Abuse of Power

By: Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

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Synopsis: Never one to shy away from controversy, the best-selling Rosenberg's sixth novel takes on a knotty one: rogue cops and the code of silence that permits a few bad actors to intimidate other officers and abuse citizens. After two years with the force in the L.A. suburb of Oak Grove, Rachel Simmons, a widow with a teenage daughter and a toddler son, has much to learn. Moonlighting as a security guard to pay off medical bills from her husband's long illness, she hasn't really bonded with her graveyard-shift colleagues. When Rachel declines to go along with the official lie about a Mob-related incident in which a high-school athlete died, she's fair game: threats to her family, violence, wiretapping, and a cold shoulder that leaves her alone with a corpse, a speed freak, and $50,000 in drug money. Although at times tempted to back off or even join in the corruption, Rachel has a core of integrity that keeps her on the high (but not the safe) road. A handsome assistant DA provides legal insights and romantic interest here, but Abuse of Power is closer to a police procedural (or anti-procedural) than a legal thriller. Despite shortcuts and stereotypes, it convincingly demonstrates why a bad cop is even more dangerous than a bad perp.