cover image Dry Fire

Dry Fire

Catherine Lewis. W. W. Norton & Company, $21 (280pp) ISBN 978-0-393-03835-4

A lesbian rookie cop is the appealing heroine of this sizzling and authentic debut police procedural by a Florida panhandle police officer. When burned-out paramedic Abigail ``Fitz'' Fitzpatrick is accepted for police training, she is jilted by her lover, Makayla, a pioneering policewoman who is afraid their relationship will cost her a chance for hard-earned sergeant stripes. Guilt-ridden by her imagined failures as a paramedic, Fitz must prevail against harassment inspired by her sexual orientation even as she struggles to prove herself as a cop and to find personal fulfillment and self-esteem. Fitz also battles confused sexual feelings for male fellow rookie and world-class screw-up Morelli, whose shaky marriage is overburdened by an infant daughter recovering from brain surgery. Running a gauntlet of stereotypically flawed fellow cops who seem obsessed with her undoing, Fitz survives police academy only to confront a perverted senior officer who demands a sexual favor in exchange for a successful evaluation. After Morelli's marriage falls apart when the baby dies, the grieving cop, in an alcohol-induced rage, uses excessive force during the traffic arrest of a dope dealer, forcing Fitz to choose between her integrity and a misplaced friendship. Adroitly written, tingling with the dangers of the streets and the festering atmosphere of tawdry domestic situations, this engrossing novel introduces a promising and remarkably sensitive new voice. (Feb.)