Monday, July 14, 2014

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

Image courtesy of NetGalley.com

Cop Town
by Karin Slaughter

The year is 1974, I would have been eight.  My childhood was experienced through the lens of my parents' hippie glasses!  I had no idea that such racism, sexism and misogyny existed anywhere in the 70s; but in Slaughter's Cop Town this is par for the course.

Kate is new to the Atlanta police force.  All rookies face a certain 'initiation', but for women it's more of a hazing.  She's green,she's beautiful and of course, she's troubled.  She's lost her husband in the Vietnam war, she's living on her own and trying to convince her family (and herself) that she's strong enough.  And, she has a secret.

Haunting the police force are a string of cop murders.  Every cop on the force is investigating who the 'Shooter' might be.  Problem is, it just might be the girls on the force who are the better detectives - even though women are not promoted to that role.

Full of grit and self determination, Cop Town is a hard-edged detective novel that shines a light on what it was like to be a woman on the job in a male-dominated Southern city.  The story is fast- paced and has just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end as to 'who done it'.  This is most definitely an adult novel, as in my opinion, the sex is on the gratuitous side.  Kate is very likeable and Slaughter does a great job of letting us into the lives of her characters.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good crime drama!

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