Customer Reviews

Staying Power (British Cop Kate Power, 2)

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I would have preferred 3 1/2 stars, if I could give them. I agree with other reviewers that the character of Kate is interesting and feels "real", and I enjoyed the book enough to read others in the series. However, I thought the ending was very abrupt and not really satisfying. I think too much was left to the reader to infer -- I never did really understand the fate of the original corpse. I think the strands should have been tied up a little more. I agree with the reviewer who didn't understand Kate's relationship with her boss, or the boss himself, for that matter. He spent the book being moody, which was attributed to having an awful wife -- but this is 2004 -- it is hard to believe that a man with no children would stay with a wife so (apparently) hostile and unsympathetic. I wanted to slap him. Finally, although I read a lot of books by british authors, I am absolutely stumped by the meaning of the term "Gaffer". Different superior officers were called "Gaffer" throughout, much to my puzzlement.

When Detective Sergeant Kate Power takes the call to investigate a man found hanging from a canal bridge, she's shocked to discover that she recognises the dead man as the helpful and talkative person, Alan Grafton, who had been seated next to her on the flight back from Florence. And although the autopsy strongly indicates that Grafton had committed suicide, Kate has her doubts. For even though she had been battling a cold and a congested ear, she's sure that Grafton, from the bits of conversation she could hear and remember, was the last person to take his own life. And so, with her boss's blessing, Kate starts doing a little digging, little realising the extent of human cruelty and frailty that she would unearth...

"Staying Power" was a good read in spite of the fact that 1) it took a while to pick up and 2) I spent quite a bit of time trying to piece together what had happened in the earlier installment, "Power on Her Own." For other readers who, like me, haven't read "Power on Her Own," Kate Power asked for a transfer from the Met (London) to Birmingham CID following the death of her lover and partner, a married policeman. And while she's proved that she's worthy of being on the fast track to promotion ("Power on Her Own"), Kate still has to battle a few of her colleagues' misogynistic attitudes. (Kate also got a little too addicted to drink during her period of mourning and still has to watch her alcohol intake). But to get back to "Staying Power," the novel was a very absorbing and engrossing one, even if it did take a while to unfold. However, Judith Cutler's flawless execution and wonderful prose style made the book such a compelling one that I felt that I had to read every single word. Fortunately, the pace picked up about a third into the novel. The story was a good one and not very gory, and Kate Power was such an engaging, compassionate and intelligent character, that I quite understood why quite a few of the men in the book seemed to develop instant crushes on her. And if I couldn't quite figure out Kate's relationship with her boss, DCI Graham Harvey, I'm sure future installments in this excellent series will spell things out adequately. All in all, a truly worthwhile read.

After the death of her lover and partner, Detective Sargent Kate Powers transfers from London to the Birmingham police force, but also takes a much needed vacation in Florence. On the flight back she sits next to bubbly Alan Grafton. He is exhilarated because his trip was a success buying leather goods and clothing to sell to distributors. Not long after landing, Kate investigates a suicide in a very public place.

Kate is shocked to see that the dead man is Alan who was so excited over the money he expected to make on the goods. She is granted permission to find out if this was a murder made to look like a self-termination. She discovers that Alan was bankrupt thanks to a powerful business leader who used fraudulent means to achieve a line of credit for shell companies. To bring this man to justice, she has to have hard evidence because if he walks, his wife and son will be his next victims.

This British police procedural is slow moving, which lets the readers to know the characters on an intimate basis. A secondary sub-plot involving sexism and racism in the police department and how it is handled makes STAYING POWER a cut above the average police procedural. The heroine is depressed after the loss of her lover and lonely because she hasn't made many friends in her new location but when it comes to fighting crime, she doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way. Fans of Patrice Hall and Ian Parker will want to read this tantalizing novel.

Harriet Klausner