Now Available
from Original Ink Press!
In this gritty, topical crime novel, Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway team up for the second time (having brought you Some Degree of Murder years ago).
CHARLIE-316 is set during the explosive aftermath of an officer-involved shooting in Spokane, Washington.
Tyler Garrett is a model SWAT officer whose good looks, education and familial status add to that image. The fact that he is a black man in the predominately white Spokane Police Department only adds to the city administration’s pride in one of their own. He’s often pointed to as an example of the department’s best and brightest—a young man on the rise.
One summer evening, Garrett stops a reckless driver. It’s something he’s done a thousand times except this time, gunfire erupts from a nearby house. As Garrett dives for cover, the driver turns and begins shooting as well. Garrett survives the ambush by killing the driver and chasing off the additional shooter.
The legend of Tyler Garrett grows and the community rallies around him.
Until the initial investigation determines the driver was shot in the back and his gun has somehow disappeared. Suddenly, the police department, city hall, and even the national news media are wondering just what happened that night? In a nation where police brutality dominates the headlines, Garrett’s case has suddenly become a flashpoint.
Now, Officer Tyler Garrett must take matters into his own hands. Time is quickly running out for him to find the second shooter and to clear his name.
This is not just a crime novel, but a tale of our times… which, to be fair, crime novels tend to be.
Author’s Note: This is the first in a four-book series I’m writing with Colin. The sequels will be out in 2020 (Never the Crime in June, Badge Heavy in September, and the conclusion, Code Four, in November).
Read our interview with The Big Thrill about Charlie-316!
Paperback:
or order from your favorite independent bookstore, such as 
Ebook (Or search “Frank Zafiro” at your favorite outlet!)
Audio Book, from Books in Motion!:
Reviews:
“A hard-hitting police conspiracy tale turned on its head, CHARLIE-316 bristles with authenticity and rich detail. Conway and Zafiro deliver an engrossing socio-political drama that packs plenty of action and intrigue, while asking the difficult questions. Corruption, conspiracy, and compromise frame the downfall of a perfect cop. And Wardell Clint is the most nuanced, fascinating detective I’ve read in a very long time. This one tackles tough issues and will leave no reader indifferent. Compelling.”
– James W. Ziskin, Anthony and Macavity award-winning author of the Ellie Stone mysteries
“As the ever-darkening tone of the book leaves no character unscathed, Charlie-316 is a roller-coaster ride of expectations and upsets. The story is confounding because it so adeptly plays on readers’ preconceived notions, particularly regarding our need for justice. Is it actual justice we are looking for or just the version that best fits our own viewpoint?”
– Jay Roberts, Mystery Scene Magazine
“Riveting and compulsively readable, Charlie-316 is an ambitious book about many things including honor, the murkiness of politics, corruption, and a good man searching for the truth. Any fan of Don Winslow’s critically-acclaimed The Force needs to be searching out and reading this book.”
– Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes
“CHARLIE-316 is the real deal. Ripped from today’s headlines, it is an intense tale of corruption, suspense and humanity that is impossible to put down. One of the best cop books I’ve read in years.”
– Terrence McCauley, Award-winning author of The Fairfax Incident and Sympathy for the Devil
“A ripped-from-the-headlines police procedural so real that you’ll almost think you joined the force. Conway and Zafiro effortlessly weave intricate investigative details together with raw human emotion to deliver a truly gripping read.”
– S.W. Lauden, Anthony Award-nominated author of Crosswise
“In Charlie 316, Conway and Zafiro, two master storytellers, have punched a hole in the blue wall in this compelling tale that offers the reader a no-holds barred, insider’s view of corruption in a mid-sized American city.”
– Charles Salzberg, author of Second Story Man
“Few books have the ambition to cover the scope attempted here; fewer can pull it off. Charlie 316 does more than pull it off: it succeeds. Not since The Wire have I seen a better mixture of crime, law enforcement, politics, and media.”
– Dana King, Shamus-nominated author of the Nick Forte and Penns River series
“Crackles with authenticity and ripped-from-the-headlines urgency. This is a police procedural written by guys who know the job from the inside. It offers a full view of an incident that feels as real as they come. Charlie 316 is the ultimate ride-along.”
– Eric Beetner, author of All The Way Down
“Not since the glory days of Joseph Wambaugh has there been such an unflinching portrayal of working cops under pressure. In Charlie 316, Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro deftly juggle a complex cast of characters coping with the issues—racial, political, and personal—that boil around a controversial officer-involved shooting. Expect surprises. Highly recommended.”
– J.D. Rhoades, author of Fortunate Son, People Like Us, and the Jack Keller series
“Charlie 316 is a taut and tense look behind the thin blue line. In a world where the truth is malleable and honor is a tattered banner, justice is as elusive as a ghost. Zafiro and Conway guide us through this world with unflinching honesty and sure handed skill. If you liked The Force you will love Charlie 316.”
– S.A. Cosby, author of My Darkest Prayer
“Part police procedural and part thriller, Charlie-316 by Colin Conway and Frank Zafiro is an intense read. While it clearly has a “ripped from the headlines” style to it, there are plenty of twists and turns that elevate the book far above the usual such fare. Complex with gritty multi-dimensional characters in a tale where nearly everyone has a secret agenda, Charlie-316 is one heck of a good read. “
– Kevin Tipple, independent reviewer
“Conveyed in classically clean, sharp, staccato-styled prose that makes Sergeant Friday sound like a soft-boiled sap by comparison, Charlie-316 carves its own niche in the busy field of police procedurals with its gritty, grisly, action-driven, twist-happy plot as well as its realistic depictions of police as flawed people in peril, not just stalwart guardians of bystanders in the sidelines of the battlefield. These guys put their lives on the line on a daily basis, and the immediacy of this ongoing and often untold human drama involving both heroes and anti-heroes, in and out of the squad car, on and off those mean streets, is what compels compassion amid all the departmental corruption and institutionalized criminality.”
— Will “the Thrill” Viharo, author of The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection and the Vic Valentine Private Eye series
Next in the series:
