Cold Shoulder

This one novel could easily be made into several episodes of a television series. One full season, in fact.

First, the book is long. More importantly, there are so many twists and turns and complications that each one could be an episode.

The protagonist is Lorraine Page, a striking blond police lieutenant at the start of the story. We don't get a chance to find out what kind of lieutenant she is before she is suspended from duty. She had killed a teenaged boy who was running from the police, with little provocation. Worse, she didn't feel any remorse. Feeling, in fact, seems to have left her body altogether if you don't count just feeling lousy.

Page is an alcoholic. LaPlante almost revels in showing us every move Page makes on her way to show more destroying what is left of her life. She reminds us, too, that Page doesn't seem to give a shit. This is what LaPlante does: creates seriously flawed characters and gives them a story. It's up to us whether we want to like them or not.

As Page struggles to find footing after landing on the bottom countless times, she finds herself in a car with a man who means her harm. She fights free, only to discover that a body has been found in that same car. It looks like Lorraine fought the killer. But who was he? The thread that ties the story together is Lorraine's - and her former boss's - pursuit of a murderer. Lorraine's work is necessarily her own, a private investigation. She is driven in a way that recalls her former police work, but that leads her into places she would not have gone as a lieutenant.

Complex characters are my favorites, especially the flawed ones. So this held my interest. I did find the last several pages just a bit too much, though. I wanted it to end already. show less

Lorriane Page is an ex Cop based in LA really down on her luck after shooting a young teenager dead when she was drunk on duty.
She loses everything her job, her home, her family.
She becomes a Prostitute and is proper at her lowest ebb. Rosie who works part time in a hospital befriends her and Lorriane moves in with her slowly she gets a bit better.
Lorriane does fall off the wagon and goes back to her old bad ways, she is nearly killed by a suspected Serial killer. She is very reluctant to go to the Police.
She gets in touch with her old Boss Rooney who after a while agrees to work with her so she can flush out the Serial killer. Lots of interesting characters are involved in this story.
Transvestites, Hookers, Gay Art dealer, Rich show more Playboys.
Lorriane meets a handsome man called Brad it turns out his Brother Steven is the Serial killer.
2 Other deaths are linked to the characters Lorriane has met.
Lorriane helps wraps up the case.
Lorriane, Rosie and Rooney who is now retired from the Police plan to go into the Private Detective agency world.

OK book could have been shorter. show less

Lieutenant Lorraine Page is thrown out of the police force, and loses her relationship and her home in a descending spiral of alcoholism and addiction. At rock bottom, she is the only witness with information potentially helpful in the hunt for a serial killer. Can she put this information to good use, and turn her life around? Not bad light reading, although the mystery was a little too convoluted for my tastes.

I enjoyed the book but it picked up the most for me near the end. I'm not sure if I'll read the next one

From the author of the PBS Prime Suspect. Turns out she writes a great book, too.

based on a real person

After hospitalized injured and facial scarred by hit and run(last6 yr alcoholic/prostitute)meets Rosiegoes AA and helps Bill find killer of prostitutes in LA using gold cufflinks wS&A finds Hastingsclassic auto shop rich,powerful famly Norman(weird)&Brad who she's inlust with buthe involved protecting bro
so she ditches him feels sad needs love