Before reading Cop Town (2014), I was unfamiliar with Karin Slaughter and not looking to read any bestselling thrillers. But then I happened to see the author on television, talking about her latest book. Slaughter mentioned that she set Cop Town in Atlanta, Georgia in 1974 because she was interested in the restrictions and challenges facing women in that period. She talked about women not being able to find housing or even get a credit card without their husband’s approval. A restrictive society, indeed, and only a couple of years before I was born. I hadn’t heard enough to learn anything else about the book, but the historical [no matter how recent] struggles of women always grabs my attention.
The story revolves around the lives of two women who work for the Atlanta Police Department. Maggie Lawson has been on the department for about five years–since she turned eighteen. She’s grown up in the environment–both her uncle and brother also work for the force. Maggie has something of a hardscrabble, working-class background. She lives with her family, and gives her salary to her uncle. She is strong and smart, and you’d think her family connections would help her on the police force. Unfortunately, her uncle is a raging, abusive asshole who does not want Maggie around. Her brother, a high school football hero and the darling of the force, is only inconsistently tolerant of her.
On the other hand, Kate Murphy grew up wealthy and Jewish in the nice part of town. Her mother and grandmother are survivors of the Holocaust. Kate is well educated and unfamiliar with this new atmosphere filled with coarse, racist, and sexist cops. But her husband died in Vietnam and she couldn’t find any other job that she could stick with. After seeing an article in the paper about women motorcycle cops, Kate is intrigued and decides to join the force.
