing the harsh realities of law and order.

And if Dawes’s professional life sounds bad, her personal life isn’t much better. She’s still in a relationship with Gil, but things seem to be a bit rocky. The pair of them don’t quite seem to be connecting anymore, and the situation certainly isn’t helped by the reappearance of Gil’s former fiancée. Will Gil be there for Dawes when she needs him? Things aren’t any more straightforward with her family either, as Dawes is still struggling to deal with her father’s illness and the presence of her much younger brother.

Further adding to the realism and timeliness of the story, Corbin sets it during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a time of great uncertainty, fear, and confusion. All these emotions are reflected in the words and actions of the characters, from the surprise over businesses closing to the controversy over mask wearing. The pandemic forming the backdrop to the serial murders means that there are two major issues interfering with the normalcy of life, adding considerable depth to the story.

The Injustice of Valor is a fast-paced, sometimes shocking thriller that exposes the darker corners of the human psyche. Valorie Dawes is an exemplary police officer—even if she is also her own worst enemy at times—but she once again finds herself going it almost alone as she hunts for the Redeemer. There’s a real sense of peril as the story progresses and an increasing number of characters facing deadly danger. While faith in Dawes’a abilities never wanes, it sometimes seems doubtful that she will overcome all the obstacles stacked against her in the hunt for the truth.

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