Brooklyn, New York: drugs, theft, vandalism, the work of the valiant Brooklyn P.D. keeping the city safe from all the dangers. But what if one of the heroic officers has a secret of his own and no one knows except for his wife and his son? Friends and family become …more suspicious, but no one says a word. Have you figured out the officer’s dirty little secret yet?

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen is about the life of Bobby, Frannie, and Robert Benedetto, the perfect family on the outside; however, take a deeper look and you see that they have an awful secret. Bobby is always angry about something; he has such a short fuse. Frannie never knows how to please him, and normally gets the brunt of his anger. Yes, Bobby Benedetto, Brooklyn Police Officer beats his wife. Finally, through a spousal abuse activist named Patty Bancroft, Frannie takes the most daring step she will ever take. Through a secret band of volunteers, Frannie takes her son Robert and escapes taking virtually nothing.

[edited for plot spoilers]

I loved this book; I did everything from laughing to crying. I think that Frannie/ Beth is extremely brave to do what she did, she did what many women never have the guts to do. Though she lived in fear every day that her husband would find her, kill her, and take her son. (less)