Book ~ "The Sons of Jude" (2012) Brandt Dodson

From Goodreads ~ The body of a young woman is found in a dumpster in Chicago and detectives Andy Polanski and Frank Campello are charged with finding the killer. The two are polar opposites. Polanski is the son of a disgraced Chicago police officer and is fastidious about his reputation. He has also recently been transferred from another district having blown the whistle on some corrupt cops. Campello, however, takes a live-and-let-live approach to his life and job.

It soon becomes clear, as another young woman--a potential witness--is murdered, that a sex-trafficking operation in Chicago is preying on illegal aliens. As the ill-matched pair dig deeper, an influential alderman and his son are implicated. Then Polanski is framed for a narcotics offense, devastating the cases against the corrupt officers and the alderman. Only when Campello is challenged by a local minister, whom he meets when visiting Polanski, does he find the motivation to seek justice.

St. Jude is the paton saint of lost souls and police officers ... hence the title.

When the story begins, Campello's partner has just been killed.  Polanski is being transferred to Campello's district and is assigned as his partner.  At his last district, Polanski had blown the whistle on two dirty cops.  Campello has problems with this ... he feels you should always support your "brothers" and doesn't hesitate to let Polanski know how he fees.  So you can imagine the tension between these two.

They investigate the death of a woman who was found beaten in a garbage bin.  As they start unravelling the mystery, it keeps leading them to the son of an alderman, who runs a strip club and a warehouse.  Every time they arrest him for something, he is released.

Christy Lee is a spunky reporter who doesn't want to write fluffy stories ... she wants to write meaty ones and will do whatever it takes.  She hooks up with an unwilling Campello and eventually they look for justice.

I liked the writing style.  It was well-paced.  I liked the characters.  In addition to be a devoted cop, we also get to know Campello the son ... he visits his dad who is in a home with dementia daily.  Polanski is a husband and father who just wants to do the right thing.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it! It's the first book I've read by this author and I look forward to reading more.