San Diego police officer Owen Drew considered his body as another piece of equipment to be used in the war against crime and he kept it in tip-top shape. This enabled him to perform his job superbly. His excellence did not go unnoticed by the upper echelon and one day after roll call, Drew was called into a private meeting with his captain, lieutenant and sergeant. After commending him on his arrest record, the captain asked him, "If you had the power to deal with the gangs in your sector, to handle them any way you like, what would you do?" That question started one of the most exciting, and dangerous, times in Drew's life. Backed with the support of his superiors and fellow officers, with carte blanche to do what was necessary to clear out the gangs in San Diego's most crime-ridden streets, Drew launched his offensive, a modern day warrior, his horse a specially equipped Ford. Bypassing the street runners and middlemen, Drew set his sights on the leaders and the peddlers, figuring to break down their financial network and their leadership. Just how effectively he was doing his job was proved several months later when word was received that the gangs had pooled their money and placed a contract on Drew's head. And all of this is only in the first fifty pages, setting us up for the real story being told, how a man of conscience, wanting only to do the best he can, to protect the weak and the underdog, can have his soul destroyed by the countless encounters with evil. So Drew takes a one-year sabbatical from the job, determined to find his lost soul, starting with a job as crewman on a sailing vessel. When the owner of the sailboat cuts the trip short, Drew continues his journey alone, hitchhiking and walking around the world, living in a commune, taking jobs as he finds them. The year's sabbatical stretches to two before Drew finally finds the inner peace he seeks at a small Swiss village and he realizes that his days as a San Diego police officer are over for good. I really enjoyed "The Thirteenth Time Zone." In fact, I've even reread it.
Joanne Benham for Reader Views
Austin, Texas
