New Zealand’s top police crisis negotiator reveals the everyday drama of being a cop: the lives saved, the lives lost, and the extreme pressure to perform in tough and confronting circumstances.

Lance Burdett was in the police force for 22 years, in a variety of high-level roles: head of the negotiation team; running the 111 call centre; intelligence management; protection squad; and emergency responders. He worked on some of New Zealand’s best-known cases, such as the Jan Molenaar case, where Lance headed the negotiation team, and the George Baker prison hostage negotiation with the man who murdered Liam Ashley.

Behind the Tape is fast-paced, narrative-driven true crime that makes for a gritty, confronting read.