A Woman of Valor

by Gary Corbin

For Valorie Dawes, #metoo means #fightback.

Rookie policewoman Valorie Dawes has a mission: take men like Richard Harkins, a serial child molester, off the streets of her small hometown of Clayton, CT—for good. Things start off well as Val's trusted senior partner and mentor, Gil, shows her the ropes and helps her survive the nastiness they encounter on the streets–and in the chauvinistic office politics at the precinct.

Despite Gil's support, Val becomes increasingly isolated within the department and vilified in the public eye as reckless and incompetent. In response, she devotes all of her time and energy to chasing Harkins, but he proves to be both elusive and cruel, continuing to victimize young girls and pressing his threats closer and closer to Val's own inner circle.

Can Valorie overcome the trauma she suffered as a child and stop Harkins from hurting others like her—or will her bottled-up anger lead her to take reckless risks that put the people she loves in greater danger?

496 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2019

About the author

Gary Corbin is a writer, actor, and playwright in Camas, WA, a suburb of Portland, OR.

In his character-driven police procedural, A Woman of Valor, rookie policewoman Valorie Dawes has a mission: take serial child molesters like Richard Harkins off the streets of her small hometown of Clayton, CT—for good. But can Valorie overcome the trauma she suffered as a child and stop Harkins from hurting others—or will her bottled-up anger lead her to take reckless risks that put the people she loves in greater danger?

Gary's debut novel, Lying in Judgment, was released in March, 2016. Lying in Judgment is a courtroom thriller about Peter Robertson, who serves on the jury of a murder trial for the crime he committed. Lying in Judgment was selected as Bookworks.com "Book of the Week" for July 11-18, 2016, and was the feature novel on Literary Lightbox’s “Indie Spotlight” in February 2017. In the sequel, Lying in Vengeance, Peter is blackmailed by a former fellow juror, who demands that he kill her stalker - or she'll reveal his secret murderous past.

His Mountain Man Mysteries series includes Gary's second novel, The Mountain Man's Dog, The Mountain Man's Bride, and The Mountain Man's Badge.

All are available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook forms. Lying in Judgment, Lying in Vengeance, and The Mountain Man's Dog are also available on audio.

An award-winning playwright, several of his plays have been produced in the Portland, OR area, some of them multiple times. In addition to his own scripts, Gary writes, ghost-writes, and edits scripts. He specializes in tight, realistic dialogue involving sharply drawn, interesting characters in complex relationships.

Gary is a member of PDX Playwrights, the Portland Area Theater Alliance, the Willamette Writers Group and the Bar Noir Writers Workshop, and participates in workshops and conferences in the Portland, Oregon area.

A homebrewer as well as a maker of wine, mead, cider, and soft drinks, Gary is a member of the Oregon Brew Crew and a BJCP National Beer Judge. He loves to ski, cook, and garden, and hopes someday to train his dogs to obey. And when that doesn’t work, there’s always Renegade’s Paradise.

Reviews

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Woman of Valor is the newest addition to Gary Corbin's literary genius line-up!

I loved Gary Corbin's Mountain Man series, so it was a no brainer for me to pick up A Woman of Valor. Especially since this novel focused on a woman in a crime setting - I'm a real sucker for The Rookie, Rookie Blue, etc., and any tale that follows a strong female lead.

In this book, Valorie Dawes is a rookie police officer. She has a bit of a family legacy which casts a shadow over yet, but she is determined to show her worth. Val gets partnered up with Gil and chaos ensues. Will Val be able to deal with her past and the trauma that's holding her back? Will she make it as a police officer when no one wants to accept her?

I really liked this story, if I'm being honest. This particular plot point is common - a woman police officer trying to be treated equally - but Gary did a great job making me invested in it. I could have been really bored with the "same old, same old", but he made me feel for Val. I wanted to see her do well! Somehow, he managed to make Val feel more real than just a character. All the while, he throws in some very tough plot points (sexual harassment, rape and social injustice). Those topics fit perfectly into this narrative, but they could have been handled REALLY wrong. Lucky for us, Gary is the master!

Gary does a great job putting this story together. There's action and adventure, a pinch of romance, and a dash of comedy. It's not all down and depressing, which was a big plus for me. Often times, I find that police dramas get so sad and boring. Gary amps it up real well! On top of all of that, Gary does a great job making me know each and every character. I tend to lose focus when there's a lot of people to follow, but I didn't this time around! Kudos!

My negatives are as followed:
1. Sometimes the plot slowed down, and I'm a fast paced kinda girl. It's not the end of the world, but I struggled to get through just a couple of the chapters.

2. The ending, while it sums up the book, it felt like a cliffhanger. Will there be another book?! Will I see what happens to Val and Gil soon?!

Overall, this book is a real gem. I'm glad I got to read it but sad it took me so long to get to it. Gary's a real master at making books that feel like they can cross multiple genres. He deals with tough topics like rape, molestation, post traumatic stress disorder and the cruel realities of human kind really well. I'd highly recommend this book if you like crime dramas or want something with a little 'umph' on your shelf.

Five out of five stars.

I received a free copy of this book from the author, Gary Corbin, in exchange of an honest review.

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman who was molested as a child becomes an officer of the law after following in the footsteps of the lone family member, an uncle, who believed her. Unfortunately, before retribution could be found that the uncle was cut down in the line of duty. Our heroine is not readily accepted by members of the force. Her partner manages to gain her confidence eventually, but thanks to a mistake during domestic abuse call & the suspect, a pedophile, escaping she is taunted and ridiculed. The ridicule also comes from a reporter.

Sound like a lot? Well, it was in the best of ways. The story had many interesting topics that went into making this an interesting read i.e. sexual abuse, police procedures, and workplace harassment to name a few. The author does a great job of bringing the reader into each action scene and even the scenes were as mundane as a street patrol. He, the author, had amazing insight into the psyche of an abused woman and how childhood abuse can affect you as an adult. There were a few scenes that I felt were a bit slow and a few characters that I felt did not add much value, but they may in a sequel.

Good formatting, structure, strong content and interesting primary characters made for a solid read that I would recommend to fans of procedural fiction.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review and rating. My rating is 3.5

[Olga Miret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team, and I freely chose to review an ARC copy of this novel.
I reviewed another one of this author’s books (The Mountain Man’s Badge, the third book in the Mountain Man’s Mysteries series), enjoyed it and was pleased when I was given the chance to review this book, as I always feel slightly uneasy when I start reading a series in the middle, because I am aware that I am missing on the background and the development of the characters throughout the previous books, and my review will not be able to reflect that aspect of the story. Here, we have a stand-alone novel (after reading the book and getting to the end of it, it seems that there is a second novel with the same protagonist, Valorie Dawes, due for publication in the spring of 2020, so you won’t have to say goodbye forever to the characters if you get attached to them) and therefore we get an opportunity to meet the characters and become familiar with the setting from the start.
This novel combines the police procedural (a rookie policewoman following in the footsteps of her uncle, who was more of a father and hero figure for her than her own father, joins the police local police force, learns the difference between the books and the streets, and tries to catch a criminal that brings back memories she’d rather forget) with subjects and themes more common in women’s fiction (the protagonist was sexually abused as a child and despite her best efforts is still affected by the experience; she has to confront plenty of prejudice and sexism in the police force, has a difficult relationship with her father, and can’t help compare herself to her best friend, who seems to have a much easier and happier life than hers). The author manages to make the mix of the two genres work well, providing plenty of details of how the local police force works that felt quite realistic (and the language and descriptions of the characters, narrated in the third-person —mostly from the point of view of the protagonist— seem straight out of a police report), and demonstrates a good insight into the mind-set of a young woman who has survived such trauma and finds herself confronted by sexist, abusive, and old-fashioned attitudes. (There are small fragments of the book told from some of the other characters’ point of view, also in the third-person, but those are brief, and other than giving us an outsider’s perspective on the main character, I didn’t feel they added much to the plot). Her fight to overcome her difficulties, to take other people into her confidence, and to make meaningful connections, is inspirational and will also feel familiar to readers of literary fiction or women’s fiction.
As mentioned in the description, this book feels, unfortunately, very current, not only because of the abuse (even if the story was originally developed well before #metoo shone some light into the scale of the problem), but also because of the prejudiced attitude of the police towards ethnic minorities (racial profiling is evident throughout the plot), and the way social media can spread falsehoods and fake news, ruining somebody’s reputation only to gain a bit of notoriety. There are plenty of action scenes, chases, and violence (although not extreme) but there are also the slow moments when we see the characters patrolling the streets, making connections with the local gang, or interacting with the locals, and that also felt more realistic than the non-stop frantic rhythm of some thrillers, that seem to never pause for characters to have some breathing space. It shows the work of the police in its various forms, not always running after criminals, but there are also the quiet moments (waiting around, doing research, manning the phones), and when there are actions scenes, these are also followed by consequences that some novels brush over (filling up forms, reporting to Internal Affairs and seeing a having a psychological evaluation after a lethal shooting). Although it is mostly set in a chronological order from the moment Val joins the police force, there are chapters where something makes her remember what happened ten years ago, and we get a flashback from her perspective as a 13 y. o. girl. These interludes are clearly marked in the book, and rather than causing confusion, help us understand what Val is going through and why she reacts as she does to her experiences. She is very closed off, she is insecure, finds it difficult to trust people, men in particular, and struggles to maintain her professionalism when confronted with certain types of criminals. There is much discussion in the book about different types of policemen (I’ll leave you to read about those yourself), and she fights hard to be deserving of her uncle’s memory.
The author is skilled at managing a large cast of diverse characters: Val’s friend, Beth; her father, who is on a slippery-slope of self-destruction; Gil, her partner, a sympathetic and likeable character; the other policemen in the team, including her superiors (more enlightened than most of the other men), the other women in the force (and there are wonderful scenes of sisterhood between the women), her brother, sister-in-law and her cute little niece (obsessed with becoming a policewoman like her aunt), the members of an African-American gang (who although tough and engaged in criminal activities, live by their own code of honour), a blogger with inside information who is happy to distort the truth… and of course, the nasty criminal, who has no redeeming features. Even those who play a small part are realistically portrayed and add to the atmosphere and the realism of the novel. This is not one of those books that take place in a city but feel as if only four or five people were living there. We see neighbours, the owners of businesses, and we also have a good sense of the connections between the local police force and the others in the same county and state.
On reading the author notes after the novel, I felt quite touched by the story behind it, and understood why it feels so personal, despite this being a novel with a main female character written by a male author. In the acknowledgements, the author thanks several members of law enforcement for their expertise and advice, which he has incorporated well into the novel, and the book contains a list of questions that should prove particularly useful for book clubs.
In my opinion, this is a novel that includes a solid plot, with a main bad character (who is truly bad) all readers will hate, some lesser unlikeable characters (the blogger, many of the other policemen Val comes across), some intrigue (who is feeding inside distorted information to the blogger?, what really happened to Val’s uncle?), a hint of romance (don’t worry, honestly. This is not a romantic novel), sympathetic characters easy to engage with and root for, even if we might have very little in common with them, particularly Val and Gil, and a more than satisfying ending.
As I said, I read an early ARC copy of the book, so there might be some minor changes in the final version. This is a book that contains some violence, shootings, and sexual abuse of young girls (and although not extremely explicit, I am aware this could be a trigger for some readers).

[Coco.V]

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[Nancy Goering · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought my first book by Gary Corbin because I wanted to support a talented actor and playwright that I knew personally. I have continued to buy everything he has written because I have enjoyed every one of his books. A Woman of Valor is his best yet. The action kept me engaged but it was the emotional connection to the characters that sets this book above his others. The main character is real and relatable. Corbin does a remarkable job in writing from a woman's perspective. His writing evoked real feelings of anger and frustration against a society filled with injustice towards women. You can tell he is a man who is part of the solution, not the problem.

[Rita Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valorie Dawes always wanted to be a policewoman, to follow in the footsteps of her uncle. Uncle Val was a brave and courageous policeman, killed in the line of duty, and Valorie’s hero – both as a cop and a human being. He was the one person who made her feel safe and believed her story of being raped by a family friend just before her thirteenth birthday. A Woman of Valor is a fast-moving story about her first few weeks on the job and her commitment to stop a child molestor. Still dealing with the after-effects of the rape, Valorie is thrown into a male-dominated world of policemen who have no idea how to work with policewomen. Gary Corbin’s protagonist is believable, real and likeable. Good reading.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, thanks to the author for writing such a strong female character into this novel. Valorie Dawes is not only a survivor, she is making it her business to help others. She becomes a policeman in order to do that and finds herself on the hunt for a serial child molester. The author takes a great mystery and also adds the harsh reality of what PTSD can do. For Valerie, because the past is eerily reminiscent of the present, she finds her job twice as emotional. This is a great read and I think readers will not only like the mystery, but the woman living through it all.

[Suanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valorie Dawes was molested at at twelve by a family friend, “Uncle Milt.” Though Val eventually reports it to her family, no one believes her except her Uncle Val, a cop. He is shot in the line of duty before he can bring Milt to justice. Valorie follows in her Uncle Val’s footsteps and becomes a policewoman. As a rookie, she faces the usual harassment of any younger cop by older policemen. Val’s is accentuated because of rampant sexism in the department. Corbin manages to integrate pedophilia, childhood sexual abuse, sexism, and workplace harassment into a police procedural. Our heroine is not readily accepted by members of the force, though she does connect with a few like her partner. Corbin also does a good job getting into the head of a young abused woman. There are a few other points of view he edges into, though less successfully, like that of the bad guy. These forays are brief, though, and didn’t add much depth to the plot.

The book, with its emphasis on #MeToo situations, is en pointe with current events. Valerie’s struggles seem real as do things like racial profiling which, along with sexism, wanders throughout the book. Social media’s influence on policemen and on the population is also timely—especially lies spread by a blogger with inside information on what is going on in the PD.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fierce, emotionally charged crime novel that hits hard and stays with you. Valorie Dawes is a compelling, flawed protagonist driven, angry, and determined to protect others from the kind of trauma she knows all too well. The story tackles misogyny, abuse, and institutional failure with clarity and grit, while never losing sight of the human cost. Tense, personal, and unflinching, this is a powerful MeToo era thriller about justice, resilience, and the danger of being the only one who refuses to look away.