Abuse of Power

Rating:
Summary: Readable but disappointing
Review: As I started this book, I got a quick idea where the heroine stood with her background and current state of mind. That should have been the warning. I liked a lot of the plot lines and the character descriptions were adequate. But most of the characters were either not as sympathetic as they should have been or as evil as the author would have us accept. Grant was mean and cruel, but I never felt the outrage I should have. Rachel seemed at the end to have a life as uncharmed as life can be. Nothing ever went well and as she learned something new or accepted some part of her past, closure was just a word. Cliches not withstanding, the story followed a predictable path. I never believed for a moment that Tracy was in trouble or that Carrie would move away from a good position to take up residence in her sister's home. And what was all that with Mike? First one sister then the other. Please. It kept me reading, only if to find out something I didn't expect.

Rating:
Summary: how is this a bestseller?
Review: I hate writing negative reviews, but really, I just can't think of anything very good to say about this book. The premise held a lot of promise - this is about a female cop dealing with rampant corruption within her police department. But I don't feel the novel lived up to the potential.

The plot was very over-the-top, I agree that it ...[should be]a "made-for-tv" kind of book... it seems to be made for an audience with a very short attention span.

The characterization was lacking... they included a woman who had an horrible childhood and was trying to deal with the world as a single mother, another single mom dealing with cancer, a man who left a difficult life in a third-world country to start a new life in America, and many others. Talk about potential! You'd expect that a "bestselling" author would be able to do something with these characters... but I personally found them stereotypical and one-dimensional.

Worst of all, the dialogue was forced and somewhat childlike. ...

Rating:
Summary: how is this a bestseller?
Review: I hate writing negative reviews, but really, I just can't think of anything very good to say about this book. The premise held a lot of promise - this is about a female cop dealing with rampant corruption within her police department. But I don't feel the novel lived up to the potential.

The plot was very over-the-top, I agree that it ...[should be]a "made-for-tv" kind of book... it seems to be made for an audience with a very short attention span.

The characterization was lacking... they included a woman who had an horrible childhood and was trying to deal with the world as a single mother, another single mom dealing with cancer, a man who left a difficult life in a third-world country to start a new life in America, and many others. Talk about potential! You'd expect that a "bestselling" author would be able to do something with these characters... but I personally found them stereotypical and one-dimensional.

Worst of all, the dialogue was forced and somewhat childlike. ...

Rating:
Summary: Easy reading - hard to put down
Review: I have read several of the author's earlier works and found this one to be just as easy to read as the others. The flow of events was not disrupted by the flashbacks into Rachel Simmon's childhood. While I did not feel that the book set out to make a point, the effects of child abuse/molestation, the "inside look" at police corruption and its code of silence, and the choices faced by Rachel, were food for thought. Rachel's choice of making a stand against the "blue wall", is a choice that none of us would like to face; but I would hope if faced with a decision between right and wrong would choose as she did. A final comment: one very nice touch was the closure - none of the characters with whom we became familiar was left hanging - good job!

Rating:
Summary: Action Packed
Review: Nancy Taylor Rosenberg has created another powerful book of a feminine based legal thriller.

In, "Abuse Of Power", we meet Rachel Simmons. Not a lawyer but a policewoman who witnesses a fellow officer planting false evidence.

Almost as if in a tug of war with her conscience and her job expectations, Rachel progresses to show what happens when it is truly one against the world, her world.

I found alot of characters to keep up with, but a good read for non-graphic legal thrillers.

Thanks--CDS

Rating:
Summary: I haven't done police work, but I can tell realistic writing
Review: This is a story about a courageous female police officer and her struggle to make a living and to do a good job. The problems she encounters in her work make for a plot that can keep you on the edge of your seat -- and just about the time you think you have it all figured out -- well, you get surprised.

As I mentioned in the title, I have never done police work, but something about this book rang true to me. I don't doubt for a minute that things like this go on. I used to be a school teacher (and in some districts, that's like being a policewoman) and I can recognize the writings of people who have "been there, done that" and those who don't know the first thing about it.

This was the first book I read by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I think Ms. Rosenberg did a great job.

Rating:
Summary: I haven't done police work, but I can tell realistic writing
Review: This is a story about a courageous female police officer and her struggle to make a living and to do a good job. The problems she encounters in her work make for a plot that can keep you on the edge of your seat -- and just about the time you think you have it all figured out -- well, you get surprised.

As I mentioned in the title, I have never done police work, but something about this book rang true to me. I don't doubt for a minute that things like this go on. I used to be a school teacher (and in some districts, that's like being a policewoman) and I can recognize the writings of people who have "been there, done that" and those who don't know the first thing about it.

This was the first book I read by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I think Ms. Rosenberg did a great job.

Rating:
Summary: Looking over my shoulders.....
Review: This is the first time I have reasd this author. I am only a reader, not a critic, but I know what holds my interest and what doesn't. This story held my interest, though the characters could have a bit more three dimensional. I saw a couple people complaining about the amount of abuse, etc. in such a small department... Well surprise, most people wouldn't believe what does transpire in many departments. These characters and events seemed all too real to me, though compressed into a short space of time. Having worked for two sheriff's departments and one police department, one penal institution and several security companies, as an officer and a supervisor. I gave the story 4 stars, but I give the character of Rachel Simmons 10 stars for standing up for her beliefs. I didn't cost me my life, but it has cost me a career and three, no four jobs, for trying to do the same as she. Rachel Simmons may have seemed too corny to some, but there are some officers out there with her courage. It's not just the incidents in this book, but all of the untold incidents leading up to this plot. These things happen every day. God I swore, reading this story, Nancy Taylor-Rosenberg must have reading some of my incident reports. Way too many honest officers turn there eyes and keep there mouths shut to too may problems, large and small, that could put them on the unemployment line with people like me. More power the the Rachel Simmons, both in fiction and reality; may eberyone read this book and demand the higher standards from our law enforcement and politicians.