Customer Reviews

The Rookie Club

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was fifteen years ago when first year female police officers formed THE ROOKIE CLUB, a support group that the woman needed because they received no respect or aid from the male hierarchy that is the power in the San Francisco police department. In the present, one of the original rookies Jamie Vail has dropped out of going to the meetings because she caught her husband in bed with fellow club member Natasha Devlin.

Jamie is now an inspector in the sex crimes division and she is working a case in which someone is targeting member of the Rookie Club, violently raping them. Although Jamie knows who the rapist is, she has no evidence to arrest him and he is too careful to give the police any leads. When Natasha is murdered, Jamie wants nothing to do with the case but her rapist hints that he saw the killing. Jamie finds she is working both cases in order to ferret out the rapist who will give her the killer not realizing she is putting her life in danger from a killer who won't let anyone take him down.

THE ROOKIE CLUB is a police procedural thriller that shows how far women have come in the police department and how far for they have to go. Jamie's life is in turmoil as her ex-husband is arrested in Cassandra's death, a homeless boy sees a police officer knife Jamie's dog and she is playing "mommy" to an alcoholic who struggles to stay sober. She is an admirable role model and the story line is very exciting because nobody will guess the identity of the killer. Danielle Girard is a brilliant crime writer whose works are on a par with Kay Hooper, Lisa Gardner and J.D.Robb.

Harriet Klausner

The Rookie Club was first brought to my attention by the author's myspace page. I initially thought it sounded too much like James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series and didn't think about reading it. After seeing the book everywhere I turned I thought I was probably being unfair and picked it up. I'm so glad I did. This book stands very firmly on its own two feet. I loved all the characters and can't wait to read more about them. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedurals or just a good book with good writing and a great story.

The first thing I noticed when I browsed through the pages of "The Rookie Club" was the crisp, taut writing style. Nothing seemed out of place. I could just start reading on any page, and quickly I was drawn into the action and the events being described. When you turn to page one and start reading, the drama builds very quickly. You jump right into the story and you don't want to stop.

Danielle Girard's descriptions of scenes and what her characters are thinking and feeling are incredibly vivid and realistic. You feel the victim's tension and fear as a criminal approaches. You suffer her horror as the crime takes place. You experience the desperation and frustration of the investigating team as they grasp at slender threads of evidence and possibilities that don't yet make a clear picture. Yet they know someone horrible is still out there, someone whose criminal activity is clearly not complete, someone indeed who seems to be closing in.

Danielle Girard puts an enormous amount of energy into her work. While writing "The Rookie Club" she researched everything from DNA to resource sciences and geographical detail to the real work of coroners and the typical daily life of a sex crimes inspector. The result is a book that reads like a depiction of real events that happened to real people. And that makes what you're reading all the more compelling, and frightening.

I took it to a trip to Florida and couldn't put it down in the car or on the beach. Finished it in two days. Great read. Ready for another.

I was waiting with anticipation for Danielle's new book! I had simply loved her other one.

Unfortunately, while Rookie Club is not a horrible read, there was something missing this time around for me. I am not sure if it was the characters, which for some reason I could not get into at all. Or maybe it was because this book lacked the edge of the previous book.

Also, although the first chapter of this book tackles a very difficult subject, I could not get pass the writing style - which reminded me of a mix between a romance and a thriller.

I don't really know what was wrong with this book - but for me it did not come close to meeting the quality of her previous work.