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Monday, September 22, 2014

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

Cop Town

by Karin Slaughter

 
Karin Slaughter, author of the bestselling Will Trent novels, is widely acclaimed as “one of the best crime novelists in America” (The Washington Post). Now she delivers her first stand-alone novel: an epic story of a city in the midst of seismic upheaval, a serial killer targeting cops, and a divided police force tasked with bringing a madman to justice.

Atlanta, 1974: As a brutal murder and a furious manhunt rock the city’s police department, Kate Murphy wonders if her first day on the job will also be her last. She’s determined to defy her privileged background by making her own way—wearing a badge and carrying a gun. But for a beautiful young woman, life will be anything but easy in the macho world of the Atlanta PD, where even the female cops have little mercy for rookies. It’s also the worst day possible to start given that a beloved cop has been gunned down, his brothers in blue are out for blood, and the city is on the edge of war.

Kate isn’t the only woman on the force who’s feeling the heat. Maggie Lawson followed her uncle and brother into the ranks to prove her worth in their cynical eyes. When she and Kate, her new partner, are pushed out of the citywide search for a cop killer, their fury, pain, and pride finally reach the boiling point. With a killer poised to strike again, they will pursue their own line of investigation, risking everything as they venture into the city’s darkest heart.

Relentlessly paced, acutely observed, wickedly funny, and often heartbreaking, Cop Town is Karin Slaughter’s most powerful novel yet—a tour de force of storytelling from our foremost master of character, atmosphere, and suspense.
 
 
This is my second book by Karin Slaughter.  Even if I hadn't read Kisscut, I would have known that anything written by anyone named Slaughter was going to be a tough read.  That's okay...I like them tough.   And it was definitely tough.  It was full of characters who would have been poster boys for the KKK.  They were bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic assholes.  I couldn't wait for our two main characters, Maggie and Kate, to show them a thing or two about being real cops.  I also wanted them to go off on a ball-ripping, rage-fueled rampage through the stationhouse.  
 
I read this with my Goodreads group, so we were able to get some feedback from people who know that yes, this kind of shit really did go down.   I am glad that I didn't live through the 1970's in a major city.  I'm sure Atlanta is very nice now.
 
I loved everything about this book.  The atmosphere was very real and there were times that it made me very uncomfortable because of how real everything felt.  I call that very good writing.  The characters were very flawed and oh so human. 
 
On another note, I just looked at the cover and thought "there's a face in there!"  I thought it was just an orange cover with some swirls for effect.  Yes, I am oblivious.
 
I'm definitely looking forward to the next book by this author.
 
I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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