Abuse of Power

In her fifth crime thriller, Rosenberg (Trial by Fire) discards her bestselling formula of vigilantism triumphant, and the result isn't pretty. Many sad and terrible things happen to policewoman Rachel Simmons. Rachel, we soon learn, was kidnapped and abused as a child. Her husband died of cancer, leaving her with crippling debts and two children. Her job on the police department of the (fictional) city of Oak Grove in California's Ventura County is very stressful and about to become unbearable, and her second job, as a security guard, leaves her little time for sleep or family. Add to that a crew of fellow night-shift cops that includes a brutal rapist, a burnout with a severe eating disorder, an illegal Pakistani immigrant desperately masquerading as an Italian and a sergeant whose rampant sexism is the least of his failings, and the scenario goes from grim to grimmer. When one of her colleagues causes a teenage boy's death by using him as a shield, Rachel blows the whistle. In response, the other cops descend from nastiness into visciousness. One of them beats and sexually assaults her, then threatens to do the same to her teenage daughter. Rachel's home is bugged, and she's accused of stealing drug money. Rachel fights back, as all Rosenberg heroines do, but her fate, despite being played out suspensefully and with brisk pacing, may leave readers feeling even more manipulated than they bargained for. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild selection; simultaneous Penguin audio. (Mar.)