Dead Center

The Rookie Club #1

by Danielle Girard

An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Fifteen years ago, the Rookie Club began as a tight-knit band of female cops struggling for respect. Jamie Vail was one of them. So was Natasha Devlin, the woman Jamie caught in bed with her husband.

When Natasha Devlin turns up dead, Jamie can’t bring herself to care. She’s got enough on her plate, hunting a sexual predator who preys on female officers. He leaves them alive, but brutalized. But when the MO of the Devlin murder matches the MO of the perp in Jamie’s case, she’s brought in on the homicide investigation and back into the Rookie Club she has been avoiding since her husband’s affair.

As additional police officers become victims, Jamie must confront her past and solve the murder of her ex-husband's lover before she becomes the killer's ultimate prize.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Romance, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Danielle Girard is the USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the Annabelle Schwartzman Series, Chasing Darkness, and The Rookie Club series.

Her books have won the Barry Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and White Out was in the top 100 bestselling e-books of 2020. In addition, two of her titles have been optioned for screen. Her next thriller, Pinky Swear, will be out from the Emily Bestler Imprint of Atria books February 24, 2026.


Danielle is also the creator and host of the Killer Women Podcast where she interviews the women who write today’s best crime fiction. A graduate of Cornell University, Danielle received her MFA in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. When she’s not traveling, Danielle lives in the mountains of Montana.

Reviews

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rookies Club!!!!

This kept my interest right from the start. What a way to start the Rookie Club. I have to say I give Jamie a hand. She was such a good person throughout even when others weren't exactly good to her especially her jerk ex. I would have been totally the opposite. LOL

[Vicki M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. This book was slow to start. Actually it really didn't pick up until it was practically over. There were so many characters and it felt like so much was happening and nothing was happening all at the same time. I can't even say it ended particularly well .... It just kinda fizzled and was over. Quite disappointing if you ask me.

[Shana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just can't. It seems like so much is happening with so many characters, yet the story isn't actually moving along. 🤦🏽‍♀️ And I'm over trying to find at least one likeable character. 🙄 DNF @ 21%

[Paula Legate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't care for books when married people cheat on one another, I also didn't like the way this book jumped around. The tempo, or flow of this book had me reading the page again to see what person was being talked about. I did however enjoy the suspense of the plot. The Rookie club is a group of female Police officers. Someone is after the group attacking, and or rapping one member at a time.

I made it halfway through this book. I never, ever leave a review without reading the whole book, but I just couldn't finish this one. Thank goodness it was a free book.

[Rowan Greene · Rating 1 out of 5]

If there was ever an author in need of an editor, it's Girard. So imagine my surprise when I read the acknowledgments and this author thanks her--wait for it--editor. And a team of beta readers. And so-called experts. It reads like a self-published book and worse, it reads like a very rough first draft.

I had high hopes for this book. The premise was intriguing. sadly, the book fails to deliver on so many levels.

First, this book is riddled with errors. So much so that it's distracting and I almost didn't finish the novel out of sheer annoyance. It's repetitive. Page upon page of her telling us the same thing over and over, sometimes on the same page. How an editor misses or overlooks this is beyond me. There are numerous typos. For example, she says "investigator" in one sentence followed by "inspector" a few sentences later. Some of the dialogue made absolutely no sense. Why? No clue. This author shows zero attention to detail. I'd suggest cutting at least 20K words from this manuscript and it would still probably be too long and wordy. Editor? Beta readers? Either they need to change occupations or this author chose to ignore their advice. (In addition to the aforementioned issues, the writing is rather monotonous and lacks imagination. 100% pedestrian.)

Second, the law enforcement aspects of this book were weak. Very weak. If she spoke with or hung out with actual detectives, she either wasn't paying attention or she was punked. There's a lot of competition in this genre (police procedural, crime drama, etc.) so you'd better get it right. This read like someone's immature idea of what being a police officer or CSI tech might be like. Way off the mark. it was full of cliches and ridiculous stereotypes.

Third, the characters aren't very realistic and most fall flat. Did you know that every single female police officer is super hot with the exception of one (Jamie)? Wrong. They are ordinary people. Sure, there are attractive detectives, police officers, and criminalists, but real life isn't CSI (the TV shows) where detectives and crime scene techs race around with perfectly coiffed locks, high heels, and short skirts. Not a plain Jane among them. And news flash: not everyone on the police force is having an affair or in an unhappy marriage. They don't all come from broken homes or have baggage from childhood incidents. Most are just ordinary people who heed the calling to make the world a safer place.

Finally, the plot was predictable and unimaginative. We all knew who the serial rapist was from the get-go. It made this story arc feel almost like a distraction or an afterthought. As for the Devlin murder, I disliked the character so much I didn't really care who killed her. She was such a cliche, it was hard to imagine her as human much less empathize with her character. Learning who killed her was almost anti-climactic.

This author missed the mark on all counts.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again this author uses over 10% of the book to advertise her other books at the end so you feel a bit robbed. I liked this story and some of The Rookie Club girls though the "club" itself really didn't feature too much. Parts seemed a little farfetched in places and at times the girls I found were pretty bitchy apart from Mackenzie so not extremely likeable. Once again this book was full of silly mistakes which for me is always an annoyance and always costs at least a star in my ratings.
Repeatedly the author left off apostrophes altogether when she wrote sheriffs/chiefs, random commas were added as were hyphens and fullstops then odd words were missed out of sentences.
I'm assuming Hailey's Dennig case continues in Book 2 of this series as we were left hanging regarding a resolution in this book. As the author was self-promoting at the back of this book she should have checked it as they called the second book "The Rook Club Book 2" which was pretty appalling !!
I will look out for said second story, though, and hope the editing has been improved, perhaps.

[Miah Marie Auble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right up there with Tess Gerritsen, Jefferson Bass, and Beverly Connors👍🏻

I’ve been reading a lot of books over the past two years. Included in those books are Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta series, Kathy Reichs bones series, Tess Gerritsens Dr. Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli series, Jefferson Bass Body farm series, and Beverly Connors Dr. Diane Fallon series. I’ve got to say that this book was right up there with all those books I paid at least 8$ a piece for. This book I read for free with kindle unlimited and it was a great read! Suspenseful and emotional, this book has got it all. If you’re interested in any of the book series I mentioned above or are looking for something to read after any of the books mentioned above, this book is sure to keep you reading for hours :) I do t normally write reviews for anything, but I was impressed 😁 On to rookie club book 2!!!!!!!

[Gary Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Bad

I’m sure someone doesn’t like to hear a review say this, but I have mixed responses. The plot(s) are compelling, and I like the idea of female cops asserting their skills and power in a book. What left me want were the characters. I didn’t really like anybody, except maybe Z. For me to want to continue in the series I have to like the protagonist. She doesn’t have to be perfect. And I am all about flawed heroes. But I need to like them to come back. So for me, based on this book, can’t see coming back for more.

[Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall pretty good read. There were several places where the reader is guessing at the time who is doing certain "bad" things, but they are revealed in time. The elements of suspense are used appropriately. At the end, it leaves a case set up for the second book in the series, which is well done.

There are several "edge of your seat" sequences which are well done, as well. It was an easy read, well sequenced.

[Delta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well paced, dark police procedural/thriller about a serial rapist who sets his sight on the women of the police department that sent him to prison.

Free 11-05-14

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-...

[Tomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. I was sucked in from the beginning. The characters were real and faced their problems head on. The crime story seemed a bit convoluted, but not being a cop, I wouldn't know how the average investigation unfolds. I will be reading more from this author.

[Nelli Lakatos · Rating 3 out of 5]

“For God’s sake, did anyone really get justice or was justice only a notion devised by man in an effort to soften a dark reality?”

I have mixed feelings towards this book. It was hard for me to get into the story, it was confusing sometimes in the beginning, there are so many characters involved, it was hard to know when the book switched POV and was hard to keep up with the different storylines in it. In the end luckily it all made sense.
Unfortunately I didn’t really liked any of the characters except Tony, he was amazing. I got invested in the story about halfway through the book so I definitely needed to push it through to get intrigued.
Maybe if there was less characters it would have been better.
Overall I really enjoyed the book, I felt like it’s perfect as a standalone, I don’t see myself picking up the next books in this series.
Check out the TW’s if you’re interested in reading this book.

[Jackie Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a serial rapist preying on female police officers. Our main character is Jamie who is a detective. She is divorced due to her husband and another female cop having an affair. This female is quite active in the department seducing all the men. She is murdered and finding the killer is quite an active hunt. At the end Jamie finds the killer and fights for her life. The rapist is also caught by the female cops as he is trying to rape Jamie. Is exciting as the hunt goes. Love the females as the men show weakness.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will not be reading any more books in this series due to the profanity and explicit sex.
I read Exhume by this Author and it was great with very little profanity. At one time I thought that she would be my new favorite writer of suspenseful fiction I am so disappointed!

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book but...

I enjoyed this book very much. A lot of action from start to finish. My problem with this book is the depiction of females. How is it that trained detectives can't defend themselves. Not one. Not two. Not three. But four different female detectives (or inspectors as they are called in this book) can't defend themselves. Not only can't they defend themselves, they seem to give in. Than, to make matters worse, the main characters alcoholic, psychotic brother CAN defend himself. It all works out in the end and I won't give away anything but I think they author could do a better job of depicting women, especially trained police officers, in a stronger light. I say this as father of two daughters too. I will probably give the author another chance and read her next book to see if the women, who are trained to do so, will be better represented as female law enforcement.

[Tom Thornton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea was good by the result is disappointing.
When I read, I like to relax, and I couldn't do that with this book.
I've tried to read this a couple of times and I just can't seem to do it. I couldn't find any hooks or traction to get me really interested. That's likely because there are a lot of characters very similar to one another, or because the dialogue is very clunky and unnatural which ruins the flow. In order to stay consistent with previous reviews of mine, I have to call out the "uncomfortable" content. It's very violent, often too much so.
It deserves a second star for the thought that's gone in to it. I was refreshed by the author's unique premise; having a gritty crime drama about "women-who-happen-to-be-cops" as opposed to the more frequently found, "cops-who-happen-to-be-women", is commendable and I respect and thank Danielle Girard for these intentions. It's just such a shame that It wasn't more enjoyable to read and easier to follow.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book, but after I did, I was hooked. I think the action continued throughout the story and never lagged. I liked the characters and wanted the girls to solve the crimes.
The only negative thing I can think of was the list of characters. It was hard to keep straight who was who.
I gave this book 5 stars because the action never stopped, you felt you were there, you felt drawn into the story and wanted the bad guy stopped. I felt the frustration of being a woman, a wife, a mom and a cop.

One review stated that the story was more about the characters than the mystery. This might have been partially true in this story, but as a woman reading about how these women were dealing with their jobs, their home life and keeping it all together...I liked it.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a terrible book, but not a good one. The cast of characters is huge, but the author did not do a good job of distinguishing them from one another, with the exception of the two main female characters. One of the villains is described well (and often), but he's one-dimensional. Many of the other characters, including a surprisingly large number of secondary ones, are also one-dimensional.

The two main female characters are introduced well, but not as well developed as readers will expect in a story of this length.

Having read a number of the author's other books, I was disappointed by the glaring deficiencies in plot and character development in this one. I won't be reading the rest of the series.

If you dislike books in which married characters cheat on their spouses, avoid this book because adultery is rampant.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Dead Center' pulled me in from the beginning. The storyline was full of action, suspense, thrilling scenarios and a cast of personalities that were well developed. I could relate to the relationship, or lack thereof, of the comparison and alienation due to men vs women in any police agency. I haven't personally been effected but I've witnessed it time and time again. This book brings that factor into play with some kick-ass female leads. I love their backbone and their intellect. Jamie fought that battle and then some, as did the other women in this book. They let the trials of what they went through make them stronger. I was quite surprised at the outcome of the case. This is definitely a series I'll follow. A great add to your tbr list.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

I could not put this book down. Two crimes are intertwined. Jamie Vail investigates sex crimes and Hailey investigates homicides. When a fellow police officer is murdered in her office, the suspicion falls on Jamie's ex husband. From the the plot thickens and moves forward. I never suspected who was the murderer. Keeps you guessing. Solid writing, character development, and exploration of heinous crimes. The book has a final plot twist and leaves a lot of room for next book.

[John C Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I stayed up to finish this book. Such a satisfying mystery, with women as the strong force here. The interactions of women in within the police force, with each other, with their families, and other difficult situations was very appealing and uplifting. I recommend this to women who have been attacked, sexually or in any way really, as these are women who live to conquer evil and rise to the challenge to do it again.

[Alexi Venice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading Danielle Girard's angle on the Hall of Justice, since we both write about it. A nuanced storyteller, she brings the setting and her characters together brilliantly. In Dead Center, she challenges the reader to solve the crime, and masterfully delivers. Recommend.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just all right. The basic story line was good, but I could've done without all the foul language and trashy talk. It really took away from the parts of the plot that were good.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Okay book but nothing special and there are so many good books in the world.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I really did like it, kind of slow when it starts but still a great read, will be checking out the next one to see if I want to read the rest of the series.

[Sabrina T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

📖🎧 DEAD CENTER by Danielle Girard

TW: R, SA (note - these are heavy handed in the book and are in my review as well)

🕵🏻 15 years ago, the Rookie Club began as a tight-knit band of female cops struggling for respect. Jamie Vail was one of them, as was fellow cop, Natasha Devlin, the woman Jamie caught in bed with her husband. When Natasha turns up dead, Jamie can’t bring herself to care. She’s got enough on her plate, hunting a sexual predator who preys on female officers. He leaves them alive, but brutalized. When the MO for Jamie’s case matches the MO of Devlin’s homicide, she is brought into the case and back to the Rookie Club. As more cops become victims, Jamie must confront her past and solve the murder of her ex-husband’s lover before she becomes the killer’s ultimate prize.

👩🏻‍💻 The thing about Danielle Girard’s writing is that it screams to be on screen. Much like her Dr. Schwartzman series, The Rookie Club reads like a tv police procedural. I kept envisioning Olivia Benson from SVU working with other strong women to catch a monster targeting police women. The way the book is written reminded me heavily of my favorite old-school mystery/police procedurals like that of James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. It was refreshing to feel those vibes again that I had when first reading those books many moons ago.

I liked the twist on the story that the victims were female cops - as someone who isn’t in law enforcement, it felt like a validation or confirmation that sexual assault and rape can happen to any woman, no matter how trained you are. Almost like we are all on the same level. It was a unique victim pool and felt like it increased the pressure tremendously to find the perpetrator(s) of these crimes.

DEAD CENTER starts off with a bang - violent sexual assault and beating. Then two chapters later, another violent scene and homicide. Danielle doesn’t pull punches about the realities of these assaults - not during and not after. I felt a visceral reaction when we read about Jamie doing a post-assault exam at the ER with a nurse and a victim, someone she knows and works closely with. It was sometimes hard to read but it’s the first time I’ve seen the realities of what happens immediately after a victim is raped and reports it on the page.

The mystery was good, lots of politics and drama and I didn’t know whodunnit until it was revealed.

I strongly vote that this author’s books become a procedural tv series, because I want to hang with the badass women of The Rookie Club every week as they solve crimes!

[Elayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that demonstrates how a good writer becomes an excellent one.
This book, the start of a series, was published in 2006 and I have just also read Excise which was published in 2017. There is a distinct difference in style. Giraud has clearly honed her skills.
In Dead Center there are too few red herrings and complications in solving the mystery and crimes. It became difficult to actually follow the logic and reasoning and behaviours or the characters, and in one case the last minute addition spoilt the solve, even though the story had prepared the reader for it. Leaving the solve simpler would have made a better contrast to the complications of the other major case.
Also, I kept finding myself worrying about Barney - the dog, and wondered how necessary he was to the plot as Vail never seemed to walk him and only let him out into the backyard once. If tat was normal behaviour, and she never cleared up the yard, it must have stunk. And Barney will have fat and depressed as she rarely came home. Dogs can’t be left alone for that amount of time without severe loneliness and bursting bowels and bladders!
I was going to give this book a 4 but on thinking about my criticisms I’m going for a 3.
A good editor could have stripped back some of the extraneous material and made it a chilling thriller.
That said, Vail’s story will make a good TV series!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this for free from Prime Reading hoping for an entertaining page turner, and got exactly what I’d hoped for. Unlike some reviewers, I loved the fact that there were a lot of characters and numerous sub-plots. I enjoyed learning about Jaime and her troubled past, as well as seeing her perseverance and dedication to her job as both good and bad qualities the affected her every day life. She is well drawn, escaping the trap of being either a Madonna or a whore. I was impressed that the author was able to make Hailey a complex character too, even showing her infidelity as something complicated but not making excuses for her either. I was a little disappointed that the murder victim was so one dimensional, portrayed as a narcissistic home-wrecker who only slept with men to feel superior to them and their wives. It bothered me that the author used this tired trope as a way to create sympathy for Jaime and to give the police a laundry list of suspects. While the characters repeatedly said “she didn’t deserve it” the fact that her promiscuity was constantly discussed made it feel like the author was paying lip-service to the statement. In general, I enjoyed the pace and character development. Certainly a good read for a free book!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Dr. Schwartzman series first and wanted to read other books by the author and found the Rookie Club Series. This book introduces the Rookie Club which was a group of female officers who started 10+ years ago. The got together every so often to provide support to each other. While we meet many of the Rookie Club, the main characters are Jamie Vail and Inspector in Sex Crimes and Hailey Wyatt who is an Inspector for the Homicide Division. She is Hal Harris's partner but he is on leave an only mentioned in the book. There is a serial rapist who is raping female police officers. Jamie Vail, a tortured individual, is on the case. Jamie is recently divorced because she caught her husband with one of the women in the Rookie Club. She's a recovering alcoholic and struggles to communicate. When the women having the affair with her ex-husband is found dead, there is a tie in to the rapes Jamie is working. She begins to work with Hailey Wyatt, another member of the Rookie Club. I was not able to figure out the mystery. The book was dark but well written. I enjoyed meeting these women who give so much of themselves to help others. I will definitely continue reading the series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried multiple times to get into this book, but the first chapter or two turned me right off. The text made it seem like the story would entail a cat fight between women police officers for some sort of ill-defined ascendency. That doesn't interest me, regardless of gender or who's doing the cat fighting.

I should have had more faith in Danielle Girard. I have read her Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman series, and each one held me spellbound. So I gave Dead Center another try, and I am glad I did. The story begins with an awards ceremony, which none of the main characters find worth attending. But while the celebration drones on, one of their number is attacked and raped in the very same building. Shortly thereafter, one of her colleagues is murdered...and Vail's ex-husband is the chief suspect.
Vail takes this case personally. The victims are not just random citizens; they are police officers, and someone is turning them into frightened women, fearing for their own safety and security.

Jamie Vail and her colleagues become easy characters to root for. I guess being male caused me to miss some crucial indicators that this was not a soap opera. That's on me. But the quality of the story? That's on Danielle Girard, and I intend to keep my eyes open for The Rookie Club Book 2.