Pages

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

It’s officially summer so you may be hopping on a plane, heading to the beach, or for the unlucky - working countless hours at the office while under stress that makes it difficult to relax.  Regardless of your summer circumstances, Karin Slaughter’s new police mystery, Cop Town, is the perfect novel to help you make your summer escape. Sometimes violent crime, a serial killer on the loose, and a little blood and gore are just the right recipe to combat a hot summer day.

Slaughter, best known for her acclaimed Will Kent series, has written a stand-alone novel set in 1974 Atlanta where the cops are almost all racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, women-hating creeps. Maggie Lawson is a young, but seasoned cop from a family of policemen, a very dysfunctional family with a sad history. She hates the way the department functions but knows enough not to fight city hall. But then Maggie’s brother Jimmy’s partner is killed by a serial cop killer and Jimmy only escapes because the killer’s gun jams.  Maggie can’t call this business as usual especially when some of the reported details of the murder don’t support the evidence. Soon Maggie is paired with rookie cop Kate Murphy, a pretty, privileged widow, who’s smarter and more tenacious than the rest of the squad expect. Her first day on the job is much worse than a “girl” from her background could have imagined but she simply won’t quit. Kate has lots to prove and solving the biggest crime in Atlanta would demonstrate that she’s more than what others expect. Kate is a character who could star in almost any award-winning literary novel.  Slaughter develops her before the reader’s eyes as if she were a Polaroid print coming into focus.  Here’s hoping Slaughter decides to grow a series around Kate Murphy.

The 1974 setting is brilliantly evoked especially with the playing of Carole King’s Tapestry album in the background of many emotional scenes. The setting also showcases the low regard for women and minorities in the workplace forty years ago. These details make the book much more than a police procedural – it’s a nuanced portrait of the way people treat the “other” when they can get away with it.

Good mysteries ask questions.  This one asks many including: Who is this shooter who’s executing cops in pairs?   Who are these people who treat the law as their own personal smorgasbord, taking whatever they wish from it regardless of who gets hurt?   Will Kate and Maggie capture the killer before becoming his next victims?  Have things really changed in the last forty years?

Masterful mystery writers have one essential characteristic in common – pacing. Slaughter’s unrelenting excellence in using pace to make her plot twists sing make this thriller one that will keep even the jaded mystery reader turning the pages for more.  There's much more to Cop Town than this review will divulge and readers will discover many secrets as Slaughter's careful pacing cleverly reveals them. 

Summing it Up: When you pack for the beach, make sure you include Cop Town with the hot dogs, beer, and beach toys.  This thriller will reward you as much as s’mores and fireworks.

Rating:  5 stars   
Category: Chinese Carryout, Fiction, Five Stars, Mysteries and Thrillers
Publication date: June 24, 2014
What Others are Saying:



1 comment:

  1. Excellent review. I have this to read too so you've made me excited to get to it!

    ReplyDelete