Dry Fire: A Novel

A dramatic look―from a female perspective―at the day-to-day life of cops on the street. A novel that turns the well-established procedural on its head.

With a rush of adrenaline, this coming-of-age novel plunges into the world of a North Florida police force. The spotlight is on Abigail ("Fitz") Fitzpatrick, a female cop who is lesbian and rarely allowed to forget it, by either her male colleagues or the public in general. As the novel begins, Fitz, reared by nuns but a self-proclaimed "street addict," has burned out after eight years as a paramedic. Following the tragic death of a boy she couldn't save, she joins the police academy and enters the macho arena of police life.

The story carries us through "Rookie Daze," the grueling stage of training, and comes full circle in "Rhythm and Blues," when Fitz is a seasoned officer and trainer of rookies herself. Along the way she faces crucial decisions as love, ethics, and friendship collide. A recent breakup with a female lover, a police investigator, alters her perceptions, shaping the person she is to become. And Morelli, an appealing male colleague with a bucketful of problems, forces Fitz to test the limits of loyalty.

Fast-paced, original, funny, this novel recalls the early Joseph Wambaugh in its crackling authenticity. Stress, danger, professional integrity, and harassment are the issues as Fitz, in a voice that's unforgettable, tells us what it's like to be a police officer―as an insider, and an outsider as well.