About this ebook
An elderly widow falls for a charming stranger she meets online. A lonely 12-year-old gamer befriends someone who isn't who they claim to be. A vulnerable teenage girl disappears after trusting the wrong person on social media.
At first, the crimes seem unrelated. But as LAPD officers uncover a web of romance scams, sextortion, human trafficking, and cybercrime, they discover a chilling truth: behind every screen is someone with something to hide.
As multiple LAPD investigations unfold, they reveal how quickly a simple click can destroy lives—and how difficult it becomes to stop the damage once deception takes hold.
Drawing on her 29 years with the LAPD, award-winning retired police officer Kathy Bennett delivers a gripping, authentic police procedural thriller inspired by today’s fastest-growing internet crimes, exposing the dark side of our connected world.
Authentic Crime…Arresting Stories told by a retired LAPD officer.
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About the author
I’m Kathy Bennett.
Before becoming a full-time author, I spent 29 years with the Los Angeles Police Department—8 years as a civilian employee and 21 years as a sworn police officer. While most of my career was spent in a patrol car, I also served as a firearms instructor at the police academy, worked as a field training officer, analyzed crime trends in the department's. “War Room,” and later promoted to Senior Lead Officer, where I was responsible for a basic car area within a geographic division. Along the way, I worked several undercover assignments and was honored to be names Officer of the Year in 1997.
My writing career began with romance novels, but I quickly discovered I wasn't very good at remembering the romance part. I could, however, always be counted on to kill off a character or two. Eventually, I decided to write what I know best—crime. Today, I write Authentic Crime…Arresting Stories, drawing on the experiences, people, and situations I encountered during my law enforcement career. Although I’m retired, I still follow crime news closely, and those real-world events often spark ideas for the stories I tell.
One of my novels, A Deadly Blessing, was selected by Barnes and Noble as one of the year's Best Original Nook books.
My husband and I, both retired LAPD officers, now live in Idaho with two energetic Labrador retrievers and a mischievous cat who keeps us on our toes. When I'm not writing, you'll find me doing Pilates, spending time with our daughter and her family, or exploring the beautiful outdoors of our adopted home state.
