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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I really liked this one. It’s a shame that it didn’t become a series.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry
Katie is from the elite society while Maggie is not, yet both are cops in Atlanta. Someone is murdering cops and the entire police force is trying to figure out who is doing this and why they are doing this. Katie and Maggie face a lot of turmoil due to the fact that many on the force don't like women cops. I really enjoyed listening to this one.
Cop Town is, if I’m not mistaken, my last full length Karin Slaughter novel. I stumbled upon it after not reading of novel of hers for a couple of months. Like most Slaughter novels, Cop Town focuses heavily on the main characters. Though, Cop Town focuses on their difficulties navigating the Atlanta Police Department in 1974.
A quick note on trigger warnings. As with all Slaughter novels, almost every trigger warning applies. Though, Cop Town features a lot of racism, sexism, misogyny, and abuse.
Cop Town follows two perspectives: Maggie and Kate. Maggie is as seasoned a cop a woman could be at the time while Kate begins her first day on the force. Maggie and Kate wouldn’t be friends outside of work, but when they’re partnered up they have to put aside their differences. This creates a lot of delicious tension and showcases different coping styles.
Cop Town gives readers an intimate look at life within the police force and the sexism and misogyny both women have to endure, despite both Maggie’s brother and uncle being cops as well. It’s a very difficult novel to read in that regard. There are so many instances of casual racism, physical abuse, sexism, etc. However, without these moments the novel wouldn’t read as an authentic portrayal of its time. Though, the characters do get their comeuppance and it is worth the wait.
As for the mystery, Slaughter crafted a tight narrative. Reading about two women pursing their own investigate was riveting. Their investigation was easily some of the best moments of the novel.
Overall, Cop Town is a difficult read as it portrays 1970s Atlanta Police Department as corrupt, racist, misogynistic, sexist, etc. Readers get an intimate look at the effects of this toxic culture through two very different women making Cop Town more than just a mystery.
A quick note on trigger warnings. As with all Slaughter novels, almost every trigger warning applies. Though, Cop Town features a lot of racism, sexism, misogyny, and abuse.
Cop Town follows two perspectives: Maggie and Kate. Maggie is as seasoned a cop a woman could be at the time while Kate begins her first day on the force. Maggie and Kate wouldn’t be friends outside of work, but when they’re partnered up they have to put aside their differences. This creates a lot of delicious tension and showcases different coping styles.
Cop Town gives readers an intimate look at life within the police force and the sexism and misogyny both women have to endure, despite both Maggie’s brother and uncle being cops as well. It’s a very difficult novel to read in that regard. There are so many instances of casual racism, physical abuse, sexism, etc. However, without these moments the novel wouldn’t read as an authentic portrayal of its time. Though, the characters do get their comeuppance and it is worth the wait.
As for the mystery, Slaughter crafted a tight narrative. Reading about two women pursing their own investigate was riveting. Their investigation was easily some of the best moments of the novel.
Overall, Cop Town is a difficult read as it portrays 1970s Atlanta Police Department as corrupt, racist, misogynistic, sexist, etc. Readers get an intimate look at the effects of this toxic culture through two very different women making Cop Town more than just a mystery.
I was going to give this a solid 4. But that scene at the end in the hospital was amazing!
I know a few people dislike Slaughter’s deviation from the Will Trent series, but I loved Cop Town. It is another brilliant Slaughter book.
I’ll start by saying you can see the influence of Criminal at times. You can tell she had so much in mind when she wrote that stories, and that she went on to bring the ideas into Cop Town to make something wonderful. Whilst the characters are completely different to those in Criminal, you can easily see that it is all part of one larger world and I wouldn’t have been at all surprised had we crossed paths with characters from Criminal.
This book has everything you expect from Slaughter, except it is set in a different time. From the start, we are pulled into the story. We follow the characters at both home and work, quickly making them into multidimensional characters you can relate to (allowing you to love or hate them as is necessary).
I will say, however, that the ending to this one was rather predictable. From quite early on, you’re able to narrow down the suspects to a couple of characters, which takes away a bit of the fun. Whilst this has happened with a couple of other Slaughter books it isn’t always the case and I always find myself disappointed when it happens. Of course I loved reading how events played out, but I was hopeful for more of a twist.
My final point is a personal one. Once again Slaughter ‘develops’ one of her female characters through making her a rape victim. I have to ask, why does she do this with every book? Her main characters are always wonderful and it is not necessary for her to do it every time. The shock factor vanishes and you know what is coming. Moreover, I’m pretty sure the Slaughter statistic is higher than the world statistic. I know such a thing does happen in real life, I understand she wants to open our eyes to it, but I feel as though it is not necessary to make every main character a rape victim.
Aside from that (it really is my own personal rant), I adored the book.
In all honesty, I would love to read more stories involving these characters. As much as I enjoy following the Will Trent stories, I would be happy to take a break every so often for these characters.
I’ll start by saying you can see the influence of Criminal at times. You can tell she had so much in mind when she wrote that stories, and that she went on to bring the ideas into Cop Town to make something wonderful. Whilst the characters are completely different to those in Criminal, you can easily see that it is all part of one larger world and I wouldn’t have been at all surprised had we crossed paths with characters from Criminal.
This book has everything you expect from Slaughter, except it is set in a different time. From the start, we are pulled into the story. We follow the characters at both home and work, quickly making them into multidimensional characters you can relate to (allowing you to love or hate them as is necessary).
I will say, however, that the ending to this one was rather predictable. From quite early on, you’re able to narrow down the suspects to a couple of characters, which takes away a bit of the fun. Whilst this has happened with a couple of other Slaughter books it isn’t always the case and I always find myself disappointed when it happens. Of course I loved reading how events played out, but I was hopeful for more of a twist.
My final point is a personal one. Once again Slaughter ‘develops’ one of her female characters through making her a rape victim. I have to ask, why does she do this with every book? Her main characters are always wonderful and it is not necessary for her to do it every time. The shock factor vanishes and you know what is coming. Moreover, I’m pretty sure the Slaughter statistic is higher than the world statistic. I know such a thing does happen in real life, I understand she wants to open our eyes to it, but I feel as though it is not necessary to make every main character a rape victim.
Aside from that (it really is my own personal rant), I adored the book.
In all honesty, I would love to read more stories involving these characters. As much as I enjoy following the Will Trent stories, I would be happy to take a break every so often for these characters.
As always, Slaughter give sa great read, but this was very hard to read with the rampant (although historically accurate) racism and sexism.
WOW. Just wow...that was freakin' AWESOME!!!!!!!!
This book had it all, it was just great! It's the 70s baby!.
Lying.
Cheating.
Drinking.
Fighting.
Smoking.
Swearing.
Killing.
Discrimination to the fullest.
Jokes.
In the smack dab center of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Police Department.
This whole story is basically about civil rights for certain individuals. Blacks, whites, foreigners, homosexuals, women.
The prologue kicks off with some action aftermath. A cop, James 'Jimmy' Lawson is carrying his practically dead partner down many blocks to the hospital.
Next is when it switches to Jimmy sister, Margot 'Maggie' Lawson, who is also on the force. It's the morning after Jimmy bad night. She wakes up wanting an update on her brother. She hears what her Uncle Terry, who is also on the force, says about what happened. She then goes on her own to figure things out. Things don't add up. She questions her brother and still doesn't get anything to make sense.
Along comes newbie, Kaitlin 'Kate' Murphy. Widower, and glamorous rich. What the heck is she doing showing up at the station? Straight from the Academy, Kate shows up, a bit hesitantly, to work. The whole force is tasked to be doing whatever they can to catch this cop killer. A few things they have to go by are fact, but the rest is questionable, and Maggie isn't the only one not believing the load of crap they're being fed. With the help of a mentor, Gail, and a push and shove, Maggie starts to investigate on her own. She ends up partnering up with Kate along the way and together, they move on forward.
These characters all had flaws, all had something about them I didn't like or absolutely hated. But they each played a part in this story. It was very well thought out and organized. I can't think of a better way. I had a strong sense of disgust for the antagonist, utterly revolted and gobsmacked by their way of thinking, their beliefs, and for the most part, their actions. it was extremely creative and completely realistic. As well as too surreal at times for the rawness of the details and how I would imagine how things were. Truly vivid.
The protagonist would get on my nerves a lot. However, they were extremely entertaining. The jokes and sarcasm were hysterical, as we're the fore play and flirting, but I was a bit okay with the way things played out.
The details really got me, I was literally cringing when something relatively gross or shell-shocking happened.
The plot and storyline: INSIGHTFUL. UNNERVING. MIND-BOGGLING. EYE-OPENING, even the characters, although some more than most were effected with things going on. Many changes. A whole lot of new things. That is what the whole situation revolved around. Some embraced it, others fought against it...and things usually don't end well once that tug-of-war starts.
Overall, this was an amazing crime novel, the first I've read. Such a great way to start. Looking forward to more books by Slaughter.
This book had it all, it was just great! It's the 70s baby!.
Lying.
Cheating.
Drinking.
Fighting.
Smoking.
Swearing.
Killing.
Discrimination to the fullest.
Jokes.
In the smack dab center of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Police Department.
This whole story is basically about civil rights for certain individuals. Blacks, whites, foreigners, homosexuals, women.
The prologue kicks off with some action aftermath. A cop, James 'Jimmy' Lawson is carrying his practically dead partner down many blocks to the hospital.
Next is when it switches to Jimmy sister, Margot 'Maggie' Lawson, who is also on the force. It's the morning after Jimmy bad night. She wakes up wanting an update on her brother. She hears what her Uncle Terry, who is also on the force, says about what happened. She then goes on her own to figure things out. Things don't add up. She questions her brother and still doesn't get anything to make sense.
Along comes newbie, Kaitlin 'Kate' Murphy. Widower, and glamorous rich. What the heck is she doing showing up at the station? Straight from the Academy, Kate shows up, a bit hesitantly, to work. The whole force is tasked to be doing whatever they can to catch this cop killer. A few things they have to go by are fact, but the rest is questionable, and Maggie isn't the only one not believing the load of crap they're being fed. With the help of a mentor, Gail, and a push and shove, Maggie starts to investigate on her own. She ends up partnering up with Kate along the way and together, they move on forward.
These characters all had flaws, all had something about them I didn't like or absolutely hated. But they each played a part in this story. It was very well thought out and organized. I can't think of a better way. I had a strong sense of disgust for the antagonist, utterly revolted and gobsmacked by their way of thinking, their beliefs, and for the most part, their actions. it was extremely creative and completely realistic. As well as too surreal at times for the rawness of the details and how I would imagine how things were. Truly vivid.
The protagonist would get on my nerves a lot. However, they were extremely entertaining. The jokes and sarcasm were hysterical, as we're the fore play and flirting, but I was a bit okay with the way things played out.
The details really got me, I was literally cringing when something relatively gross or shell-shocking happened.
The plot and storyline: INSIGHTFUL. UNNERVING. MIND-BOGGLING. EYE-OPENING, even the characters, although some more than most were effected with things going on. Many changes. A whole lot of new things. That is what the whole situation revolved around. Some embraced it, others fought against it...and things usually don't end well once that tug-of-war starts.
Overall, this was an amazing crime novel, the first I've read. Such a great way to start. Looking forward to more books by Slaughter.
4 1/2 🌟The stark reality, that was the 70’s, is delivered by Slaughter with gritty uncomfortable precision! I detested every character in this book even the ones that I suppose to like! A more corrupt, dysfunctional, mostly unredeemable, motley crew doesn’t exist! The racism, bigotry, sexism...this list is endless. Nonetheless Slaughter brings it to light and life so vividly that you feel like you’re experiencing it first hand!