This book was too much for me. It's a horror and a tragedy, and Rick Jervis just I'm sorry but Rick you are probably not the author to write this. It's certainly a thing that happened and should be out there in some way, but the writing, it is not polished or absorbing. It has this metronome quality to it, obviously trying to rack up a page count on this one. Rick is a journalist and I have to say, I do not think there's enough of a story here to warrant a book. It's a ton of background information, a lot of speculation unless Juan Ortiz has admitted to saying some very specific things, but it could probably just be a long newspaper article. Maybe a multi part piece or a podcast. It's just misery on a grand scale for way too long. Cut out the gratuitous horror and you've got about 50 pages maximum. There is a lot of biographical information and it's all painful and I just wasn't sure what the point of reading or especially writing any of it was. It feels like Rick was going for Truman Capote but this is just not that, at all. Not by a long shot. I don't think the author was able to interview the killer so we aren't getting any kind of insight into what made him operate. There is conjecture and it boils down to shitty beer and PTSD.

The murderer here isn't saying or doing anything that necessitates a book. It seems like from the beginning the authorities were after him pretty dilligently, there's no conspiracy or a societal failure that needs looking into. It's just tragedy. I hope the proceeds here are going to some kind of outreach program to help people get clean. This story just isn't worth the steady onslaught of despair that you are going to endure. The guy kills a bunch of addicts who are sex workers, and is caught. The end.

This is a well-written true crime book about a serial killer in Texas who is murdering sex workers. After killing 4 people, the twist is that the killer turns out to be a border patrol agent. How could this happen and what was behind it? The author brings the story to life with his details and research.

A border patrol gets the job he wanted. Using all the tools at his disposal. Turns Laredo's residents life’s in danger.

The Devil Behind the Badge is the shocking true-crime story of a U.S. Border Patrol agent turned serial killer, the four sex workers whom he mercilessly killed, and the upended border town of Laredo where his heinous crimes occurred.

Wow, what a sad story to read about the lives of the women who were killed and the coverup and lack of interest in holding individuals with authority to accountability.

The book included interesting background information, the history of the border patrol, and the towns and locations.

The author laid out the story well, giving families the opportunity to discuss their loved ones who died. I felt like I was watching an episode of Dateline or a true crime show, as the story was told so well and in such rich detail.

I would recommend The Devil Behind the Badge not only for its solid storytelling but also for its insight into these individuals' lives and for learning about the history of the town and the border patrol.

#TheDevilBehindtheBadge #NetGalley @deystreet

The Devil Behind the Badge by Rick Jarvis is a very disturbing true crime novel, but part of the crime is how the perpetrator came to be in the story at all. Decorated war veteran, family man, Border Patrol agent for ten years, no outward sign of inner conflict or distress, barring everyday problems. The wife knew differently, however. She began taking their three children for extended holidays to her parents because of Ortiz’s drinking and worsening pill addiction, not to mention his fondness for the girls on Laredo street, who were funding addictions of their own. No one expected the explosion of violence from Juan David Ortiz from September 3 to September 15, 2018 that claimed lives of familiar faces haunting the streets of Laredo looking for momentary relief. Reading the book was like watching a veritable freight train wreck; you see it coming for train and passengers but you can’t look away.