Non-Fiction: Busting Bad Guys

Former Undercover Narcotics Cop, Mark Langan joins us today to tell us about his non-fiction book, Busting Bad Guys: My True Crime Stories of Bookies, Drug Dealers and Ladies of the Night. 

First a little about the book:

Sergeant Mark Langan relives his front-row seat working the seamier side of crime during his decorated twenty-six-year career from youngest rookie in 1978 to narcotics sergeant on the Omaha Police force. 

Langan caught bold burglars who silently entered homes to get thrills off of touching sleeping victims. He hit bookie joints in smoke-filled bars, squeezed snitches for information, and arrested prostitutes and their everyday “Johns” in dangerous downtown alleys. 

Langan worked his way up the ranks to command undercover narcotics operations in the 1980s when sinister LA gangbangers invaded Omaha and claimed neighborhoods to sell crack. 

In his celebrated career, Langan felt the gut-wrenching pain of innocent children caught inside the wicked world of drugs and crime, their “safe” worlds shattered when the battering ram knocked down their doors-their cries haunt him every day. And two players from his past reemerge in startling ways. 

Busting Bad Guys delivers a graphic and authentic look at solid policing on the streets of America’s heartland and takes readers inside the high-adrenaline, top-secret investigations to develop innovative tactics to outsmart the criminals.

Now a Q&A with Mark:

What motivated you to write this book? 

For years friends and family implored me to write a book.  They knew how much I enjoyed being a cop, which translated into me becoming a storyteller after my retirement.  The next logical step was to write Busting Bad Guys, which I started in early 2013.  Less than a year later I was on the book-signing circuit.
  
What was the best thing about being a cop?

I'm frequently approached by people I arrested years ago, who served time in prison.  They’re trying like hell to get their act together.  Many approach me at book signing events and are surprisingly friendly. Some thank me for saving their lives.  How can it get better than that?

What happened on the worst day of your job as a police officer?

I had two "worst days".  The shooting deaths of Omaha Police Officers Jimmy Wilson and Jason Pratt were dark days that left an indelible mark on my soul.

What is the best thing that happened to you as a result of writing this book?

I've done media interviews from Canada to Florida, Boston to California.  I've done over a hundred book events in 18 months, including venues in Phoenix and San Francisco.  The best feeling is when someone walks by my table and says "hey, I read your book!"  I never take that for granted.