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"Audience feels the pain and suffering police officers"

Louise Barrat has been on the London police force for six years going from a street bobby to a member of the child protection unit. She has seen and heard all the misery an adult can do to a child and is dangerously close to suffering from total burnout. Her latest case is one of the worst cases she has ever witnessed. Ten-year-old Candy was raped and tortured and it is Louise's job to look after the child's best interests by steering her gently through the judicial system.

One day Louise is talking to two hookers, trying to find out if any underage prostitutes has come into the area. While conversing, a John comes over and Louisa walks away. The next thing she knows is the John has her in a back alley trying to force himself on her because she walked away from him. It's clear he doesn't know she's a police officer and since she has no proof to share with him, she flips him into the ally and walks away very upset. That incident although she doesn't know it yet, will change the rest of her life.

This first person narrative will grab the attention of the reader from the very first page because the protagonist is such a sympathetic and likable character. Lucy Harkness is able to use the written word to make the audience feel the pain and suffering police officers go through in pursuit of their job. THE HAPPY PIGS is a refreshing and unusual work that stimulates the readers' intellect as much as their feelings.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 2, 2001

Six years into her stint with the London police force, Louisa Barratt is burned out. Because she is a woman in a largely male profession, Louisa has been relegated to the Child Protection Unit, where her primary task seems to be baby-sitting a fragile young abuse victim who clings to Louisa like a mother. Trouble is, she\'s suffering from a bad case of compassion fatigue, and with nothing to look forward to each day but her depressing caseload and nonexistent social life, just getting up in the morning is threatening to become more than she can manage. She wants out, but the young rape victim she spends her days counseling has no one else to turn to. When Louisa herself is viciously attacked in the street by a would-be rapist, she fights hard, determined not to become another victim. Unfortunately, the consequences of these fleeting moments of life-and-death struggle are more grave than she can possibly imagine, and before she knows it her entire life is thrown into the depths of a turmoil the likes of which she has never seen. Written with passion and dynamic energy, The Happy Pigs is at once a unique portrayal of police life from a truly fascinating perspective and an outstanding new novel about a smart young woman trying to keep her sanity and sense of humor in a world that\'s crumbling around her.

Genre: Mystery