The Policewomen’s Bureau

Written with the cooperation of Marie Cirile, a pioneering New York City policewoman, this memorable fictionalized biography of her from bestseller Conlon (Blue Blood) begins in 1958, when Marie Carrara is a newly minted member of the Policewomen’s Bureau, primarily assigned to matron duties. At home, she must contend with her physically abusive patrolman husband. Marie gets an opportunity to display her undercover skills when her boss assigns her to investigate a man who puts phony help wanted ads in the newspapers to lure women to his office for immoral purposes. She arrests him after being attacked, only to learn that her injuries are deemed legally insufficient to prove that she resisted his attempted rape. Marie persists in looking for ways to distinguish herself in undercover stints with the narcotics division. Eventually, the Policewomen’s Bureau gets its own investigative portfolio, allowing Marie to have primary responsibility for looking into serious crimes. Marie’s impressive career, told “with as little imagination as possible,” according to an author’s note, is a testament to her alter ego’s resilience in the face of sexism and physical abuse.[em] Agent: David Granger, Aevitas Creative Management. (May) [/em]