After 20 years in law enforcement, Rodney Carpentier is writing a new chapter.
When you spend two decades upholding the law, you collect more than just memories. You collect moments, people, and stories that stay with you long after you hang up the badge. For veteran officer and mystery author Rodney L. Carpentier, those moments became the building blocks of his next career, where crime scenes turn into plot twists and police reports become page turners.
A Writer First, a Cop Second
Before the badge ever hit his chest, Rodney was a writer at heart. He grew up surrounded by stories, playing in the woods, dreaming, and creating. But as he puts it, “I didn’t have anything to say back then.”
That changed in 2022. While working a double shift, exhausted at 2 a.m., an idea hit him out of nowhere. That single spark became the seed for his debut mystery novel Our Lady of the Overlook.
Writing From the Inside Out
Rodney doesn’t write from imagination alone. His work carries the tone and texture of real life because it comes from it. The characters in his novels aren’t stereotypes of the hard drinking detective or the reckless rookie. They’re reflections of real people he has worked beside, laughed with, and led.
“I wanted the characters to feel real,” he says. “Not just tropes. These are people doing hard jobs with real consequences, and that deserves to be written truthfully.”
Loss, Legacy, and the Power of Starting Now
The moment that pushed Rodney back toward his creative roots came after tragedy. When his father passed away unexpectedly in 2022, six years after losing his mother, Rodney felt something shift.
He realized there was no more waiting for the right time. That loss became a spark for creation. His mother inspired the first book. His father inspired the second. Each story became a way to honor their memory and capture the humanity behind the badge.
The Plot That Changed Everything
The question that started it all:
What if you took a DNA test looking for your birth family and discovered your biological mother was an unidentified homicide victim?
That idea grew into Our Lady of the Overlook, the first book in his mystery trilogy. It’s fiction, but it’s layered with the authenticity only a veteran investigator could bring.
A New Mission After the Badge
Rodney is still serving his community, but now he’s doing it with a pen instead of a patrol car. His stories bring light to the quiet realities of law enforcement, the camaraderie, the dark humor, the weight of loss, and the pursuit of truth.
He’s not done leading. He’s just doing it from a new position behind the keyboard.
Connect with Rodney
Check out his books and writing follow his journey on social media.
If you’re a public safety professional, creative, or anyone standing at the edge of a new chapter, let Rodney’s story remind you that it’s never too late to start writing the next one.
