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Riptide
Cartels, Cocaine, and an Undercover Cop's Fall from Grace: A Memoir of Temptation and Redemption
Table of Contents
About The Book
Tampa Bay, Florida, 1992. Javier—a Spanish-speaking street-smart cop who had grown up in the South Bronx—is a decorated cop who produces results. Recently awarded Officer of the Year, he is married to a beautiful and brilliant attorney, Elizabeth. Javier knows exactly what he’s getting into when he goes undercover in Operation PROMO, infiltrating a savage Colombian drug cartel. He lives on the edge every day, with shotguns pressed against his forehead, threats of torture, and constant fear of being discovered and disappeared.
Things are not as they appear in the wilderness of mirrors that is the reality of an undercover narc. Javier becomes mired in a living web of lies, deceit and betrayal, where surviving the day is a victory. As the strain increases, the cracks begin to appear yet Javier's calls for help are dismissed. The black-and-white lines that governed his life and made him a coveted undercover cop blur. Javier begins to sympathize with the people he is supposed to be targeting.
While straddling the fence between good and evil, Javier makes a decision that will haunt him forever . . .
Riptide is a raw, unflinchingly honest, and action-packed page-turner. Filled with drug cartels, undercover police work, heroism, death, romance, and the ultimate betrayal, Riptide begs the reader to answer the question: Does Javier Guzman deserve redemption?
Product Details
- Publisher: Pegasus Crime (October 6, 2026)
- Length: 272 pages
- ISBN13: 9798897102099
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Raves and Reviews
"Riptide is an enthralling and very human story of an undercover cop caught between the competing roles he plays in a high-stakes cartel operation as he struggles to keep both afloat. When his house of cards collapses around him, his redemption begins on his knees in a jail cell, his face turned toward heaven. Riptide is the story of the rise and fall of an undercover cop, a wife’s resilience and determination, and the power of repentance, redemption and grace.”
– Miles McPherson, Pastor, The Rock Church, author and former NFL Defensive Back
"Raw and unflinching, Javier Guzman takes us into the maddening world of vice. We experience the thrill of large busts and the heart-pounding anxiety of his undercover work—as well as the frustrations and complicated psychological toll it takes. A crack can cause something to shatter in an instant, and Riptide lays it bare. Guzman’s memoir is story of ownership and atonement, family and faith that will challenge our assumptions long after the final page."
– Lou Ferrante, author of Borgata: Autumn of Empire, and the Borgata Triology
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