Book Review: In Transit by Kathleen Gerard

In Transit by Kathleen Gerard

Publisher: Five Star

Publish Date: April 15, 2011

Hardcover, 284 pages 
Fiction, Suspense, Romance
 ISBN: 978-1594149665

Blog Tour Website:  http://in-transit-the-novel-blog-tour.blogspot.com/

My Review:
In Transit is a great book, I was really pleased with how engaging the book was.  The characters were interesting, sympathetic if they were supposed to be and sufficiently evil if they were supposed to be and all grades in between as well.  The plot moves at a great pace and the story was really intriguing.  Ms. Gerard has put together a cast that I liked as a reader and a cast of characters that also feels real.  Not all NYPD cops are good, but not all NYPD cops are bad either and I think she did a great job of showing this.

To me I could easily picture poor Rita being sucked into Billy's web so young.  I mean in every relationship there is so much you don't know about each other even after you have been together for some time and then add in the fact that Billy and Rita kind of rush into things thinking they really know each other.  Yes it feels like true love, but when that shine of true love disappears, sometimes, there is nothing left as Rita quickly finds out.  But what I like is Rita has a backbone.  It's hard for her and she has her pride, but she does have a backbone to eventually stand up to Billy and I also like that she has morals, she doesn't just go leap into a relationship while this is going on with him which would have been easy -  there were men lining up to comfort her.  But Rita isn't like that and I'm glad Ms. Gerard constructed her as a character that way.  I don't want to give anything further away.  Just let me say I like all the men (except a few) that pass in and out of Rita's life through the NYPD, most are wonderful upstanding guys who would bend over backwards for her and that really shows.  I really like Rita as well.

I think In Transit starts as a romance, turns into a coming of age and even has a little bit of suspense in there as well.  It has a little bit for everyone and is extremely well-written and plotted.  I enjoyed my afternoon spent reading this book and I'm glad my boys were invited to a birthday party up the street so I had some nice uninterrupted reading time to really get into this book.  I hated when it ended because I wanted more, but it  ends at a perfect time.  I would love more from Rita but have a feeling her story has been told and it has been told well, so I will just look forward to the next story that Ms. Gerard has to tell.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:
Can a rookie cop survive the men who cross her path in the NYPD?

When a psychic in a shopping mall tells Rita Del Vecchio that she is "destined for greatness," and she will "marry a man in uniform," the restless, wet-behind-the-ears, 22 year-old decides to finally take control of her life. Rita sets out on a quest to become a New York City Police Officer. But can a spry, feisty, single woman thrive in the gritty world of New York's Finest?

Leaving behind the suburbs of New Jersey and a job as an under-tipped waitress, Rita Del Vecchio hangs up her apron and ballet slippers for a bullet-proof vest. But will she wear it? And if she does, will it protect her on the mean streets of Manhattan? Can it also protect her from Cupid’s arrows if they should land amiss?

Rita is assigned to the New York City Transit Police Squad and gets more than she bargained for. Riding the Lexington Avenue Subway Line, Rita winds up meeting not one man in uniform, but many. Whom will she love?

In Transit is a woman-in-jeopardy story that delves into the ordinary lives of NYPD career cops and how their fates are often determined by people who hold secrets as dark and as labyrinth-like as the New York City Subway System.

Buy links:
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About the Author: 

Kathleen Gerard writes across genres. Her fiction has been awarded The Perillo Prize, The Eric Hoffer Prose Award and was nominated for Best New American Voices, all national prizes in literature. Her prose and poetry have been widely published in magazines, literary journals, anthologies and broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR). Several of her plays have been staged and performed regionally and off-Broadway.

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FTC Information: I received this book through Tribute Books for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.