Power on Her Own

May 5, 2003
In her enjoyable U.S. debut, British author Cutler introduces a very human heroine, Det. Sergeant Kate Power, who's also a highly skilled professional. A personal tragedy has led to Power's transfer from London to Birmingham, where her new colleagues' misogynistic hazing undercut her efforts, as the only female detective on staff, to make a good start. Battling incipient alcoholism and survivor's guilt, she must compartmentalize her own problems to focus on tracking down a child molester who soon crosses the line from sexual abuse to murder. With a hospitalized aunt the only person she can trust, Power at once befriends and suspects a variety of locals, including her supervisor, a neighbor and the local minister. More than one potential suitor complicates already complex relationships, while such off-duty pursuits as coaching a boys' soccer team offer no refuge from the grim crimes she's responsible for solving. The book succeeds more as a character study than as a police procedural, since Power stumbles on a major clue completely by chance, and random events rather than clever investigation reveal some key aspects of the mystery. If there is a sequel, Cutler should let Power rely more on her own deductive powers.

July 1, 2003
Following the accidental death of her married (but separated) lover, London detective Kate Power transfers to Birmingham. Maliciously hounded by two co-workers, she finds support from at least one other with power. When her theories concerning the abuse and/or murder of two young boys go unheeded, she gets antsy for action, nearly losing her job in the process. Departmental procedures and conflicts find ample complement in Kate's house remodeling, retirement home visits to an aging relative, and growing involvement with a minister and his family. Solid prose, continuous action, and a few moments of wit combine to create a fine procedural. This is the British author's U.S. debut.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2003
When Kate Power's lover is killed before her eyes in a police chase, she feels her life is over. Abandoning a promising career with the London police, she transfers to Birmingham to try to put the past behind her. The local vicar and his family offer Kate temporary lodging, which leads to her coaching the junior soccer team--a welcome diversion, because Kate's new job offers plenty of challenges: sexual harassment by her colleagues, a budding friendship with her new boss, and the horrifying case of young Darren Goss, who's been sexually abused by an unknown perpetrator. Using humor to diffuse the harassment and a "wait and see" attitude toward her boss, Kate focuses on the Goss case. Offering deft plotting and appealing, multidimensional characters, this outstanding novel, the first in a series, delivers a fresh new heroine in what has become the crowded field of female cops and private eyes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)