Detective by Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke was a NYC police detective from 1968 to 1991.  When she joined, women made up less than 1% of the New York police force.  Burke was instrumental in paving the way for women in the force.  She worked undercover in the 1970s making drug buys, later worked homicide, then organized crime.  She was shuttled around the department to keep her from making waves.  She battled with, then sued, the chief of the major crimes unit.  She was shot on the street, effectively ending her active police career.  At the time the book was published, 2006, she was actively involved with the police self-support unit, helping police officers who had been mentally or physically traumatized on the job.  She is a brave woman.  The book is impossible to put down.