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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
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!
I didn't expect this book to make me think so much about change, different perspectives, and the complexity of a person.
From the start, I didn't really like the characters. (Although they were probably accurate to what the 70s were like.) It's amazing how Karin Slaughter wrote this, because I felt like Kate Murphy did as the book went on. Privileged, with a sort of ignorance of life outside my own.
"There is no explanation, Kaitlin. Evil people can do good. Good people can do evil." - Oma
"[...] your life is very different from the lives that other people live-- [...] For each of them, Atlanta is a different thing. Yet they all take pride in ownership. They all feel that this city belongs to them, and that their idea of the city is what the city should be. And, further, they feel the need to defend it. To protect it." - Jacob
"I'm no longer in my insulated world." - Kate
"All I'm doing is putting things back where they belong." - Chip
"I think the whole world is gonna change." - Maggie
Chip has a misguided sense of justice. It started from his horrible childhood, with his father as a terrible influence on him. Later on, other men, especially Terry, only added more layers to Chip's twisted mind. And while I hate their behavior, if I had the summation of their experiences and circumstances I imagine I wouldn't deviate much from what they are.
Maggie definitely had a lot of struggles with her family life and career, but I just loved how she spoke up for herself against her uncle.
The ending with Kate starting the cycle of the FNG all over again is very similar to her own experience, but there's some hope that change is forthcoming in the system.
I have more thoughts about this that I just can't put into any more words, but I'll sum it up for you: This is a must read.
From the start, I didn't really like the characters. (Although they were probably accurate to what the 70s were like.) It's amazing how Karin Slaughter wrote this, because I felt like Kate Murphy did as the book went on. Privileged, with a sort of ignorance of life outside my own.
"There is no explanation, Kaitlin. Evil people can do good. Good people can do evil." - Oma
"[...] your life is very different from the lives that other people live-- [...] For each of them, Atlanta is a different thing. Yet they all take pride in ownership. They all feel that this city belongs to them, and that their idea of the city is what the city should be. And, further, they feel the need to defend it. To protect it." - Jacob
"I'm no longer in my insulated world." - Kate
"All I'm doing is putting things back where they belong." - Chip
"I think the whole world is gonna change." - Maggie
Chip has a misguided sense of justice. It started from his horrible childhood, with his father as a terrible influence on him. Later on, other men, especially Terry, only added more layers to Chip's twisted mind. And while I hate their behavior, if I had the summation of their experiences and circumstances I imagine I wouldn't deviate much from what they are.
Maggie definitely had a lot of struggles with her family life and career, but I just loved how she spoke up for herself against her uncle.
The ending with Kate starting the cycle of the FNG all over again is very similar to her own experience, but there's some hope that change is forthcoming in the system.
I have more thoughts about this that I just can't put into any more words, but I'll sum it up for you: This is a must read.
Heel goed begin van een nieuwe serie. Ik vond deze minder moeilijk te lezen dan Zoenoffer, waarschijnlijk door het onderwerp, en ik vond het boek beter dan Stille Zonde.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My mother has always enjoyed Karin Slaughter’s books and suggested I read them too. I’ve always resisted for no particular reason besides…well, that’s what kids do, isn’t it? Ignore their mum’s advice. It took an email from Random House to convince me to try Karin Slaughter with her new stand-alone book, Cop Town. Like most kids, I realise now that I should have listened to my mother. This is an awesome book that will have you riveted to your seat for the duration – one of those that will make you consider whether you are ‘ill’ enough to stay at home to finish it. (If you don’t chuck a sickie, you’ll have part of your mind on Cop Town all day, like I did). The book is in parts violent, sexist, and racist but it’s ultimately a book celebrating the power of women in a changing landscape.
Cop Town is set in Atlanta, Georgia in 1974. I can’t remember reading a book set in Atlanta since Gone with the Wind, and oh boy, things have changed since Scarlett O’Hara’s time. Peachtree Street is now in the central business district and things are a lot meaner. It seems nearly everyone is packing (guns that is) and some areas are no-go zones, full of drugs, pimps and crime. There are many descriptions of condoms and syringes lying in gutters full of rubbish. Atlanta’s police have their work cut out for them, so it’s no wonder that the boys band together on and off duty. It’s the introduction of policewomen that has their heckles raised the most. For the few women in the force, their life is a misery from the sexual slurs and pictures to having their change room located in a broom closet. Southern chivalry this ain’t. For Maggie Lawson, part of a family of cops, she is made to feel like her opinions mean nothing. She’s window dressing, a concession to get the force some money. As for Kate Murphy, coming from a posh part of Atlanta doesn’t help her at all. Nobody wants to help these women – it’s all about being macho and protecting your own in Atlanta’s police force. These women aren’t going to get a break – their uniform is deliberately the wrong size and they’re deliberately made to feel like rubbish from all sides.
The police force is on edge the day Kate Murphy starts working. A policeman has been killed overnight, the latest in a spate of cop killings. The police are out to catch the culprit, once and for all. There are no holds barred. Many guns will be fired and there will be many twists as the killer is hunted down in a bloody fashion. The women are on the fringe once again, but they’re determined to do their bit. Can they outsmart the men? More importantly, will they be recognised for their contribution?
Cop Town is gritty and addictive reading. There’s violence, sometimes over the top, but it seemed to fit in with the image being portrayed of the police. The Caucasian men in particular feel threatened and insecure as their way of life is changing – there’s a new African-American chief and they’re letting women on the beat! The violence is sometimes in desperation, sometimes for a need to feel superior and in control, sometimes excessive and sometimes needed to save lives. Corruption is rife. I felt it all fit with the story and wasn’t gratuitous. It’s not too gory either. Plus, it leads to some scenes at the Grady Hospital which shows you how different the healthcare system is to Australia. Grady is a public hospital, caring for the poor – no money required to be seen. But the dilapidation shows in the number of people waiting, the state of the buildings and how doctors come to get experience in trauma from knives, guns etc. It’s not pretty.
Cop Town also reveals some of the excessive attitudes towards women. Kate and Maggie are treated as they’re little more than objects for the men to humiliate and ogle. Maggie’s mum also thinks she’s a waste of oxygen (details as to why are revealed later in the book), making Maggie think she’s not really worthy of…anything. Kate comes from a different place, more sheltered and loving, and it takes time for her to get used to the brutality on the streets. The other female cops don’t think she has what it takes to make it – but is there more to Kate than what they’ve read in her file?
Racism is also rampant in this story through some of the characters. There seems to be a hierarchy with the white men first at the expense of all other races, with women the lowest of the low. African-American people and those of Jewish descent are particularly deplored by the core of white men who think they run the show. But as they lose their grip, there appears to be an opportunity for everyone else to show their talents…
Cop Town is fast paced and action packed. It’s also loaded with a number of landmarks, streets and places that locals would be familiar with and others (like me) can Google to get more of the sense of history (and to learn what a wye is). This book has one of the best plots I’ve read for a long time. I loved it!
Thank you to Random House Australia for the eARC of this book.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Cop Town is set in Atlanta, Georgia in 1974. I can’t remember reading a book set in Atlanta since Gone with the Wind, and oh boy, things have changed since Scarlett O’Hara’s time. Peachtree Street is now in the central business district and things are a lot meaner. It seems nearly everyone is packing (guns that is) and some areas are no-go zones, full of drugs, pimps and crime. There are many descriptions of condoms and syringes lying in gutters full of rubbish. Atlanta’s police have their work cut out for them, so it’s no wonder that the boys band together on and off duty. It’s the introduction of policewomen that has their heckles raised the most. For the few women in the force, their life is a misery from the sexual slurs and pictures to having their change room located in a broom closet. Southern chivalry this ain’t. For Maggie Lawson, part of a family of cops, she is made to feel like her opinions mean nothing. She’s window dressing, a concession to get the force some money. As for Kate Murphy, coming from a posh part of Atlanta doesn’t help her at all. Nobody wants to help these women – it’s all about being macho and protecting your own in Atlanta’s police force. These women aren’t going to get a break – their uniform is deliberately the wrong size and they’re deliberately made to feel like rubbish from all sides.
The police force is on edge the day Kate Murphy starts working. A policeman has been killed overnight, the latest in a spate of cop killings. The police are out to catch the culprit, once and for all. There are no holds barred. Many guns will be fired and there will be many twists as the killer is hunted down in a bloody fashion. The women are on the fringe once again, but they’re determined to do their bit. Can they outsmart the men? More importantly, will they be recognised for their contribution?
Cop Town is gritty and addictive reading. There’s violence, sometimes over the top, but it seemed to fit in with the image being portrayed of the police. The Caucasian men in particular feel threatened and insecure as their way of life is changing – there’s a new African-American chief and they’re letting women on the beat! The violence is sometimes in desperation, sometimes for a need to feel superior and in control, sometimes excessive and sometimes needed to save lives. Corruption is rife. I felt it all fit with the story and wasn’t gratuitous. It’s not too gory either. Plus, it leads to some scenes at the Grady Hospital which shows you how different the healthcare system is to Australia. Grady is a public hospital, caring for the poor – no money required to be seen. But the dilapidation shows in the number of people waiting, the state of the buildings and how doctors come to get experience in trauma from knives, guns etc. It’s not pretty.
Cop Town also reveals some of the excessive attitudes towards women. Kate and Maggie are treated as they’re little more than objects for the men to humiliate and ogle. Maggie’s mum also thinks she’s a waste of oxygen (details as to why are revealed later in the book), making Maggie think she’s not really worthy of…anything. Kate comes from a different place, more sheltered and loving, and it takes time for her to get used to the brutality on the streets. The other female cops don’t think she has what it takes to make it – but is there more to Kate than what they’ve read in her file?
Racism is also rampant in this story through some of the characters. There seems to be a hierarchy with the white men first at the expense of all other races, with women the lowest of the low. African-American people and those of Jewish descent are particularly deplored by the core of white men who think they run the show. But as they lose their grip, there appears to be an opportunity for everyone else to show their talents…
Cop Town is fast paced and action packed. It’s also loaded with a number of landmarks, streets and places that locals would be familiar with and others (like me) can Google to get more of the sense of history (and to learn what a wye is). This book has one of the best plots I’ve read for a long time. I loved it!
Thank you to Random House Australia for the eARC of this book.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
tense
medium-paced
So, here's the thing - I adore Karin Slaughter. I read both her Grant County and Will Trent series, waiting breathlessly for each new novel. I enjoy all different types of genres but thrillers hold a special place in my heart because I've always been interested in law enforcement and the criminals they hunt. Karin Slaughter is one of the best thriller writers in the business. She creates the meanest, most insane villains and pairs them with heroes you pull for because they are human and have faults just like the rest of us. Coptown was very different from the rest of her books, but still had the author's trademark voice and exceptional characters, and I savored every minute of it.
Coptown is a story at it's core about two women. It's Kate Murphy's first day on the job as a police officer in 1974 Atlanta. Maggie Lawson has been on the force for awhile now (I think 5 years?) and has a brother and an uncle also on the job. There have been five cops murdered while on patrol, committed by a killer dubbed "The Shooter" and the city is in chaos. Karin Slaughter sets the scene so well and with such attention to detail that it places you directly in this volatile time in history and you can sense the violence brewing underneath the surface.
I have to hand it to the women on this police force. The majority of the men in this book were such misogynistic dickbags that I would have pulled my service revolver and shot them all in the nuts. I'm not quite sure how these women were able to handle all the crap they dealt with daily. In addition to misogyny, there is also a plethora of racism, homophobia and anti-semitism that seems to be indicative of the tensions in 1970s Atlanta. I was bothered by all this (as any normal person would be) but I assume that was really the way people acted back then, as disgusting and horrible as it was.
Coptown was different from her other series in that it focused less on one specific case and was more about the day-to-day of police work. Yes, there was a serial killer attacking cops and that was the main thing they were trying to solve, but as a reader I really got a sense of what it was like as a female cop during that time.
The characters were interesting and more about their lives was revealed as the book went on. Maggie and Kate both had their strengths and weaknesses but I was completely pulling for both of them the whole way. Jimmy goes through an interesting transformation as well and I enjoyed how he changed (because I REALLY hated him at first).
Ultimately, this book to me was about women taking and owning their power at a time when it seemed like they didn't have any. I loved the journey of Maggie and Kate and that resonated more deeply to me than even the main plot of the book. If you've enjoyed Karin Slaughter's work before or if you like thrillers in general, definitely read Coptown!
Highly recommended.
This eARC was provided free from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Coptown is a story at it's core about two women. It's Kate Murphy's first day on the job as a police officer in 1974 Atlanta. Maggie Lawson has been on the force for awhile now (I think 5 years?) and has a brother and an uncle also on the job. There have been five cops murdered while on patrol, committed by a killer dubbed "The Shooter" and the city is in chaos. Karin Slaughter sets the scene so well and with such attention to detail that it places you directly in this volatile time in history and you can sense the violence brewing underneath the surface.
I have to hand it to the women on this police force. The majority of the men in this book were such misogynistic dickbags that I would have pulled my service revolver and shot them all in the nuts. I'm not quite sure how these women were able to handle all the crap they dealt with daily. In addition to misogyny, there is also a plethora of racism, homophobia and anti-semitism that seems to be indicative of the tensions in 1970s Atlanta. I was bothered by all this (as any normal person would be) but I assume that was really the way people acted back then, as disgusting and horrible as it was.
Coptown was different from her other series in that it focused less on one specific case and was more about the day-to-day of police work. Yes, there was a serial killer attacking cops and that was the main thing they were trying to solve, but as a reader I really got a sense of what it was like as a female cop during that time.
The characters were interesting and more about their lives was revealed as the book went on. Maggie and Kate both had their strengths and weaknesses but I was completely pulling for both of them the whole way. Jimmy goes through an interesting transformation as well and I enjoyed how he changed (because I REALLY hated him at first).
Ultimately, this book to me was about women taking and owning their power at a time when it seemed like they didn't have any. I loved the journey of Maggie and Kate and that resonated more deeply to me than even the main plot of the book. If you've enjoyed Karin Slaughter's work before or if you like thrillers in general, definitely read Coptown!
Highly recommended.
This eARC was provided free from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The world of crime and cops has long been thought of as a man's territory but on Kate Murphy's first day we get to travel inside the local precinct and see it through the eyes of a woman. Set in the 1970's, Cop Town is also told without cell phones and computers on every desk but there is still plenty of discrimination against the female members of the tribe.
Thankfully I've never been the recipient of the lashing out of men against the women in their profession so it was eye opening to experience, through Kate's eyes, the gauntlet that she had to endure in order to make her place in the force. This book is tough and gritty and not cleaned up the way many novels are. It shows a bit of the underbelly of the police force from an insider's perspective.
Homosexuality is a reason for the big men of the force to pummel a suspect, racial/religious prejudice is very much in evidence and crime stops for no one. If you like it gritty and real this is a very entertaining story. At times I found myself being surprised it was written by a woman.
Thanks to Random House/Bantom Dell for the advance copy provided in exchange for this review.
Thankfully I've never been the recipient of the lashing out of men against the women in their profession so it was eye opening to experience, through Kate's eyes, the gauntlet that she had to endure in order to make her place in the force. This book is tough and gritty and not cleaned up the way many novels are. It shows a bit of the underbelly of the police force from an insider's perspective.
Homosexuality is a reason for the big men of the force to pummel a suspect, racial/religious prejudice is very much in evidence and crime stops for no one. If you like it gritty and real this is a very entertaining story. At times I found myself being surprised it was written by a woman.
Thanks to Random House/Bantom Dell for the advance copy provided in exchange for this review.