"True-life tragic thriller."

March 4, 1995, is a day when the crossroads of life came together, forming the bridgework for heart wrenching disaster. Antionette Frank, an officer with the New Orleans Police, in some kind of twisted parody, shoots and kills a fellow police officer, as well as two innocent restaurateurs -- people she worked for part time and people whom she was sworn to protect. Why would someone, whose lifelong ambition was to serve, team up with a two-bit, illiterate criminal and willfully destroy the only real dream they ever had?

However, what makes this true-life tale more tragic, if that's possible, is the fact that Antoinette should have never made it through the rookie training, let alone as a "respected" member of the law. This accounting by Hustmyre is as gritty and in your face as a recount can be, making the reader feel more like they're pouring over a real-life crime scene than safely surveying it behind the covers of a book. With insight that only someone who's served for 22 years can offer, he couples it with touching concern for those whose lives were victimized. It leaves the reader wondering just who has more blame, the cop gone bad, or the very system that should have kept Frank out to begin with. Readers who are intrigued by true crime will not come away empty handed.

Reviewed by Anne Barringer
Posted January 14, 2005

The shocking true story of a cop-on-cop killing. On March 4th, 1995, a New Orleans police officer shot a fellow off-duty cop and two innocent bystanders at a Vietnamese restaurant. She then responded to their call for help, as though she knew nothing of what had transpired. This is the story of her rise through the corrupted ranks, her crime, and her capture.