From Behind The Blue Line

On Wednesday 15 April 1998, Detective Sergeant Gurpal Singh Virdi was arrested and accused of sending racist hate mail to himself and ethnic minority colleagues. Dismissed from the Metropolitan Police Service, his reputation in ruins, Virdi took his case to an employment tribunal which judged that he had been a victim of racial discrimination. Completely vindicated, Virdi was reinstated to the job he loved – but his travails were far from over. Constantly overlooked for promotion, he realised that by challenging the Met he had effectively ended his career. Following his retirement from the force and keen to serve his local community, Virdi decided to run for election as a Labour councillor – but, prior to the election, he was arrested a second time. The allegations levelled against him were horrifying: he stood accused of sexually assaulting an underage prisoner nearly thirty years earlier. Yet when the case went to trial, a jury took less than fifty minutes to clear Virdi of all charges, with the judge noting the likelihood of a conspiracy behind the case. But the damage had been done. Behind the Blue Line is Virdi's deeply shocking account of how one of Britain's biggest institutions brought the apparatus of the state to bear in a campaign to destroy the life of one of its own officers.

Beyond the Blue Line is a collection of stories from the syndicated newspaper column written by Detective Joe D. Guy. A humorous and heartwarming look inside the world of police officers, Beyond The Blue Line will forever change how you think about police and emergency personnel.

When an innocent child, a daughter, is taken away from police Lieutenant Dylan Akers, he enlists the help of his longtime, but estranged friend, Beau Rivers. The men joined the police force as the best of friends, but the friendship ended abruptly in the following years amongst the aftermath of Beau's self-destruction. Can this tragedy bring them back together and reinforce the bond? Dylan hopes Beau will help him obtain justice. Justice no matter the cost. Is his request too much to ask of a friend, a fellow cop, especially when it involves murder? A previously unknown fact comes to light, and Beau is committed to righting this wrong, no matter the consequences. Together the pair step from behind the Blue Line to avenge a child's death, all while under the watchful eye of a determined Internal Affairs commander as well as their fellow officers.

From the extraordinary Colombian French politician and activist Ingrid Betancourt, a stunning debut novel about freedom and fate Set against the backdrop of Argentina’s Dirty War and infused with magical realism, The Blue Line is a breathtaking story of love and betrayal by one of the world’s most renowned writers and activists. Ingrid Betancourt, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Even Silence Has an End, draws on history and personal experience in this deeply felt portrait of a woman coming of age as her country falls deeper and deeper into chaos. Buenos Aires, the 1970s. Julia inherits from her grandmother a gift, precious and burdensome. Sometimes visions appear before her eyes, mysterious and terrible apparitions from the future, seen from the perspective of others. From the age of five, Julia must intervene to prevent horrific events. In fact, as her grandmother tells her, it is her duty to do so—otherwise she will lose her gift. At fifteen, Julia falls in love with Theo, a handsome revolutionary four years her senior. Their lives are turned upside down when Juan Perón, the former president and military dictator, returns to Argentina. Confronted by the realities of military dictatorship, Julia and Theo become Montoneros sympathizers and radical idealists, equally fascinated by Jesus Christ and Che Guevara. Captured by death squadrons, they somehow manage to escape. . . . In this remarkable novel, Betancourt, an activist who spent more than six years held hostage by the FARC in the depths of Colombian jungle, returns to many of the themes of Even Silence Has an End. The Blue Line is a story centered on the consequences of oppression, collective subservience, and individual courage, and, most of all, the notion that belief in the future of humanity is an act of faith most beautiful and deserving.

Chaos reigns in the streets of Tallahassee, and the community doesn't trust the police. The reason: police officers Beau Rivers and Dylan Akers are suspected in the recent murders of two child killers although it cannot be proved. Leading the turmoil is a dangerous kingpin building a drug empire with violence and fear. The Chief of Police must act, but traditional police work isn't getting results. Additional evidence proving Rivers and Akers committed the revenge murders is discovered, and the chief delivers a tough ultimatum. The two must wage a hidden war against the kingpin or face murder charges. Working together again, Beau and Dylan are joined by two others, one a tenacious cop and the other with questionable morals, to form a secret squad known only by the chief. As they square up against the drug lord, it quickly becomes a race against time. Major Pritchard, the unscrupulous IA commander who investigated Beau and Dylan, continues his personal crusade against the pair. Will Beau and Dylan take down the syndicate before Pritchard finds the uncovered evidence held by the Chief? Will they finally face the consequences for taking the law into their own hands? To make things right, they will have to cross the blue line, and it could cost one of them his life.

For nearly a century, the Toronto Maple Leafs have stood as one of the most popular hockey franchises in the NHL. With M Is for Maple Leafs, children across North America will discover the alphabet while being introduced to interesting Leaf history. From people (such as Mats Sundin and Johnny Bower) to hockey terminology (line change and face-off) and places and things (dressing room, Air Canada Centre, puck), the world of hockey is depicted in this fun and lively picture book. Featuring rhyming text from author Mike Ulmer and striking illustrations from Melanie Rose, this book captures the spirit of "Canada's game." M Is for Maple Leafs is destined to become a classic that will be handed down from generation to generation.

For the past thirty years, the Los Angeles Police Department has been accused of endless charges of brutality and corruption. From the highly public and polarizing Rodney King beating, to the shocking Rampart Scandal, many have viewed the department as a brutal, yet effective, crime fight force. To this end, many blame the more controversial acts of the department on a "few bad apples." Covering the time from Chief Gates' tenure until the end of the Rampart Scandal, The Thin Blue Line brings forgotten and startling events from the last thirty years of the L.A.P.D.'s shocking history to life. Attempting to view brutality and corruption through a critical lens, this book uses extensive research to investigate the various charges police corruption as a result of the different policing styles implemented by the department throughout the years, and not the result of a "few bad apples."