Theresa Schwegel - Officer Down (2005)
Reviewed by David J. Montgomery
Theresa Schwegel's debut mystery Officer Down is the gritty and fast-paced story of Samantha Mack, a cop on Chicago's North Side who is forced to confront both the department and the bad guys after a shoot-out with a suspect leaves her partner dead, apparently by a bullet from her own gun.
Mack is injured in the firefight and she awakens with a memory that doesn't reconcile with the supposed facts of what happened. When the department and the media want to write off the incident as a case of "friendly fire," Mack is on her own to discover what really happened and prove that someone else was responsible for her partner's death.
After a somewhat rocky start, Officer Down settles down to tell a solid story of a good, though mixed-up, cop in a very bad situation. Although the prose at times is a little rough, it's nevertheless a powerful and compelling first effort that promises good things to come from Schwegel.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
Comments
Officer Down is the book that got me back into reading. I sat in my living room flipping though the page's not realizing that time is flying by. I couldn't put it down. I hate to wish time away but I want January here because "Probable Cause" will be on the book shelves.
Posted by: Sammi Nielsen | Sep 23, 2006 3:44:15 PM
