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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
The physical and violent attitude towards women was brutal and depressing even for me
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Straddled the line between "you go, girl!" and "fuck this bullshit, I'm out." Women cops in '70s Atlanta try to prove themselves despite their male peers' objections (which are disgusting, disturbing, hateful, and number in the millions -- thus the "fuck this bullshit" option: who would put up with that?!) and solve a case of a serial killer targeting cops.
This is just your standard fish-outta-water story, but to the nth degree and patently absurd. Why would a poor little rich girl join the cops, and why would she tough it out? Oh yeah, and all of this is supposed to be happening in her first week on the job. Sure, your terrifying first week as a cop in hell-hole Atlanta, and yet you still somehow have the time and energy after work to conduct a steamy little tryst? There were a few nice little twists, but nothing that mattered to the meat of the story, and the ending was inconsequential.
Karin Slaughter tried to address the duality of human nature once or twice (your standard "how can good people do bad things," and vice versa), but this book is no place for philosophical musings, especially when they're obviously couched to hide the fact that her characters were inconsistent and unbelievable.
This is just your standard fish-outta-water story, but to the nth degree and patently absurd. Why would a poor little rich girl join the cops, and why would she tough it out? Oh yeah, and all of this is supposed to be happening in her first week on the job. Sure, your terrifying first week as a cop in hell-hole Atlanta, and yet you still somehow have the time and energy after work to conduct a steamy little tryst? There were a few nice little twists, but nothing that mattered to the meat of the story, and the ending was inconsequential.
Karin Slaughter tried to address the duality of human nature once or twice (your standard "how can good people do bad things," and vice versa), but this book is no place for philosophical musings, especially when they're obviously couched to hide the fact that her characters were inconsistent and unbelievable.
Slaughter departs from her Grant County and Will Trent series and has created a unique stand alone with a unique but equally memorable new cast.
Maggie Lawson and Kate Murphy are an anomaly in 1974 Atlanta. They have both chosen to join the Police department. No biggie in 2014, but back in the day they faced a gauntlet of physical and verbal abuse. Not from their perps but from the men in their squad rooms. In today's workplace we have measures in place to deal with inappropriate conduct, racial slurs, initiation rites, misogyny and the old boy mentality that once dominated some male dominated places of work. Back in the Seventies, no such workplace initiatives existed.
Maggie comes from a tough working class family of cops.She and her brother Jimmy live at home and help support their mother. She spotlights the difference in perception of a woman's place is in the home mentality of the time. Jimmy is the golden boy, the high school quarterback revered by his Uncle and all of his cop cronies. Maggie puts in a full shift as well but is expected to launder and iron all the uniforms for the family and hand over her salary to her Mom.
Kate, coming from a highly educated family of professionals, loses her husband in the Vietnam War and decides to become a police officer. It is her first four days on the Force that are highlighted in this story. The prejudice of the time is fascinating to watch. The women struggle to find common ground as they are forced to work together to solve a crime their drunken male counterparts seem incapable of or even interested in solving.
Yes, there is murder. Yes there is a killer. Unlike her previous novels, the murder takes a backseat to the world building required to send the reader back in time to the mind set a mere forty years ago. But don't avoid this book if you are a pure adrenalin junkie. Slaughter ramps up the tension slowly throughout the novel. The last several chapters are some of the most nail biting, edge of your seat writing you will read this year. The murderer has been hiding in plain sight throughout the novel.
It is a credit to the author that the reader is swept up in the story so completely that for a change you are not even focused on who is doing the killing.
Excellent read.
Maggie Lawson and Kate Murphy are an anomaly in 1974 Atlanta. They have both chosen to join the Police department. No biggie in 2014, but back in the day they faced a gauntlet of physical and verbal abuse. Not from their perps but from the men in their squad rooms. In today's workplace we have measures in place to deal with inappropriate conduct, racial slurs, initiation rites, misogyny and the old boy mentality that once dominated some male dominated places of work. Back in the Seventies, no such workplace initiatives existed.
Maggie comes from a tough working class family of cops.She and her brother Jimmy live at home and help support their mother. She spotlights the difference in perception of a woman's place is in the home mentality of the time. Jimmy is the golden boy, the high school quarterback revered by his Uncle and all of his cop cronies. Maggie puts in a full shift as well but is expected to launder and iron all the uniforms for the family and hand over her salary to her Mom.
Kate, coming from a highly educated family of professionals, loses her husband in the Vietnam War and decides to become a police officer. It is her first four days on the Force that are highlighted in this story. The prejudice of the time is fascinating to watch. The women struggle to find common ground as they are forced to work together to solve a crime their drunken male counterparts seem incapable of or even interested in solving.
Yes, there is murder. Yes there is a killer. Unlike her previous novels, the murder takes a backseat to the world building required to send the reader back in time to the mind set a mere forty years ago. But don't avoid this book if you are a pure adrenalin junkie. Slaughter ramps up the tension slowly throughout the novel. The last several chapters are some of the most nail biting, edge of your seat writing you will read this year. The murderer has been hiding in plain sight throughout the novel.
It is a credit to the author that the reader is swept up in the story so completely that for a change you are not even focused on who is doing the killing.
Excellent read.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes