THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408040539
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY ANN G. SJOERDSMA
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
FIRST OFFENSE
NANCY TAYLOR ROSENBERG
Dutton. 338 pp. $22.95.
NANCY TAYLOR ROSENBERG again protests injustice within the criminal justice system in her third novel about female victimization, but this time her protestations are both less frequent and less strident. Instead of targeting sexual abuse, rape, incest or domestic violence as ``issues,'' and powering her story with her own passions, rather than her characters', Rosenberg attempts a more natural development of event and action. Earnest thematic statements, typical of her earlier efforts (Mitigating Circumstances, Interest of Justice), do not intrude.
More is the pity then that the plot of First Offense is so transparent. The deus ex machina of this rough-sex and tough-talk police drama arrives so early that veterans of the genre will read on only to find out ``why-'' and ``how-,'' not ``who-dunit.''
Still, Rosenberg's indomitable alter ego Ann Carlisle, a dedicated probation officer and former cop like her creator, turns pursuit of the ``how'' and ``why'' - always the more interesting questions - into such an amusing, high-energy diversion that reading on is a must.
To get the plot going, Carlisle takes a bullet in the shoulder at the end of a hard day. Several dangerous criminal types could have targeted Ann, known for her spider-to-fly work-overs of probationers in lockup, including Jimmy Sawyer, a first-time drug offender assigned to her that afternoon.
But then why would Sawyer stop to assist Carlisle as she lay bleeding to death on the sidewalk? His good-Samaritan act hardly makes sense, until Los Angeles district attorney Glen Hopkins, Carlisle's new, unorthodox lover, explains: Sawyer had to shoot Ann to prevent her from searching his house and discovering his drug laboratory. Unexpectedly given supervised probation, he needed time to move his incriminating operation.
After she recovers, Carlisle does drop in on Sawyer, the miscreant son of a prominent surgeon, and finds, not drugs, but fingers, five of them floating around in a pickle jar, which she - yes - nervously drops. Rather than picking up the sticky fingers and running, Ann plays by the book - always a mistake in effective law enforcement - and retrieves her police buddies, patriarchal Tommy Reed and womanizing Noah Abrams, and a search warrant. By the time they return, of course, the shattered jar and its contents have been swept away; and Ann Carlisle, a widow who lost nearly all reason four years ago when her police officer husband Hank disappeared, begins to look a bit unbalanced. (In a contrived sort of way.)
A campaign to unhinge and thereby discredit Carlisle ensues, and it has its thrilling, unpredictable moments. Our attractive, blonde heroine fends off attackers and endures taunting phone calls, all the while coping with the lingering aftermath of her violent marriage and her 12-year-old son's false hopes that his father is still alive. In character and courage, Carlisle towers over Rosenberg's previous victim/heroines, a vengeful prosecutor and a self-deluding judge. Rosenberg knows the nature of Ann's work; and this authenticity compensates for some of the ludicrous, over-the-top scenes that advance the plot.
Though her prose is sometimes clumsy and her dialogue often mimics hard-boiled detective talk, Rosenberg carries off her story. The appeal of a victim, especially a woman, boldly taking the offensive, is so great that the author's excesses can be overlooked. With the ``whodunit'' easy to determine, it is the ``what-will-she-do-next?'' that keeps us engaged. MEMO: Ann G. Sjoerdsma is a lawyer and book editor for The Virginian-Pilot and
The Ledger-Star. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KEN BANK
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, author of ``First Offense''
by CNB