The Monster Squad

Computer programmer Angus's debut introduces scrappy, hard-boiled Los Angeles vice squad detective Caitlin O'Neil, who loses her job with the LAPD after she punches (and breaks the jaw of) a captain attempting to tie her promotion to sexual compliance. Signing on with the sheriff's department in Loren, Oreg., Caitlin is put in charge of the midnight shift, supervising a group of undertrained, roughneck officers called the Monster Squad. Determined to overcome the men's resentment at having a female boss, Caitlin uses wisecracks and put-downs to maintain her authority. While finding her way around the area, she learns that the bordering county is a haven for prostitution, drugs and crooked cops. After one of the Monsters is shot to death in his patrol car and a naked Asian prostitute is found in his trunk, Caitlin must determine whether one-or all-of the squad is involved in the next county's illegal activities and whether one of them might have killed a colleague. Growing accustomed to small-town routines, Caitlin gradually pieces together who killed the deputy and why. Gritty action scenes distinguish Caitlin's first appearance, but she herself rarely exhibits more than two dimensions. (Dec.)