Review by Brianna_MC_griffin97 -- An Imperfect Crime

Brianna_MC_griffin97 · Post by **Brianna_MC_griffin97** » 10 Jan 2020, 17:59

[Following is a volunteer review of "An Imperfect Crime" by Fred G. Baker.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Peter Simpson, an English major from Berkeley, gets wrongly convicted and executed for murders and kidnappings that he did not commit. As a young writer, Peter could not get any of his writings published, along with his best friend, Allister Brown. Peter and Allister come up with a plan to fake a murder in order to be recognized for being writers. However, the plan takes a wrong turn, and Peter is the one that gets blamed for the murder of Allister Brown, the disappearance of Sarah Parker, Allister’s girlfriend, and a few kidnappings from the campus he went to. Peter gets murdered for crimes that he did not have anything to do with, but Detective Lori Sanchez and Father Montero will not give up until they unravel the truth about what happened to the missing individuals.

Along with the search for answers about the missing persons, Detective Sanchez and Father Montero learn more about crimes that are surrounded around some of the missing people. Some examples of crimes include: gun trafficking, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Everything comes together as Sanchez and Montero travel to Mexico and other areas in order to prove Peter’s innocence. There are some ups and downs, but Sanchez and Montero never let the horrific obstacles get in the way of their investigation. Will the real murderer/kidnapper be brought to justice or will the investigation be all for nothing? Find out in this roller-coaster ride of a story, filled with fascinating mysteries and shocking evidence.

The book An Imperfect Crime by Fred G. Baker is a story that really focuses on real-life scenarios that happen in the world such as crime, violence, murder, kidnappings, and so on. Several innocent individuals in the real world actually get convicted for crimes that they did not commit, and this book really captures the reality of how the court system really works. Peter was seen as a murderer, and he even wrote a book which explained that he did not kill anyone, but the jury was not convinced. There was not much of any evidence pointing directly at Peter because the crime scene was cleaned and wiped down which showed that the scene was staged. Peter was also wrongly convicted for the disappearances of three other females that went missing on the campus he attended, including one female he dated. Although there was lack of evidence, Peter gets convicted, his best friend does not come forward to explain their plan, and Peter gets executed within a few months.

Only a few people know for a fact that Peter did not kill anyone, especially Detective Sanchez and Father Montero. They get mixed into other crimes that do not seem like they would be connected to the crimes supposedly convicted by Peter. They find out that there are drug, gun, and human smuggling that are the main clues in their investigation. I enjoyed how Baker made Sanchez and Montero team up. Who would have thought that a detective and a priest would team up to solve a murder that no one else tried to solve? It was very unique and unorthodox.

The element that I liked the most was that Sanchez and Montero do not let the crime go cold like others did. They were determined to find out everything that they could, even in life or death situations. Sanchez gets shot several times, and even though she gets severely wounded, she still fights to find out the truth. Montero had Sanchez’s back every time she got into trouble. The pair made a fantastic team. Two brains are better than one, and they could not have found out as much as they did without helping each other. I actually figured the two would end up dating, but unfortunately, they did not. However, they treat each other like family, and that was a great quality in the book.

The element that I disliked the most about the book was that there was a lot of details about crimes that I did not fully understand, for example, about the drug crimes. Since I have lack of knowledge about crimes and the police, I could not really follow all the details. There was not much that I did not like about the book, besides the graphic details about what the Mexican cartel does to females. However, these types of crimes need to be acknowledged because they really happen in real life.

I rate the book An Imperfect Crime by Fred G. Baker a 4 out of 4 stars because the author really knew how to draw me in. Each time Sanchez and Montero found a clue, I kept on wondering what was going to be unraveled next. So much happened in so little time, but the events were so life-like that I could feel the tension and fear in some of the scenes. For example, when Sanchez is fighting for her life when she accidentally gets herself caught up in a gang’s drug trade. There were not any errors that I noticed, which is why the book does not deserve a 2 or 3.

I would recommend the book to individuals who love action, adventure, discovery, twists, and corruption of the court system. The story really takes the reader into how a real-life jury works and how some innocent people are treated. I would not recommend the book to individuals who are not interested in crime, police, justice, politics, etc., and who may not care about if an innocent individual is wrongly convicted. Every detail is important, and every single scene unravels so much information that can easily be overlooked. I think anyone would love this book, but I know there might be some people who cannot relate to the individuals and the situations in the story. It is a really great read, and I would read it again.

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An Imperfect Crime
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