A Review of Suzie Ivy’s, Bad Luck Officer

Suzie Ivy is a hero. She doesn’t wear a cape or have super powers. She’s an everyday hero. She started out as a normal person, with a normal life – a job, kids, husband, and home, just like the rest of us. Then one day, while suffering a broken hip at age 45, she decided she wanted to try to make the world a better a place. Instead of joining a charity, or feeding the homeless, she decided to become a police officer in a small town that had never had a female police officer, and certainly had no idea what to do with a 45-year-old woman, with grown children, who wanted to help enforce the law.

So, she became a cadet, and passed.

Then, she started blogging about it

Then, she worked her ass off for another two years, and got promoted to detective. As she was corralling bulls, dealing with chronic, problem whistle-blowers, and ignoring (some) rather unpleasant and sexist workplace behavior, she also protected abused wives and molested children.

Suzie chose this path. She believed she could make a difference, and she does, everyday. Everyday she puts on her badge and does her best to protect those who need protecting – even if they choose to put themselves in danger.

She slogs through mountains of paperwork, a justice system that seems to protect the rights of the offender more often than the victim, and stupid people, who have no idea you don’t ask a police officer to drive your son to school because he missed the bus.

She hunts predators and looks forward to the day she can slap her pink handcuffs on them.

And, as often as she can, she tries to laugh about it all.

Suzie Ivy is a hero. Read her books. Laugh, cry, and be thankful there are people like her looking out for us. I really hope there is at least one of her on the Vancouver Police Force.

5 stars through and through – I highly recommend this memoir!

Read my review of Suzie’s first book, Bad Luck Cadet.

Favourite Bad Luck Officer quotes

“I had received a t-shirt from my best friend Veronica at my police academy graduation. It reads, ‘Throw your donut in the opposite direction and the cops won’t get you.’ I love wearing that t-shirt.”

“Now I’ve had it with whoever has the shitting squirts and is spraying all over the toilet, For God’s sake, clean up after yourself or eat something that gives you firmer bowel movement. I don’t want to bring this up again, understood?”

“Another note to self; turn cellphone to silent when you’re trying to be sneaky.”

“I’m old enough to be your mother, I’m happily married and if you ever put your dick anywhere near my mouth I’ll bite it off. Are we clear?!”

“When my fight with the naked Sarah started we were in front of my vehicle, so everything was caught on tape. The only thing that would have made it more entertaining for the guys was if we had added mud to the altercation.”

“I cried that night. I knew I couldn’t help everyone, but how do you give up on a ten year old kid. I couldn’t”

“Even sentenced to twenty-five years in prison Ted didn’t get what he deserved. Maybe his prison mates would give it to him.”

A review of Suzie Ivy’s “Bad Luck Cadet”

I first stumbled across Suzie Ivy via her blog, Bad Luck Detective, and last week I was happy to see that she had released her first book, Bad Luck Cadet, which I believe is a collection of her early blog posts. I immediately bought and then, very soon after, read Suzie’s book.

I really liked it.

I knew I would, but still I am glad that that was the case, because — if you hang out with me at all regularly or if you’ve read any of my writing — you will already understand how unusual it is for me to like and follow a writer who is, in this particular incarnation, a memoirist.

Suzie Ivy is the Bad Luck Detective. She chose to become a police officer at the age 45 – it was a tough, male-dominated road (read her book). I don’t even know her and I think she is an amazing person. I really do love her stories. Actually, some times, I can’t believe they are “real life”.

So what exactly do I like about Suzie Ivy, and, in particular, the Bad Luck Cadet?

Beyond appreciating her as a person for the difficult lifestyle choice she made when becoming a police officer, I love how she has taken her police work and simply shared it with us all. She is insightful and humorous. I have actually laughed and then teared-up in the same chapter. Her writing is personal, but not overly dramatic. She details her real life in a completely accessible, and even charming, manner. She lets the poignant moments be, so you almost stumble upon them, rather than dressing everything up in flowery “look here” language.

The Bad Luck Cadet is a new, fresh character in the “cops & robbers” world, and I look forward to reading many more of her adventures.

Suzie’s next book is due out January 13, 2012!

The Bad Luck Cadet is currently .99c on Amazon!

Around The Web Wednesday…

  • Writer Suzie Ivy recently read and reviewed my novel, After The Virus – “Bad guys become good, worse guys stay bad and humanity fights for what’s right. What more could I ask for? Oh and then Doidge added zombies. Bottom line, I loved this book!”
  • A brand new project of mine can be found over at Yesterday’s Sunsets  – in an effort to offset the massive amounts of writing I am currently doing on the Harbinger first draft, I felt I needed another creative project, but not one that would consume too much writing time. I had always intended to document the amazing sunsets we are so lucky to get here in Vancouver, and this seemed like a good time to start doing so. I am adding a bit of random dialogue along with each post – just to keep my writing muscles flexed (in a different direction) as well.
  • Currently reading, Bad Luck Cadet by Suzie Ivy and very much enjoying it! I’ll post a review when I am done, but you can find excerpts of the book (and her next one) over at her Bad Luck Detective blog.
  • Just read Scott Fitzgerald Gray’s novella, The Twilight Child, and though I usually don’t read high fantasy, (which I believe is the correct term) I really enjoyed this short story. I even reviewed it!!
General update: I just cracked the midpoint of the Harbinger novel, and am trying to not get distracted by a new idea to redo my screenplay, Love Lies Bleeding, as a novel. I actually have most of the third act written for Harbinger, so it’s a bit deceptive to say I am only halfway. I should have a completed draft by the beginning of December, then the rewriting begins! I’ll continue the Flash Fiction Fridays every 2nd Friday and start posting some short stories soon as well. Sales for After The Virus have been steady (thank you!), and I am working on a POD (print on demand) version that I hope to have ready for Holiday shopping.

Hope you are all well – I just can’t believe it’s NOVEMBER!!