Customer Reviews

Abuse of Power

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I hate writing negative reviews, but really, I just can't think of anything very good to say about this book. The premise held a lot of promise - this is about a female cop dealing with rampant corruption within her police department. But I don't feel the novel lived up to the potential.

The plot was very over-the-top, I agree that it ...[should be]a "made-for-tv" kind of book... it seems to be made for an audience with a very short attention span.

The characterization was lacking... they included a woman who had an horrible childhood and was trying to deal with the world as a single mother, another single mom dealing with cancer, a man who left a difficult life in a third-world country to start a new life in America, and many others. Talk about potential! You'd expect that a "bestselling" author would be able to do something with these characters... but I personally found them stereotypical and one-dimensional.

Worst of all, the dialogue was forced and somewhat childlike. ...

As I started this book, I got a quick idea where the heroine stood with her background and current state of mind. That should have been the warning. I liked a lot of the plot lines and the character descriptions were adequate. But most of the characters were either not as sympathetic as they should have been or as evil as the author would have us accept. Grant was mean and cruel, but I never felt the outrage I should have. Rachel seemed at the end to have a life as uncharmed as life can be. Nothing ever went well and as she learned something new or accepted some part of her past, closure was just a word. Cliches not withstanding, the story followed a predictable path. I never believed for a moment that Tracy was in trouble or that Carrie would move away from a good position to take up residence in her sister's home. And what was all that with Mike? First one sister then the other. Please. It kept me reading, only if to find out something I didn't expect.

Many police officers, especially those that work the street, respect the code of silence concerning fellow officers. It is the first commandment that thou shalt not fink on a fellow officer regardless of what terrible crime he has committed or how far over the legal line he may have crossed. Breaking the covenant brings terrible repercussions to the reporting officer. This "punishment" ranges from ostracism to making the whistle blower seem like a liar to outright refusal to back up the officer in a dangerous situation. ....Thirty-four years old Rachel Simmons is a widow with two children and numerous financial problems. She is well aware of the sacred conduct code after being a member of the Hudson Valley, California police department for three years. Rachel remains a rarity on the force, being an honest and honorable cop. When she sees a fellow officer use a juvenile as a human shield during a minor riot, she feels compelled to report it. That decision of conscience carries a heavy price, one that Rachel, her family, and the entire police force will have to pay. ....Once again Nancy Taylor Rosenberg creates a powerful police and legal thriller that is a gritty indictment of the juridical system as only an insider can tell it. Readers will feel the betrayal that results from the realization that the very people who are sworn to uphold the law are its biggest offenders. ABUSE OF POWER is a gripping, taut, and moving work that showcases a protagonist who is willing to venture into hell to do the morally correct thing in a system that encourages immorality. Rachel is Ms. Rosenberg's finest heroine to date, a shining example of what the human race should strive to be. A sure fire hit that deserves both bestseller status and award consideration. ....Harriet Klausner

This is a story about a courageous female police officer and her struggle to make a living and to do a good job. The problems she encounters in her work make for a plot that can keep you on the edge of your seat -- and just about the time you think you have it all figured out -- well, you get surprised.

As I mentioned in the title, I have never done police work, but something about this book rang true to me. I don't doubt for a minute that things like this go on. I used to be a school teacher (and in some districts, that's like being a policewoman) and I can recognize the writings of people who have "been there, done that" and those who don't know the first thing about it.

This was the first book I read by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I think Ms. Rosenberg did a great job.

Rachel was intriguing from the beginning of the novel - I wanted to know more about her. The flashbacks were not too distracting, at times they actually made sense in the situation Rachel was in. I hated the fact that the author felt it necessary to have Rachel become a victim time after time. She followed all of the cliches, horrible childhood with abuse, single mother trying to make it in a "man's world", falling into the arms of someone who had abused her trust, justifying her own lies but unable to forgive others and then having everything end in a dismal, but forseen situation. There are still loose ends when you are done with the novel. Yeah, it kept me turning the pages, but at the end I felt like I had been taken advantage of. Was that the point? Other books by the author have left a better impression and is what led me to this book - Lots of pages, lots of hope it's gonna get better, great plot ideas, but in the end - poof- a marshmallow.

From it's riviting beginning (we learn a cop with an eating problem has spent 35.00 on his lunch) I knew I was in for the ride along of my life. A story about police corruption and the code of silence.The characters were cardboard, the suspense...what suspense? The heroine...I was ready to kill her myself..Nancy did we really need to know one of the bad guys has explosive bowels?How about the horror fellow officers faced when responding to an officer in trouble and finding one of their own(the same cop with the eating problem) locked in the bathroom of his home with his stillborn baby.You see he had to deliver his own child after his wife went into premature labor because of the news that he might loose his job.As the suspense mounts the police break down the door and find........ The cop dead wedged between the toilet and sink infant on his lap.Does the horror stop here NO..food wrappers, cereal boxes,bread wrappers soda cans all over the floor..We are left to wonder..Did the cop choke on a piece of food,did he choke on his own vomit was he eating too fast because of his grief?Well I'm choking on mine! I should have donated $6.99 to my local police department..If you want to read a great cop book try any of David Wiltse.

Rachel's life was a continual tragedy. A reader can buy into her fight to keep her ethics intact while working in cop's and lawyer's (political) corrupt world dominated by men. The book had me hooked, but I hated the ending. I just couldn't believe she would readily accept her old job back after all the stuff she had to put up with by the police brass, etc. (posing for a picture with the police chief who was one of the bad guys in her career as a police officer). The "real" Rachel would have told him to take his job reinstatement offer, and shove it! I also couldn't buy into her sister and daughter's "happy-ness" meter after a six month period of mourning. Her sister becoming Rachel at the end was too much to swallow, as was Rachel walking off with her husband from the wedding chapel.

It was a page turner, BUT I felt unsatisfied when I finished the book. There was something missing. I don't know what exactly, but I'm not sure I want to read another book from this author. It was the first one I read from Rosenberg. The characters were not developed enough. I didn't really like the ending because I was expecting something much more different, so I was disappointed.

"Abuse of Power" by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, NTR is in some ways typical NTR, intriguing and yet quite readable.
Her first book, MC, was like a finely aged, and full-bodied wine that left you with a taste for more.
Alas this lastest book is more like a light bodied white wine that was sure to temporarily relieve any
NTR fix that one may have, and I must say that I got mine. Perhaps what we as fans could do is let NTR
know how much we appreciate her style and type of writing so that we can all can benefit from her next book.
Yes NTR could probably do better, and I do understand the pressure of having to write a new novel that meets
not only her expectations, but that of publisher and fans alike. Even in paperback form her previous works were
over 300 pages of intensely intriguing magnificences. Please NTR do not think you have reached your pinnacle with
Mitigating Circumstances, Interest of Justice, Frist Ofense, California Angel, and Trial by Fire!!
If you love NTR's work you will love Abuse of Power even though it is a very short read. As a devoted NTR fan
I look forward to a more challenging read (number of pages and intensity of artsmanship) with her next novel.
Thanks for the "fix" NTR. You still have it, so don't sell yourself short.
B. L. Mayberry, Manhattan KS

Rachel Simmons is a police office in Oak Grove, California. During her tour of duty on the graveyard shift she witnesses several incidents of police brutality and corruption. In an attempt to do the right thing, Rachel blows the whistle on her fellow officers and suffers some severe consequences as a result. This book started off well, but it began to lose its credibility about half way through. The characters are not well developed and seem somewhat stereotyped. The violence reached the point of almost being gratuitous presumably to make the readers hate the brutal police officers all the more, and to keep an already weak plot line moving. I almost quit this book after the halfway point, but I stayed until the bitter end hoping it would get better. It never did. As if that wasn't enough, the book reached a very abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion. I was sorry I did not follow my original instincts and quit while I was ahead. Hopefully, Ms. Rosenberg's next book will be of the quality of her earlier novels