Rating: 
Summary: Stunning, stellar debut ...I look forward to more Drummond !
Review: It's surprising that this debut collection of fictional stories by a former Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officer has not made every best sellers list in the country. Laurie Lynn Drummond is a born story teller, even if some of the tales are chock full of brutality, death and mayhem. It's been a long time since I read fiction this good. Drummond has put together a collection of "police stories" told from five female officer's point of view: Katherine - Liz - Mona - Cathy and Sarah. Each woman has a distinct voice and each woman works out her issues in her own manner and timeframe. Yes, there are brutal crimes, body parts, victims and police procedure, but what sets Drummond apart from other "crime writers" is the way she peels back the layers of her characters. Drummond unfolds each one and presents it to her reader, like a gift. One of Katherine's stories, TASTE, TOUCH, SIGH, SOUND, SMELL is almost too difficult for a civilian to read, but Drummond somehow manages to pull you through the horror. Mona's CLEANING YOUR GUN is startling in its desperation. However, it was Sarah's WHERE I COME FROM that utterly transfixed me. Ex-cop Sarah Jeffries lands in a small town in New Mexico (population 986)and begins a new life after a series of events drove her to the brink of insanity. Drummond's ability to link Sarah's plight, small town life, Hispanic mojo, an old man's grief and a tragic accident displays a mastery seldom seen in a first book. I look forward to future work from this author. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, stellar debut ...I look forward to more Drummond !
Review: It's surprising that this debut collection of fictional stories by a former Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officer has not made every best sellers list in the country. Laurie Lynn Drummond is a born story teller, even if some of the tales are chock full of brutality, death and mayhem. It's been a long time since I read fiction this good. Drummond has put together a collection of "police stories" told from five female officer's point of view: Katherine - Liz - Mona - Cathy and Sarah. Each woman has a distinct voice and each woman works out her issues in her own manner and timeframe. Yes, there are brutal crimes, body parts, victims and police procedure, but what sets Drummond apart from other "crime writers" is the way she peels back the layers of her characters. Drummond unfolds each one and presents it to her reader, like a gift. One of Katherine's stories, TASTE, TOUCH, SIGH, SOUND, SMELL is almost too difficult for a civilian to read, but Drummond somehow manages to pull you through the horror. Mona's CLEANING YOUR GUN is startling in its desperation. However, it was Sarah's WHERE I COME FROM that utterly transfixed me. Ex-cop Sarah Jeffries lands in a small town in New Mexico (population 986)and begins a new life after a series of events drove her to the brink of insanity. Drummond's ability to link Sarah's plight, small town life, Hispanic mojo, an old man's grief and a tragic accident displays a mastery seldom seen in a first book. I look forward to future work from this author. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful New Voice for Policewomen
Review: Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You is the best collection of short stories I have ever read about policewomen. In fact, they are among the best police stories I have read, as well. Unlike much of the popular fiction about women who are private detectives, Ms. Drummond deals with the gritty reality of real police work. Having been a uniformed officer for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana police department, she can draw on lots of experience to bring us into the reality of this line of work. More importantly, she is a gifted writer who is able to put sensory and emotional experiences into words in ways that will assault and overwhelm your own senses and emotions. It's an impressive first book by an author who has great things ahead of her. One of the strengths of her stories is that she engages you with five different police officers who have vastly different backgrounds and experiences. What they all have in common is that they are caring people who want to do the right thing, and are true to their female perspectives. These are not men masquerading as women, as much detective fiction is. I had to ration myself with the stories. I wanted to read them straight through, but knew that I would probably not read as fine a collection of stories this year . . . so I took one a night. The pleasure from each story was palpable. The stories have a tough edge. It's not possible to do police work without being affected by it . . . and facing up to limitations that will scar one both physically and emotionally. The last two stories about Sarah are as remarkable as any short stories I have read. I hope that Ms. Drummond turns them into a novel. I want to find out what happens next in Sarah's life. As I finished the book, I came away hoping that more fiction will honestly portray the real-life experiences of women in difficult jobs.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Religion
Review: Apparently, despite what streets we patrol, or whether we are male or female, police officers are all of the same faith, the blue religion. Ms. Drummond makes that poingantly clear in her book, "Anything You Say or Write." If anyone is interested in the daily trials and tribulations and frustrations of a real police officer, pick up a copy of Ms. Drummond's book.
I read some of the other reviews and noted that several of the people who wrote the reviews made mention of Gina Gallo's book, Armed and Dangerous, " which I've also had the opportunity to read. Both books were extremely well written, extremely entertaining, and as a 30 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, I can tell you both books hit home like a bullet hits the bone. If you pick up one, do yourself a favor and pick up the other.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Religion
Review: Apparently, despite what streets we patrol, or whether we are male or female, police officers are all of the same faith, the blue religion. Ms. Drummond makes that poingantly clear in her book, "Anything You Say or Write." If anyone is interested in the daily trials and tribulations and frustrations of a real police officer, pick up a copy of Ms. Drummond's book.
I read some of the other reviews and noted that several of the people who wrote the reviews made mention of Gina Gallo's book, Armed and Dangerous, " which I've also had the opportunity to read. Both books were extremely well written, extremely entertaining, and as a 30 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, I can tell you both books hit home like a bullet hits the bone. If you pick up one, do yourself a favor and pick up the other.
Rating: 
Summary: Female officer finds book unrealistic
Review: As a 15 year veteran female police officer of a large city, I looked forward to reading this book. I have not read a book about working the streets from a female officer's point of view . After reading this book, I still have read a decent one. From the beginning the book's prose sounded forced and fake. The sometimes stunningly flowery descriptions sounded like a college student trying to impress a teacher. I was suprised to find that Drummond had actually been a cop, as the accounts of the female officers being involved in shootings, dealing with dead body calls, ect. sounded like how a civilian thinks an officer would feel. Overall, I was disappointed by this book, and would not recommned it to anybody. There are better books about cops out there.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opener- Great insights into women in blue
Review: Five Baton Rouge female police officers wear their badge with honor, courage and pride. Here are their poignant and fascinating stories that will have a profound affect on the reader. Kate killed a man in self-defense and that action always haunted her. She learned how to deal with death, to use her senses to give her an edge and taught her the skills she would need to survive on the streets. Still she and her police officer husband die in the line of duty. Liz remembers every moment of the gruesome traffic accident in which a vehicle plowed into her, ending her career and leaving her with a permanently injured leg. Mona sees too much domestic violence but one case really gets to her when brother kills brother. Both were abuse victims, which remind her of her drunken violent dad. Mona's anger affects her work and her husband and child to the point she's ready to eat her gun. Cathy first worked for Victim Services. Her first solo case involved a woman who woke up with a knife stabbed deep in her chest and a man attempting to rape her. The lead detective on the case believes the injury was self-inflicted. Cathy becomes a police officer and marries that detective. Years later the case is reopened. Cathy is the lead officer and believes that her husband was wrong. Sarah works on a torture, mutilation, rape and murder case that affects her and her friends so deeply that they cross over the line. Sarah can no longer cope so she quits her job, and works as a UPS driver. Sarah soon learns that she can't out run her memories. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: ARMED AND DANGEROUS IS BETTER
Review: If anything You Say is your cup of tea, (and I liked it a lot) then you MUST read ARMED AND DANGEROUS by Gina Gallo. It's head over heels better. These are two books from talented women but Gallo's ARMED AND DANGEROUS book comes from a lady cop who has done REAL police work for REAL. Take it from me, a retired police Sgt. and enjoy!
A.M.
Rating:
Summary: Armed and Dangerous, Memoirs of a Chicago Policewoman
Review: If you're a cop, Gallo's book transends race, sex, and regional boundries. All her stories are shockingly familiar and are told in a way that reminds you these are her true experiences and not tales thought up over coffee by a Starbucks Commando.
If you're a civilian, this book will introduce you to the real world of police work that you won't see in the movies and television or read about in other books. It's a must read for those who want to know what the streets are all about....
Rating:
Summary: Stunningly good insight into being a female cop
Review: In a stunning collection of short stories and novellas, author and former female cop Laurie Lynn Drummond describes life as experienced by female police officers. She writes of women who must come to terms with death, their first killing, the emotional overload of the violent, hard-drinking life of a cop, and of women who struggle for balance between following the rules and doing what's right. Drummond's writing is very strong, filled with imagery that packs an emotional wallop while strengthening rather than weakening the narrative story line. In many of the stories, not much is really happening. A woman cleans her weapon and thinks about her life--and ending it. Another woman remembers killing a man. In other stories, Drummond uses more conventional narrative structure. In every case, however, the real story is that of being a cop, a woman in a man's world, and a human forced to wrestle with silly little rules at the same time she is putting her life at risk. Every word in ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU feels real, packed with emotional impact, and heartfelt. This is one of those books you'll want to spend time with, savoring the stories and the feelings behind them. Well done, Laurie Lynn Drummond.
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