Austin City Blue

Jan Grape's first mystery novel Austin City Blue was nominated for best first novel (Bouchercon 2002). I bought it because I used to love the wonderful, friendly, book store she and her husband owned. I knew it would be well written (I have read several of her short stories) and took a chance. I was delighted to find that I loved the book. The characters are memorable, the writing is polished and the plot is engaging. I hope it is first in a series.

Jan Grape is best known for writing short stories and editing mystery anthologies. AUSTIN CITY BLUE is her first novel and hopefully, the beginning of a promising new series.Zoe Barrow is a member of the Austin Police Department currently assigned to working desk duty at her local precinct. A few days ago she was attending a sports event at a local arena when she heard the call requesting police backup. Officer Barrow went to the scene and found two officers wounded at the hand of a single perpetrator. When the suspect starts to make a move she shoots him even though she is not aware of his identity. A few moments later she learns that he was Jesse Garcia the man responsible of putting her husband in a coma.Zoe does not trust her feelings. She is not sure if she shot Garcia out of doing her duty or just plain revenge. It does not help that she is confined to office work and the people at Internal Affairs are getting on her case. She manages to get distracted from all that when Avery Peppard, a friend of her husband, comes to her asking for help. He believes his wife is having an affair with a cop and that they are plotting to kill him. She does not know what she can do for him so she helps him find Jason Foxx, a private detective, to help him. It is not until an informant with a connection to Peppard is found murdered in a motel room that Zoe decides to get involved.Ms. Grape writes a good novel that is heavy in character development. Zoe is a conflicted woman who is torn between what she knows and what she believes. She loves he husband very much but he has been in a coma for a long time. She is attracted to Foxx but does not want to betray her husband. The story is fairly good with several red herrings placed throughout the novel. The author leaves the door open for another book and it will nice to learn more about the life of Zoe.

When female police officer Zoe Barrow shoots a man to rescue another officer, she is merely doing her job. When she learns that he is the criminal whose earlier shot turned her husband into a vegetable, she feels a sense of closure rather than regret. But the shooting is only the beginning of a strange and violent events in Zoe's life. One of her snitches is killed, a friend of her husband's claims that his wife is trying to kill him, and Zoe starts feeling a strange attraction toward a private detective. When the possibility of police corruption comes up, Zoe doesn't know who her friends are and who might be her enemies. Talented author Jan Grape explores the continuing prejudice against female cops, the emotional implications of a justified shooting, and writes a bang-up action story as well. As readers, we're dragged along with Zoe, thrust deep into the mystery, and thrown clues so fast that it's hard to sort out what's important and what isn't. Bits of the history of Austin, Texas's police force add some texture to the story and put Zoe's current job into its historical perspective. I would have enjoyed a little more focus. Some of the events appeared to be either unconnected or connected by coincidence that stretch beyond normal reader credibility. Thanks to Grape's superior story-telling, these flaws don't detract much from novel's enjoyment, except to hint that Grape's next novel may be even better.

I really enjoyed this book. The heroine is admirable and really likeable. I came to worry about her and cheer her on.Also, this is a murder mystery, with the emphasis on whodunit and not on the grisly details of death. I especially enjoyed all the many suspects, and how we figure out the mystery along with the heroine.Finally, really enjoyed having this mystery take place in my adopted home. All in all a great, exciting and fun read.