Book Review: The Policeman's Daughter

Author: Trudy Nan Boyce

Publication Date: February 27, 2018

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Series: Detective Sarah Alt # 3

From author Trudy Nan Boyce, whose police procedural debut was hailed as "authentic" (NYTBR) and "exceptional" (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), returns with a stunning prequel to the Detective Salt series, the story behind the case that earned Salt her promotion to homicide.

At the beginning of her career, Sarah "Salt" Alt was a beat cop in Atlanta's poorest, most violent housing project, The Homes. It is here that she meets the cast of misfits and criminals that will have a profound impact on her later cases: Man Man, the leader of the local gang on his way to better places; street dealer Lil D and his family; and Sister Connelly, old and observant, the matriarch of the neighborhood. A lone patrolwoman, Salt's closest lifeline is her friend and colleague Pepper, on his own beat nearby. And when a murder in The Homes brings detectives to the scene, Salt draws closer to Detective Wills, initiating a romance complicated by their positions on the force. 

When Salt is shot and sustains a head injury during a routine traffic stop, the resulting visions begin leading her toward answers in the case that makes her career. This is the tale of a woman who solves crimes through a combination of keen observation, grunt work, and pure gut instinct; this is the making of Detective Salt.

Detective Sarah “Salt Alt was a breath of fresh air as far as characters are concerned. She is a white cop in the crazy, unpredictable streets of Atlanta who stops at nothing to solve a case and bring about justice. I must be honest in saying this is the first book I have read in this series and will be picking up more of them shortly due to Salt’s brave actions and intelligent crime solving skills. She literally stops at nothing to get answers and that is part of what made this novel so thrilling for me. Even though I have not read any of the other books in the series, I felt that I was given enough of Salt’s backstory to understand her motives and actions in all situations. She was an easy character to support and I quickly grew to admire her.

This book and story became even more real for me after I read the author’s bio and learned that she, herself, used to be a homicide detective for Atlanta PD. I was impressed, shocked, and completely enthralled at that point. I have recently been obsessed with watching crime TV shows like Dexter and NCIS and this book was a nice break between my TV binge watching. Boyce’s writing became all the more intriguing when I realized she was writing from personal experience. The scenes she describes, crime scenes, nights riding around in her car, and constant worry over the kids she tries to save from the streets were powerful scenes to read because you, as the reader, are constantly contemplating if all of this was real for her. It was moving and completely believable writing.

“Why you a cop? It’s what you know. I know the street. Rich people do what they know. They get their share. I’m just getting my share.”

“You askin’ if I shot her, the answer is no. Life kilt her and it’s gonna kill me, too. Ain’t none of us getting’ outta this shit alive.”

“Ooowee, he shine like new money.”

Although this book is different from what I normally read, it has inspired me to pick up more novels just like it. I was intrigued by the streets of Atlanta and was surprised at the authenticity with which Boyce was writing. She speaks from her firsthand experience as a cop from the streets of Atlanta; her ethos is powerful and makes this book, the plot, and the strongly developed characters captivating and impossible to walk away from!

***A free copy of this book was provided by the publishers at G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for my honest review***