Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

              

Published: July 2014

Publisher: Century

Format: Paperback (advanced readers copy)

Cop Town was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review 

Well this was a really welcoming change from Sarah longingly staring at Will over and over ha! This was just what the doctor ordered!
Its 1975 in Atlanta. A shooter is on the loose and he is gunning down policemen. Right excellent start. We all know from dee mooovies and dee booooks that there ain't nothin that cops hate more than cops gettin killed!
Kate Murphy is fresh out of training and it's her first day as a police officer. She soon learns that the men rule the roost. The think nothing of commenting on her breasts, rubbing up against her or pinching her rear end. Were immediately painted a picture of "us" and "them". This isn't just limited to sex. The officers are segregated by race too. The colored girls lay claim to the back of the changing room and as a white girl you risk your life being in there when they come in.
The start of the novel sets the pace for the chapters to come with race and segregation being the main themes that flow throughout. Like CT ( colored town) where the dregs of society were shoved into the one area and then forgotten about or the area of the city where the cops go to beat up "faggots" for fun.
For the most part Kate is taken under the wings of Maggie and Gail, her fellow officers. They're crass and racist (Gail especially) like the rest but she is experienced and knows the job inside out. Even though  some of the characters being homophobic or racist I found myself rooting for them. I know I should have detested them for their opinions but I just couldn't. 
 Only Karin Slaughter could manage to make such people likable!
The trio are determined to be the ones to break open the case. This time it will be the women who are the hero's and they won't be pushed aside by the men. This decision leads them into unimaginable dangers and situations that will test them to the very limit.
The characters themselves don't grow or change much during the course of the novel. Not that we see anyway. Even at the end the Atlanta Police force remains a pit of racism and sexism. It's a novel that sort of lives in the moment and unfortunately that was reality in the 70's. 
I have found that I'm so used to Karin's writing style that I could easily figure out who the shooter was about halfway through the novel. This didn't really effect my ability to enjoy the novel as it's so character driven.
For all my raving about how great this is as a stand alone I really want to read more about Kate and Maggie! I'm hoping this could be the start of an Atlanta series!?
If you find long series of books daunting but have been wanting to get into Karin Slaughter then this is the perfect starting point. Cop Town is gritty and like it's characters it doesn't give a damn about what you think of it. It's just there to tell it's story, and a damn fine story it is!  

Rating:

★★★★★★