This book is a character study of the main characters: Judy Hammer, chief of police in Charlotte, North Carolina; Hammer's deputy, Virginia West; and Andy Brazil, a young reporter assigned to ride with the police as they go about their jobs.
Andy Brazil Series
This series follows the journey of a young reporter who transitions into a police officer, alongside his colleagues in North Carolina and Virginia. It delves into the dynamics between police chiefs, deputies, and rookie cops navigating the complexities of law enforcement. Each installment offers compelling investigations and a glimpse into the lives of those upholding justice in their community.



Recommended Reading Order
Judy Hammer has accepted the challenge of Richmond, Virginia's police department to try and reverse the escalating crime statistics in the city. She brings with her Deputy Chief Virginia West and Andy Brazil, now a full-time police officer. They find a lot of things they are all too familiar with - teenage gangs, a rash of robberies at cash dispensers, street corner drug-dealing, racial tensions, too many people with too many guns and a cardiac inducing lack of parking spaces. They also meet resentment from the established police force and over-high expectations from the city's institutions. Then a computer virus crashes the police computer, freezing their screens with a design of blue fish, and the same blue fish appears on the statue of Jefferson Davis, which a graffiti artist has turned into a black basketball player and a gang called the Pikes claim it is their symbol, which also has links to the robberies. In an incredibly fast-moving police procedural Patricia Cornwell takes her readers on a roller-coaster ride of action and emotion.
Isle of Dogs
- 421 pages
- 15 hours of reading
Newly installed superintendent of the Virginia State Police, Judy Hammer, and her right hand and confidant, Andy Brazil, are at their wits' end trying to protect the public from the politicians - and vice versa. And amid the mayhem an island off the coast of Virginia declares UDI - claiming its independence lies in the history of America's first settlers, those who set sail from London's Isle of Dogs in 1607. Visit the author's own website at patricia-cornwell.com