Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You

Description

This riveting debut collection of short fiction about women cops comes from the author’s real–life experience as a Baton Rouge police officer. In an entirely fresh and unique voice, these stories reveal the humanity, compassion, humour, tragedy and redemption hidden behind the “blue wall.”

Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You centres on the lives of five female police officers. Each woman’s story–like each call in a police officer’s day–varies in its unique drama, but all the tales illuminate the tenuous line between life and death, violence and control, despair and salvation. Because the stories come from the author’s own experience, they open a curtain on the truth behind the job–how officers are trained to deal with the smell of death, how violence clings to a crime scene long after the crime is committed, how the police determine when to engage in or diffuse violence, why some people make it from the academy to the force and some don’t, and all the friendships, romances, and dramas that happen along the way. It illuminates not only how officers feel while they are in uniform, holding their guns, but also what they feel after they go home and put those guns aside.

“Tough, scary and riveting.” “Unforgettable, beautifully written stories.” “Strong and wise …like the memory of a loved one passed, these stories linger long past their last breath.” “Drummond’s clear voice shuns distracting, overtly literary first-book flourishes. The author’s mapping of complex terrain …keeps the pages turning.” “Stories that [put Drummond’s] insider’s knowledge to work, offering fresh insights into the lives of police officers and women.” “This astonishing debut collection makes it clear that Drummond was a writer long before she was a police officer.” “Combining Southern grace and urban brutality …Drummond continually surprises with her profiles in courage.” “A superb debut …marvelous command of fear and sensuous involvement. Prose that weighs like a gun in your palm.” “Drummond brings a major new talent to the crime fiction scene.” “For readers who like their crime fiction raw and flavored by moral dilemmas, these stories are intriguingly fresh.” “This is an exceptional body of writing.” “Elegant, graceful, unexpected and completely haunting.” “Tough and tender, this book is simply unforgettable.” “Unforgettable stories. . . that will make readers suck in their breath.” “A brilliant debut carries the flash of fact.” “Unflinching in its portrayal of [female officers’] lives.” “So compelling that it’s difficult to stop reading.” “A superb debut. Prose that weighs like a gun in your palm.” “This is an exceptional body of writing.” “Choosing original characters over clichés and gritty detail over simplification, Drummond continually surprises with her profiles in courage.” “…Elegant, graceful, unexpected and completely haunting. Drummond brings a major new talent to the crime fiction scene.” “Fresh and engaging. [Drummond’s] stories hold pleasures beyond those of a standard whodunit.” “For readers who like their crime fiction raw and flavored by moral dilemmas, these stories are intriguingly fresh.” “Sincere praise from Elmore Leonard is the equivalent of striking literary gold, and that’s just what Laurie Drummond has done.” “Searing…eye-opening…[Laurie Lynn Drummond] is a deft storyteller.” “The stories are sure-footed and fascinating in their insight into the specifics of a cop’s reality.”

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