I wonder if Nancy Taylor is related to Joel, the author the Guardians of the Flame series? No matter. For some reason, this novel turned into a real page-turner for me. Began reading it about 8:30 at night, and didn't close the book until I finished it around 11:30. The first 4/5 of the book was fast-paced, well-written and kept getting me more and more angry at the villains of the piece. The last 1/5 of the book, however, Rosenberg must have run out of inspiration and decided to just wrap things up quickly, so I was rather disappointed in the way things all turned out.
One flaw in the novel for me was the underlying assumption that there's an epidemic of corruption in police forces around the U.S. Of course, since the whole plot of the novel hinges on what happens to Officer Rachel Simmons when she violates the code of silence that police officers maintain, I can understand why the premise is here, but...
The plot, in brief: Rachel contaminates evidence in an armed robbery investigation, panics and another officer covers for her. That officer uses the incident to blackmail her into attending a Tailhook-style beach party, where he and other officers drug her into unconsciousness and abuse her sexually. Shortly after that, she witnesses that officer using an innocent bystander as a human shield in a gun battle and decides to blow the whistle. The officers in the squadroom retaliate against her, and things just keep getting worse from there.
I won't give you any more details and spoil the story for you. I enjoyed it, and will probably pick up some more of Rosenberg's books to fill those lonely hours when I can't find a good sf novel.
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