Review of ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU by Laurie Lynn Drummond (see her website)

HarperCollins, February 2004

In a stunning collection of short stories and novellas, author and former female cop Laurie Lynn Drummond describes life as experienced by female police officers. She writes of women who must come to terms with death, their first killing, the emotional overload of the violent, hard-drinking life of a cop, and of women who struggle for balance between following the rules and doing what's right.

Drummond's writing is very strong, filled with imagery that packs an emotional wallop while strengthening rather than weakening the narrative story line. In many of the stories, not much is really happening. A woman cleans her weapon and thinks about her life--and ending it. Another woman remembers killing a man. In other stories, Drummond uses more conventional narrative structure. In every case, however, the real story is that of being a cop, a woman in a man's world, and a human forced to wrestle with silly little rules at the same time she is putting her life at risk.

Every word in ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU feels real, packed with emotional impact, and heartfelt. This is one of those books you'll want to spend time with, savoring the stories and the feelings behind them. Well done, Laurie Lynn Drummond.

Four Stars

Reviewed 1/27/04

Ready to buy it now? Click the buy now button.

What do you think? Too generous? Too stingy? Or did I miss the entire point? Send your comments to publisher@booksforabuck.com. Give me the okay to use your name and I'll publish all the comments that fit (and don't use unprintable language).

Have a web site? Check out these free services.