Cop Town: A Novel
Author: Karin Slaughter
Pulisher: Delacourt Press, June 24, 2014
417 pages
Kindle, Hardcover, MP3 CD, Audio
Content: Strong language, sexuality, racism
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Please note the Publication Date for this book is June 24, 2014
From Amazon:
Karin Slaughter, author of the New York Times 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.
My thoughts:
Cop Town is a fiercely entertaining novel that takes place in Atlanta in the seventies. I liked
this book because it had strong female characters as the protagonists. Maggie has been on the force for four years and comes from a family of cops. She teams with a newbie, Kate Murphy who is rich, Jewish and easy on the eyes. I loved these characters and would like to read more about them. There’s a colorful undercover cop named Gail, who taught Maggie everything she knows. There’s also a veteran cop named Rick that we don’t really get to know, but he seems like a nice guy so I really would like to know more about him and what happens to him. Like most crime thrillers it is loaded with strong language and sexuality. There is a lot of racism and homophobia, but it was the seventies. I was so excited that I was not only reading a crime novel, but it was also historical fiction. Slaughter researched her era of the 70’s well. The descriptions were out of this world! The atrocities and degradation were compelling. The chapters were short and well-paced. I had trouble guessing who the shooter was, had to wait till the end when it was revealed. I’m ready to read another Karin Slaughter book!
Many thanks to Delacourt Press which supplied me with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest opinion.
OTHER BOOKS BY KARIN SLAUGHTER
The Will Trent Series
The Grant County Series
Martin Misunderstood
Like a Charm
First Thrills
The Unremarkable Heart and Other Stories
The Unremarkable Heart
Thorn in My Side
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