Hot Cops Here & There with Guest Blogger: Lynne King

Welcome romantic suspense author

 Lynne King to the Book Boost!

She's here to discus American cops versus British bobbies when it comes to television drama and here's what she had to say...

Are American crime shows grittier and sexier than the British equivalent? Yes, definitely, is my opinion. I’ve always been a great follower of imported American crime series and remember my excitement when, The Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice in the 80’s were first aired. NYPD Blue followed in the 90’s and now CSI, Law and Order and countless other great American crime stories.   All of them had and have strong memorable characters, female and male roles that are both tough and sexy. I remember David Caruso in NYPD Blue and now twenty years on he still has that edge with or without shades in CSI Miami.

Showing at the same time and running for twenty-five years was The Bill, a police drama/soap set around a fictional police station in East London. Tame compared to the gritty NYPD. As for British detectives, none leave a lasting impression with their charismatic appearances. Touch of Frost, played by David Jason and Inspector Morse, played by the late John Thaw, were great characters but not exactly sexy heroic figures. Inspector Lynley, acted by the good looking Nathaniel Parker comes across a bit too posh whilst Inspector Lewis is the opposite.

There is plenty of Agatha Christie’s Poirot (the Belgium detective with the funny moustache), being shown almost on a weekly basis or Miss Marple, the grey haired spinster with great powers of detection.  Midsummer Murders with Inspector Barnaby (most episodes feature a murder in a quaint village setting with eccentric suspects by the bucket load), used to be played by the likeable actor John Nettles who back in the eighties was fighting crime on the "crimeless" Island of Jersey. He doesn’t exactly get your pulse going though he is a favorite of the more mature of us, my mum being one such fan.

We do have a few ball busting female detectives who can juggle children, husbands and solve crimes without suffering so much as a grazed knee themselves or who can swear, drink and make their male colleagues cower. Now I like strong female roles and in CSI, Law and Order, etc... They work alongside tough male roles, they don’t emasculate them, not like some of our English counterparts.

This is why, though the idea of my romantic suspense novel came about by a crime committed in London many years ago involving a safety deposit vault robbery, I actually set the story in New York with the female lead English and the hero cop, American of course.

As an English writer who loves stories involving tough sexy heroes that are usually working for the good guys,  I’ve yet to read a novel or seen a film depicting an English detective or private eye that is appealing not just for his crime solving. Please if you know of one, let me know.

One saving grace for English heroes is that we do have James Bond and things are improving a little with the British version of Law and Order, but it won’t keep me from tuning in to those tough talking American cops and maverick PI’s.

A Note from the Book Boost:  Lynne you did a great job with your post.  I, too, love all things in law enforcement drama.  And I think the British hold their own when it comes to television--you have some great stuff over there!  Your book sounds amazing and thank you for joining us from across the pond.  Come back again soon, won't you?

       
Blurb:

What if you transfer work and home to another Country after you have been betrayed by someone you thought loved you?

What if you then get targeted by a smooth talking handsome Irishman who then turns out to be a cold blooded killer?

This is what happens to Liz whilst living and working on a temporary visa in Manhattan. Blackmail and assisting a bank heist is the beginning, witnessing a murder and her life under threat comes next. Who does she run to and who can she trust?

Is Jack, a Detective with the NYPD, such a man or will her unwillingness to trust anyone, even a man who has stolen her heart, cause him to doubt her innocence and turn him against her.


Excerpt:  

Jack returned to the main room and glanced at Liz. She was still fixated to the spot, her eyes staring down at her purse. Going over to the body, he saw the gunshot wound to the chest—straight through the heart at close range.

“Did you hear a struggle or a warning before they shot him?” He asked over his shoulder while he bent down and started checking O’Riley’s pockets. He was careful not to leave his own prints over the murder scene. There was no gun lying around and the guy must have had one. The killers would have picked it up, he guessed.

“Can’t you get me out of here? I told you they’re coming back,” she finally answered, her voice a whisper.

Jack straightened up and faced her. An innocent dragged into blackmail, robbery, and murder or a brilliant deceitful gangster’s tart looking for an escape plan and a dupe to help her carry it out. It was decision time. He went over to her and gently lifted her chin with his fingers so her gaze met his.

"You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, sweetheart, like what’s your involvement in all this. I need some answers fast because at the moment it doesn’t look too good for you.”

Her pupils were widening as the alarm built up, making him aware his words were obviously sinking in. It was callous of him, but he was only being truthful, there was no soft option. “I radio this in and the cops and Feds are going to be swarming in and seeing what I’m trying not to think. That you helped your boyfriend with the bank raid, he double crossed his buddies, got taken out, and now you are trying to act the victim here to save your own neck.”

“No,” she cried out and started shaking her head uncontrollably.

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http://www.lynnekingauthor.co.uk 

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