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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
A Karin Slaughter? Five stars? Is anyone surprised? Nope :)
3.5/5. As much as I adore Karin Slaughter, this book left me disappointed. Not as gritty and disturbing as what I've come to expect from her novels. The mystery got lost in all the characters, slurs, and superfluous details...so much so that, at times, I forgot that there was a mystery central to the plot of this book.
I love Karin Slaughter, she's the author i refer to as my comfort blanket as i just ease into her way of writing, and have enjoyed all of her books to date.......this book is set in a time where sexism, racism and homophobia was rife, at times I felt the book was a bit of a risky read and I worried some people might find it offensive, but it's a journey ultimately, of fighting against all that is wrong with that antiquated way of thinking. A great read!
Verge heavy content. Racism, bigotry, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, all the horrible things, all in the Atlanta Police Department of the 1970s. Slaughter did not hold back, and I had no idea who-dun-it until the very end.
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
Great story in set in the 80's about the police force in Atlanta and police corupption.
Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Karin Slaughter is an author who I will automatically request an ARC from and/or one click without really reading the description of the book. I just know the book will be good. While that strategy normally works out okay, I spent a good part of this book trying to figure out who these characters were in the present day. Let me save you the headache if you are a one clicker like me. These are new characters. There. That saves you a headache and increases your enjoyment.
So glad I am not a female trying to break into the workforce in the 70s, especially in a male dominated field. Slaughter did a great job writing characters that I could really picture in my head and I felt every joy and success and failure along with them. Looking forward to seeing more about Lawson and Murphy in the future. This was a refreshing new twist to female crime novels and I hope it's not the last we see of the pair.
Karin Slaughter is an author who I will automatically request an ARC from and/or one click without really reading the description of the book. I just know the book will be good. While that strategy normally works out okay, I spent a good part of this book trying to figure out who these characters were in the present day. Let me save you the headache if you are a one clicker like me. These are new characters. There. That saves you a headache and increases your enjoyment.
So glad I am not a female trying to break into the workforce in the 70s, especially in a male dominated field. Slaughter did a great job writing characters that I could really picture in my head and I felt every joy and success and failure along with them. Looking forward to seeing more about Lawson and Murphy in the future. This was a refreshing new twist to female crime novels and I hope it's not the last we see of the pair.
So, I totally think Karin Slaughter can do no wrong, and this book is a prime example of how GREAT she is at writing standalone novels. This one is set in the 1970s, and with women cops as the protagonists. Lots of gory crime and thrills and mystery. If you haven't read a Karin Slaughter book, this is a great one to start with.
other than the nonstop hate speech which i guess is to be historically accurate (?????
I had been eagerly anticipating Karin Slaughter's stand-alone novel, Cop Town for a while now and had been putting it off in favour of the new, shiny books jumping out at me from bookshops or tempting me from afar in my fellow bloggers reviews. Luckily for me, Mr B my long-suffering partner took control and chose my TBR in September this year as it was when he decided I finally need to get round to the book I had been banging on about all year! Now I say this as a huge Slaughter fan and mean no respect to an author I ardently admire but I have to be honest - I don't think Cop Town is her best stand-alone. You may not realise how devastating it is to have to say that as I adore her Grant County/Will Trent series with every fibre of my being but for some reason, this novel just didn't work for me. It's not a bad story, not by any stretch of the imagination. There's some absolutely wonderful moments and kick-ass female leads (ALWAYS a good thing) but I feel that there was something about the plot that just didn't draw me in personally as a reader.
This novel has an unbelievably exciting premise, set in 1970's Atlanta and focusing on the lives of two specific policewomen - Kate Murphy and Maggie Lawson. Kate is a newbie on the force and quickly learns through her partner Maggie that being a woman in the police in 1970's America is not an easy task. Misogyny, favouritism of male police officers and belittling of women is rampant and completely uncontrolled. Unfortunately, at this point in time, it was something women put up with and just attempted to do their jobs to the best of their ability, almost accepting the abuse and prejudice was just "the way things were."
As Kate worries if joining the force was one of the biggest mistakes of her life, we also learn about a mysterious ongoing case which involves an unknown assailant deliberately targeting and killing police officers. This turns into a race war with the perpetrator reported to be black and with racial tensions already high in Atlanta, it's about to reach boiling point and spill over into very dangerous violence between the police, their community and of course, their fellow officers, black and white. Kate and Maggie must work together (without being rumbled by the boys) to try and crack the case and unmask the serial cop killer before the whole city finds itself in a deadly war.
Sounds fantastic, right? Of course, there were some brilliant parts to this novel, particularly in the way Slaughter creates an atmosphere of tension and mistrust between the white and black community. She's so fantastic at setting a scene that feels so authentic you could almost imagine yourself directly within the time frame, cognisant of everything that's going on around you, including the knowledge of each character's individual personality. That's another thing that this author is so great at - creating memorable and believable characters that all feel remarkably life-like. I was a particular fan of the two female leads, Kate and Maggie who both had their own skeletons in the closet or insecurities which are gradually revealed as the narrative continues.
However, what I really loved about them was how they grew as individuals as events in Atlanta unfolded but more importantly, through the harrowing events that they go through together as partners on the police force. In the very early days of their relationship the mistrust between the two is blindingly obvious but then slowly and gradually develops into a mutual respect and appreciation. It felt as if this is the crucial bond that two police officers on any force across the world must develop with each other in a relatively short amount of time if they are to do their jobs safely and efficiently.
Saying all this - what was my problem with Cop Town? It's difficult to say with any certainty. So, premise and characters = great stuff, intriguing and instantly captivating for sure and I was completely hooked (and at times horrified) by the sexism/racism element. I just wasn't sold on the plot of the cop killer to be honest. At times, it felt overly complicated and slightly unnecessary. I wonder if it would have worked better for me if had been a different case for Maggie and Kate to investigate? Possibly. One thing is for definite, it won't put me off Slaughter as an author and I'm already lining up the next of her stand-alone novels, Pretty Girls to read soon. If you've read Cop Town, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Were you of a similar opinion to me or did you love it? Let's talk down below in the comments!
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
This novel has an unbelievably exciting premise, set in 1970's Atlanta and focusing on the lives of two specific policewomen - Kate Murphy and Maggie Lawson. Kate is a newbie on the force and quickly learns through her partner Maggie that being a woman in the police in 1970's America is not an easy task. Misogyny, favouritism of male police officers and belittling of women is rampant and completely uncontrolled. Unfortunately, at this point in time, it was something women put up with and just attempted to do their jobs to the best of their ability, almost accepting the abuse and prejudice was just "the way things were."
As Kate worries if joining the force was one of the biggest mistakes of her life, we also learn about a mysterious ongoing case which involves an unknown assailant deliberately targeting and killing police officers. This turns into a race war with the perpetrator reported to be black and with racial tensions already high in Atlanta, it's about to reach boiling point and spill over into very dangerous violence between the police, their community and of course, their fellow officers, black and white. Kate and Maggie must work together (without being rumbled by the boys) to try and crack the case and unmask the serial cop killer before the whole city finds itself in a deadly war.
Sounds fantastic, right? Of course, there were some brilliant parts to this novel, particularly in the way Slaughter creates an atmosphere of tension and mistrust between the white and black community. She's so fantastic at setting a scene that feels so authentic you could almost imagine yourself directly within the time frame, cognisant of everything that's going on around you, including the knowledge of each character's individual personality. That's another thing that this author is so great at - creating memorable and believable characters that all feel remarkably life-like. I was a particular fan of the two female leads, Kate and Maggie who both had their own skeletons in the closet or insecurities which are gradually revealed as the narrative continues.
However, what I really loved about them was how they grew as individuals as events in Atlanta unfolded but more importantly, through the harrowing events that they go through together as partners on the police force. In the very early days of their relationship the mistrust between the two is blindingly obvious but then slowly and gradually develops into a mutual respect and appreciation. It felt as if this is the crucial bond that two police officers on any force across the world must develop with each other in a relatively short amount of time if they are to do their jobs safely and efficiently.
Saying all this - what was my problem with Cop Town? It's difficult to say with any certainty. So, premise and characters = great stuff, intriguing and instantly captivating for sure and I was completely hooked (and at times horrified) by the sexism/racism element. I just wasn't sold on the plot of the cop killer to be honest. At times, it felt overly complicated and slightly unnecessary. I wonder if it would have worked better for me if had been a different case for Maggie and Kate to investigate? Possibly. One thing is for definite, it won't put me off Slaughter as an author and I'm already lining up the next of her stand-alone novels, Pretty Girls to read soon. If you've read Cop Town, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Were you of a similar opinion to me or did you love it? Let's talk down below in the comments!
For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
I've read and loved every one of Karin Slaughter's books. I just didn't have the patience for this one. I didn't really like any of the characters, which doesn't have to be an impediment, but I just didn't have the patience for the awful behavior right now. Maybe I'll give it another shot in the future, but for now, DNF.