[.ca] Bleeding Out (ISBN 1594931143)

From Amazon.com:
Fans of police procedurals and the grittier murder mysteries will welcome Baxter Clare's debut novel, in which a hardened female police lieutenant, L.A. Franco, known as "Frank," tries to catch a serial rapist and murderer while stoically nursing her grief over the shooting death of her lover Maggie. Having been assigned right out of the academy to Figueroa, the LAPD's roughest district, at 39, Frank's "mastery of the mean streets was no longer a question, either for herself, her colleagues, or the veteranos and OGs within the division." As a (closeted) lesbian and a legendary hard-ass, Frank isn't the most popular of cops, but she earns the grudging admiration of almost everyone she works with. In a film, she would be played by Humphrey Bogart, and speak out of the side of her mouth. Despite this stereotypical characterization, and some tedious, slangy dialogue between cops that periodically interrupts the flow of the story, Bleeding Out is fairly engrossing. Frank may not be new, but she's effectively drawn, and her exploits on the trail of the killer would enliven a beach vacation or a transatlantic flight. --Regina Marler

well written, engrossing thriller:
Clare's first novel, Bleeding Out, is a taut, gritty, psychological thriller set in contemporary South Los Angeles. Police Lt. L.A. Franco is a tough, tall, handsome, intelligent, dyke investigator. Years ago, the traumatic loss of her lover prompted Franco to shut down much of her personal life and focus on work. Years in one of the city's toughest districts have built an armor around Franco. Franco cares about the people in her district and is alarmed when the first victim of a serial murderer appears. Franco sees the pattern in these murders as an extension of earlier, increasingly brutal, rapes and walks a razor's edge as she allows herself to sink deeper into the killer's mind in order to track him down. Clare provides remarkable insight into the "rearing" of a serial killer in a series of short, often horrific vignettes at the beginning of each chapter. These hauntingly powerful depictions stay with the reader. Allison Kennedy, a young, smart mouthed, narcotics officer is brought in to act as bait for the killer. Displeased with the stake out plan, Franco is annoyed, worried and just a little attracted to Kennedy. --Feelings that Franco does not welcome, yet may be important for her salvation. Not because their relationship is necessarily destined to be a success, this is not a "happily ever after" love story. -- Because for the first time in years Franco feels more than simple lust for another woman and is willing to risk the relationship. Some of Clare's secondary characters are difficult to differentiate, particularly in the macho police world. Yet other characters are complex, compassionately drawn and touchingly real. Not a thoughtless, pleasant armchair mystery; Bleeding Out is a well written, engrossing thriller of police investigation and politics.

Excellent Debut:
Los Angeles Police Lt. L. A. "Frank" Franco is introduced here as she seeks the killer of a young girl. She eventually ties in nine rapes and four murders to the perpetrator. Franco is meticulous and thorough as she shifts through the few clues she has. The author painstakingly puts us into the mind of both the perpetrator and Franco. This is police procedural at its best. The characterizations are such that the reader cares about the main characters even the closed-off Franco. There are several minor characters that the author manages to fully flesh out as well although Franco's squad members are, at times, hard to identify because of her use of their nicknames - a minor flaw at best. This author deserves a wide audience. Let's hope the author and her publisher gives us more of Baxter Clare and Lt. Franco.

Drops Of Brilliance:
I found drops of brillance in Bleeding Out. As with any debut novel, I give the authoress her due. Baxter Clare introduces us to the world of Lt. Franko and all that is entailed in her inner city struggle between criminals and police politics in solving a serial rapist case. We are also privy to inner demons of a violently lost lesbian love, a rebirth into a non-conforming society, and an isolation finally thrown off. Almost as if cloaks of darkness removed will allow voids to be filled--like buttery warmed pastries & the playing of "These Foolish Things" ( I prefer Etta James' version ) can fulfill a Sunday morn. An intriguing criminal read with inner glimpses into important issues of lesbianism.

Didn't know it was a lesbian based book...:
I wouldn't have given it too many stars anyway. It was boring to me..too much police interaction and the subject was a little too weird but I somehow missed that it was also about lesbianism. I thought Baxter Clare was a man! That a lesbian wrote it doesn't matter to me..just the lesbian parts didn't interest me.

...impossible to put down...:
Baxter Clare has written a novel that is impossible to put down. The writing is crisp, very detailed and moves amazingly well. The case itself is disturbing, centering around the brutal rapes and murders of teenage girls in south central Los Angeles. Clare does a wonderful job of illustrating the urgency Lt. Franco and her colleagues feel as they try to solve this case before someone else is killed. The lesser characters are very well defined and the reader can't help but empathize with each one in turn as they deal with varying aspects of their jobs and the unrelenting stress that takes them ever closer to burning out. But what makes this book work is the portrait the reader is given of the main character Lt. L.A. Franco. Here is a woman who willingly tortures herself with a past that she refuses to forget, preferring, instead, to inundate herself with work, alcohol and exercise. The only drawbacks to this otherwise fantastic novel, are Clare's over reliance on nicknames and her portrait of Kennedy, a detective from another unit who is recruited as a decoy to try and trap the killer. After wading through more nicknames then I could count, I completely gave up trying to fit them with corresponding characters. As well, Clare's portrait of Kennedy as a drawling, gum cracking, pseudo surfer chick strains credibility. However, these are very minor flaws in an otherwise great book. This is one novel that will keep readers in its grasp long after the last page has been read.