A cursory glance at the cover summary of Kim Wozencraft's novel might lead you to the conclusion that it is just another cop story. Don't be caught flat-footed. It's another case supporting the suspicion that the people who write cover synopses (and design cover art) never actually read the books.
Rush is not just another cop story. It's more an excursion into
the indefinite gray area between right and wrong; the blurred chalkline
between the good guys and bad guys when personal agendas are involved.
It's written from the perspective of Kristen Cates, a would-be Olympic
athlete who doesn't quite make the grade and becomes an undercover narcotics
agent instead. Young and naive, she initially falls for the company line
that what she is doing is in society's best interest--busting dope dealers.
With a move to Beaumont, Texas and a new long-term undercover assignment, confusion over the ethicality of what she and her partner are doing becomes stronger. She finds herself becoming more emotionally dependent on her partner; marginally addicted to the drugs she is supposedly fighting; and friendly with the drug dealers she will eventually arrest. To her, the line between role and reality becomes less and less distinct.
When she expresses her concern over the legality of what she is doing, she's told by another officer not to worry; when the drug dealers are arrested and get to court and claim that she used drugs along with the she can always lie and deny it. The judge and jury will always believe a police officer over a drug dealer. In the end, the laws that Cates starts out defending are used against her and her partner. They find themselves on trial for doing what they were ordered to do.
I'm sure the fact that Wozencraft herself is an ex-police officer has added to the credibility of this story. She knows the grunge as well as the glory of the job she is writing about. This reality factor is what sold Hollywood on the story. But if you happened to see the movie, don't let it keep you from reading the book. Where the movie left much to be desired, the book leaves you with only with the desire that Wozencraft write another as good as this one.
Return
to Facing
