The first Karin Slaughter book that I read was Kisscut, which is book #2 in Karin’s Grant County series. After finishing the book; I immediately went out and found Book #1 Blindsighted and read it probably faster than Kisscut. Since then I have read every book she has written which includes both the Grant County and the Will Trent series, which are now intertwined! Cop Town is Karin’s first stand alone novel and for her first book she went back 40 years and recreated wonderfully the feel of a changing Atlanta in 1974. My wife and I lived in Athens, Georgia from 1975 to 1979 and I remember Maynard Ferguson and Reginald Evans quite well!
The book features Kate Murphy, a female character, much like Sara Linton and Will Trent’s partner Faith Mitchell, that you can empathize with and root for. Kate is a well to do young widow trying to pick her self up,after the death of her husband, Patrick, in Vietnam. Following her bad experience as a secretary, Kate feels that she has to make this job work. But the odds are stacked against her, first she is a young attractive woman on a misogynistic police force that doesn’t think that women belong on the force, and secondly being young, pretty and well to do i.e from Buckhead, she’s not a favorite of the women either!! To top it off the day she joins the force, the”Atlanta Shooter”, who has already claimed four police officers as victims takes another life, that of Don Wesley. Don is a good cop and the partner of Jimmy Lawson a rising star in the Department. Jimmy’s Uncle Terry is a Sergent on the force and his sister Maggie is a patrolman.
Soon Maggie and Kate are teamed up and set out to find out what happened to Don and Jimmy in that alley near Five Points, and to discover who “the Shooter” is before he can strike again. For Maggie, Kate and Gail Patterson an Atlanta PD plain clothes officer who works the streets and is Maggie former mentor it’s an uphill fight against the system and their personal demons. One that leads Kate to question everything about herself and her life. The action is fast, furious and tension filled. Along with Kate, Maggie and Gail, Karin has created a bunch of enjoyable character from the Lawson family to Kate’s family. Both Kate’s mother and OMA (grandmother) are Dutch Jews who survived the Nazi concentration camps, along with Kate’s they are all terrific characters. Yeah – like these guys say…..
“Relentless pacing, complex characters, and gritty realism, all set against the backdrop of a city on the edge….Slaughter’s eye for detail and truth is unmatched. I’d follow her anywhere” – Gillian Flynn
“Stunning …. Karin Slaughter’s first stand-alone novel, she breaks new ground with this riveting story of two young police officers trying to stop a serial killer targeting cops. Her characters, plot, pacing are unrivaled among thriller writers and if you haven’t yet read her, this is the moment” – Michael Connelly
Ok so I know this is a stand alone novel, but come on Karin, I just know you have more to write about Kate Murphy! We have to know what happens next!!! Well, maybe since you did such a nice job creating the atmosphere of the Atlanta PD in 1974, maybe, you can just make it like NYPD Blue and give us another story about the force! Nah, I want more Kate, Maggie and Gail!!! (Book 22 for 2014)
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