In Transit-Kathleen Gerald

In Transit
Kathleen Gerald
Five Star, May 6 2011, $25.95
ISBN: 9781594149665

Twentyish Rita Del Vecchio lives in suburban New Jersey. She works as a waitress making nothing. At a mall, a psychic tells her she is destined for great things and will fall in love and marry a man in uniform, but must risk leaving her comfort zone.

Deciding to take a chance on life, Rita applies for a position as a New York City police officer. To her euphoria, she is hired. She undergoes grueling training at the academy as instructor Sergeant Gary Hill takes no mercy on Twinkle Toes until she is at the end of her rope. Still she survives the rigorous training. Rita joins the city’s transit police patrolling the trains. She begins dating cop Billy Quinn who she assumes is her secret admirer. However, as Internal Affairs investigates dirty cops, she becomes caught in the middle with only her secret admirer having her back.

New York, especially the Lexington Avenue line, makes this an enjoyable police procedural with a romantic subplot enhancing the insightful look at the tour of duty of a transit cop and an internal investigation into a dirty cop ring. Although the plot contains a bit too many spins, as Rita makes the tale entertaining with her courage and determination.

Harriet Klausner