Book Review: Sacred Cows

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

Sacred Cows     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Karen E. Olson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Police Procedural   Academic
Series: Annie Seymour # 1

Annie, a tough police reporter in New Haven, Connecticut, is called out after a late night to cover the death of a woman who jumped or feel from a highrise building. At first, this appears to be just another incident in the life of a half-asleep and hung over police reporter. When the death is revealed as a murder, and the woman identified as a Yale student, Annie begins to feel pressure to be a bit low key in her reporting about the embarrassing fatality. Children entrusted to top-rank universities are not supposed to be murdered. However, Annie is incurably curious; a reporter to the bone, and her investigation gradually uncovers a complicated scheme which reaches dangerously close to home.

Annie is an interesting addition to the list of fictional female detectives. Tough and aggressive, yet with a very human side demonstrated in her relationships with her co-workers, mother and lover, she can be compared to such modern female sleuths as Carlotta Carlyle and V.I. Warshawski. However, Annie is interestingly individual. Her personal and professional lives are well fleshed out, providing depth to the depiction of her character. The author, a journalist herself, is well able to provide convincing details about Annie's life.

In the mystery genre, this book fits between the cozies and some of the more graphic mystery novels that have been published recently. Annie is far too earthy to be a cozy heroine, but the focus of the novel is more on the rather complicated crimes than graphic violence, although of course, as with any murder mystery, violence has a role to play. Amusing touches are included throughout the book, as with the real - as opposed to the figurative - sacred cows of the title. This is a very promising first novel, and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Cheryl - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM