Cop Town

Kathleen Early is no stranger to Karin Slaughter's work. With each subsequent book she narrates, her ease with Slaughter's worlds seems to deepen. In this most recent release, an array of Southern women pulls Early's strengths front and center. She enriches the atmosphere and characters through subtle variations in accents, tone, and intensity. With insightful precision, she interprets rookie officer Kate Murphy's growing confidence, veteran cop Gail Patterson's spunky attitude, even strung-out prostitute Violet's abject terror. Early depicts the male roles with an equal strength and emphasizes Slaughter's sharp humor. COP TOWN is a celebration of pioneering women in law enforcement, and Early is hosting the party. J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

April 14, 2014
Violent crime, police politics, and race relations all figure in this scintillating standalone set in 1970s Atlanta, from bestseller Slaughter (Martin Misunderstood). Maggie Lawson comes from a disjointed, emotionally disconnected family of law enforcement officers, and her time spent as an Atlanta PD cop has hardened her to many of the job’s horrors. But when her brother, Jimmy, who’s also a police officer, loses his partner to a notorious and elusive cop killer—only surviving the ordeal himself because the assassin’s handgun jammed—Maggie decides she can’t write this murder off as yet another day on the job. Determined to track down “the Shooter,” she finds an unlikely partner in Kate Murphy, a stunningly beautiful widow and new recruit reassigned to Maggie’s patrol. While the two women search for answers, Kate becomes the next potential victim in the demented Shooter’s crosshairs. Slaughter does her usual fine job of exploring intriguingly troubled characters, though readers should be prepared for plenty of gore. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Associates.

October 1, 2014

Slaughter ("Will Trent" series) sets this stand-alone mystery in 1974 Atlanta. The setting is especially important to keep in mind as the novel explores not only a series of shootings of police officers but also racism, sexism, misogyny, homosexuality, and the politics of the time. New cop Kate Murphy's first day on the job is an initiation not just from the men but also involving the other women on the force, black and white. She's partnered with Maggie Lawson, who comes from a police family but is still not accepted into the brotherhood. When a fellow officer is killed, the old guard, led by Lawson's uncle, are out for revenge and aren't interested in any help from the female cops. The history lesson embedded in the thriller is well crafted, and Kathleen Early's reading balances the multiple worlds the author moves among. VERDICT Highly recommended. ["Slaughter's...thriller is a superb, very gritty look at both a city and era in social and political flux. It's also a searing portrait of family ties and how our pasts can shape our futures, as well as a gripping procedural, with some genuinely terrifying moments," read the starred review of the Delacorte hc, LJ 6/15/14.]--Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo

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