Crisis Shot--Tess O'Rourke--From Long Beach PD to Rogue's Hollow Oregon

Crisis Shot by Janice Cantore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tess O' Rourke, a Long Beach, California Police Commander finds herself alone, in an alley, with a fellow policeman down, surrounded by a group of young guys. On of them is reaching into the fallen officers holster and then appears to have the gun pointed at the man's head, ready to shoot. Tess, fires, the boys disperse and a young 14 year old boy lies dead. In the aftermath, Tess and her action is investigated and she is absolved of any wrong doing. There is a blog author who immediately after the event begins posting his opinion of the shooting and the resulting findings in Tess' favor. Needless to say, although she acted without fault, public opinion is split, mostly negatively against her and the police. She is urged by the powers that be to either leave police work or find another job away from Long Beach. Confused, hurt and feeling sorrow over the death of a child, Tess begins to send out resumes. She feels betrayed, as well, being the daughter of a cop who lost his life in the line of duty, the granddaughter of another cop and she, herself a high ranking veteran of the force. She longs to stay in her home and on the force she has known her whole life. She is not getting many bites in her search, either, which is quite demoralizing but finally she is invited to a small town in Southern Oregon for an interview for the Chief's job.
She is hired, barely getting enough votes from the town council. Soon she finds herself investigating the murder of a young man and the disappearance of the wife of the local minister. The author is herself a former policewoman from the Long Beach force. Her abilities to observe the people and places around her are quite evident in her book. What she has in addition is the ability to put those observations in words that give the reader a highly developed mental image of her characters and setting . She also nails the interactions among the diverse people that make up any small town. While the book is considered to be Christian it is not unreasonable heavy handed in that regard. In a small town the church and its pastor are integral parts of the fabric of the community. Not all the community members are part of a church community and they aren't here either but more than in a big city the religious aspects are noticeable.
Perhaps the fact that the attraction between Tess and the sheriff's deputy, Logan is subtle and slow in developing is the result of this Christian bent but again, such a blossoming relationship, especially between two professionals in the same field, is realistic rather than " Christian " It is actually refreshing not to have them falling into bed immediately with hot and heavy sex. Perhaps, they may actually get to know each other as people and friends first.
Also, the action is slow and realistic, too. At first, it isn't clear if the two cases are related. What actually happened is difficult to ascertain, there is so little evidence and so few clues. This is not a TV catch the killer or killers in a great shoot out after a hair-raising chase or bullet ridden entrapment. It is cooperative, literal footwork and interrogation that brings the solution to the crimes. And it is through Tess' dogged determination to solve the cases that she also finds acceptance and more support in a community slow to back this tainted officer in her work.
A fast, satisfying, realistic police story with a dedicated, smart and sensitive female protagonist.
This is a review of and ARC provided me by Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

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