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					gun shy by Lorelei http://xenite.simplenet.com/fanfiction/g/gunshy1.html SYNOPSIS: After helping to save her best friend from being raped, Jaylynn Savage decides that she's meant for the life of a police officer. She becomes a rookie, learning the ropes from the reclusive veteran cop Dez Reilly, a tough girl with a heart of gold. But will the cop-with-a-past and the rookie make a good partnership, on and off-duty? NANCY: The drought on entertaining uber fanfics appears to be broken, this is a really good story. From the title and subject matter I thought it would fall into the category of the darker side of fanfic writing, but surprisingly it appears (so far) blissfully free of drug lords (Cuban, Columbian or otherwise) and the setting of Minnesota is far removed from the blood drenched streets of Miami and Chicago, where most of these law enforcement type stories often seem to be set. EWOK: Here's to good titles, and Liz Phair songs... *singing* Seems like the small things are the only things I'll fight Seems like the small things are the only things I'll fight Gunshy, gunshy, gunshy, gunshy NANCY: Well, I don't know about that, Ewok, but there's a nice guitar playing scene that had me envisioning Lucy Lawless seranading me with love songs on cold nights...*ahhhh* Anyway, the first three-four pages of this story is some of the most unpretentious prose I've seen in fanfic, building up suspense so that the events that occur are extrememly effective in grabbing our attention from the outset. The switching of POV's works well, and we get an initial insight into the characters that is far removed from all those "she was tall and dark with steely blue eyes" introductions. I'm afraid that Lorelei does fall prey later on to some of the cliches of fanfiction, most notably the "There was something about her that she recognised" syndrome. Though good, this is not high excitement fanfic IMHO, likely to appeal to fans of slowly unfolding, meandering tales of love ala Missy Good, rather than faster paced stories. Ewok here didn't make it to the end! It is peppered here and there with police anecdotes that seem quite well researched. I have no idea if the writer knows anything about police and procedure, but the writing is strong enough to make me believe that she does. Story being the paramount consideration, I'd say that her narrative is good enough to make up for the occasional failings in writing style that I cringed at from time to time. The writing is middle of the road, it does not stand out for being either appalling or brilliant, so the style does not distract you from the story, which in this case is a good thing. I would have liked to see the pace of the first few pages continued throughout, but in longer stories like this that is a true art form. Pull up a comfy couch on a cold day with a blanket and a cup of tea if you have the time and the inclination. NANCY: 7 out of 10. Many people have said they really love it, but I think you'll have forgotten it five minutes after you finish. EWOK: 5 out of 10. I just couldn't get into it.