Dry Fire: A Novel - Softcover

Lewis, Catherine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393341984 ISBN 13: 9780393341980

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996

Synopsis

“Dry Fire captures the heat and streets of North Florida with admirable precision. The character of cop Abigail Fitzpatrick is a convincing mix of someone who is absolutely jaded and yet capable of utter astonishment. If Edna Buchanan has a long lost sister, her name is Catherine Lewis and she lives upstate.” ―Madeleine Blais

This hard-hitting police procedural―told from a female perspective―recalls the early days of Joseph Wambaugh in its crackling authenticity. With a rush of adrenaline, the novel plunges you into the life of police officer Abigail Fitzpatrick and the seamy world of North Florida as she matures from untested rookie into street-smart veteran. Along the way, Abby comes up against a panoply of crack-heads, domestic batterers, burned-out paramedics, low-lifes, and the everyday stress, danger, and harassment that come with being a cop―especially a female cop.

About this title

About the Author:

Catherine Lewis, a police officer, is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida State. She has served as a paramedic and with the Peace Corps in Paraguay.

From Publishers Weekly:

A lesbian rookie cop is the appealing heroine of this sizzling and authentic debut police procedural by a Florida panhandle police officer. When burned-out paramedic Abigail "Fitz" Fitzpatrick is accepted for police training, she is jilted by her lover, Makayla, a pioneering policewoman who is afraid their relationship will cost her a chance for hard-earned sergeant stripes. Guilt-ridden by her imagined failures as a paramedic, Fitz must prevail against harassment inspired by her sexual orientation even as she struggles to prove herself as a cop and to find personal fulfillment and self-esteem. Fitz also battles confused sexual feelings for male fellow rookie and world-class screw-up Morelli, whose shaky marriage is overburdened by an infant daughter recovering from brain surgery. Running a gauntlet of stereotypically flawed fellow cops who seem obsessed with her undoing, Fitz survives police academy only to confront a perverted senior officer who demands a sexual favor in exchange for a successful evaluation. After Morelli's marriage falls apart when the baby dies, the grieving cop, in an alcohol-induced rage, uses excessive force during the traffic arrest of a dope dealer, forcing Fitz to choose between her integrity and a misplaced friendship. Adroitly written, tingling with the dangers of the streets and the festering atmosphere of tawdry domestic situations, this engrossing novel introduces a promising and remarkably sensitive new voice.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0393341984
• ISBN 13: 9780393341980
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280