Customer Reviews

A Clean Kill

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A Clean Kill is the June 2005 paperback entry in Leslie Glass's April Woo police procedural series.

April is the American Born Chinese [ABC] New York City detective, daughter of the infamous 'Skinney Dragon' [who is guaranteed to make your mom look good], and newlywed wife of hunky Hispanic precinct captain Mike Sanchez.

Maddy Wilson, wife of a celebrity chef, is found slashed to death in the shower of her fashionable town house; the next day her best friend is murdered. The obvious suspects? their nannies.

I didn't find this one to be up to Glass's usual standard: the characterizations were very shallow, lots of threads were left hanging, and it was one of those 'wham, bang, thank you ma'am' endigs.

Some of the books in this series are quite good. If you're looking for a good police porcedural with a strong female main character, I suggest that you start with one of the earlier books.

I am a big fan of the April Woo suspense series and was anticipating this release. However, it appears that the author has lost interest in April and this novel does not do the series justice.

Newly married to long time love and fellow NYPD Captain Mike Sanchez, April is called upon to investigate the brutal murder of the beautiful wife of a celebrity chef. The investigation quickly focuses upon the nanny and odd owner of the au pair agency. Uncharacteristically cranky and eager to depart for her much delayed honeymoon, April also interviews the decedent's lover/drug dealer/guru/muscle-bound trainer and her unbalanced socialite best friend. When the friend is murdered, the investigation is sent into high gear with a ridiculously predictable conclusion.

I fear that this novel may sound the death knell for this series. As with popular television shows, when the characters finally marry, the excitement and tension disappear. One of the more delightful aspects of the earlier novels was the author's humorous depiciton of April and her very traditional chinese mother and family. Although the mother makes a brief and gratutitous appearance, the interaction is neither affectionate nor entertaining. I, for one, would have liked to have seen the wedding, with April trying to juggle the cultures, Chinese, Hispanic, law enforcement and American. Although the initial murder is promising, the killer is easily identifiable early and the ultimate motivation is pat and unsatisfactory. Killing just because one is crazy just doesn't pass muster.

So skip this book and try one of the earlier April Woo novels for truly suspenseful entertainment.

Although you could see the ending of this one, I still found the book to be immensely enjoyable and read it in a day. The introduction of Eloise Gelo gives the series a new direction to go in as Woo must train someone who handles police work much like herself. If your a Woo fan, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this installment of the series - it was well-written, character-driven and fun!

I find that I am reading Leslie Glass novels for old times sake more than anything else. When I started reading them, I really loved the character of April Woo and the relationship with her Chinese family. Their scenes were so funny. In addition her relationship with her partner, Mike Sanchez had a lot of chemistry. These days Skinny Dragon Mother and Mike are barely in the novels and the plots have not been that compelling. This addition to the series is disappointing in that it does nothing to move the characters forward. The secondary cast was not likable and I would have killed them all off.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with this April Woo entry, and I am indeed afraid this is about the end of the line for our wonderful ABC detective, maybe one more book will be written to wrap things up. April and Mike are now married after "a big Chinese wedding" apparently took place, and we the readers never heard anything about it, unless I am seriously overlooking something. The story is dull - "trophy wives are being knocked off by their nannies! and Mike and April are on the case!!!!" I spotted the killer the moment I read the description of same. This is a poor excuse for a mystery/police procedural and could have been written by an 8th grader. Compared to Ms. Glass' often brilliant work in the past, this is a big letdown. One major problem I had was the characters were so trite and unappealing I couldn't have cared less about any of them. Dope huffing super spoiled trophy wives, their busy famous uncaring husbands, their attentive personal trainers, their conniving nannies - I hated each and every single one of them with the passion of a million burning suns. I predict April will become pregnant in the next paperback to be churned out in a year or three or four and will retire from the police, and that will be the end of April Woo.

Although predictable, I enjoyed this installment of the April Woo series.

I was a bit shocked though to find April and Mike married. I had to go back to the author's website to see if I'd missed an installment because I was really surprised that she'd marry the characters off and have it happen "off-screen." That could've been a book all by itself.

I do sense the series will be winding down soon with all the hinting about April not feeling well, and her mother's potions to try to get her pregnant. It's too bad, because this is one of the better procedural series out there.

I love the April Woo series. Her books are enjoyable and I tend to read them in one day. I am glad they are finally on kindle. I hope that she continues to write the series as the last one was published some time ago.

This is the first book I've read in this series featuring NYPD detective April Woo. I really must find at least one more book in this series to determine if it's the author I like or just this particular story.

Two young wealthy women are murdered, both are found by their nannies (er--the nannies of their children, not the women's nannies).

It was a nice mystery, and I liked the detective.

If the reviewers who say this isn't as good as other books in the series are correct, it looks like I'm in for a real treat once I find the previous books.

AS ALWAYS, LESLIE GLASS CONTINUES TO ENTERTAIN AND AMUSE WITH
SOME VERY GOOD DETECTIVE WORK THROWN IN. THE PLOT GIVES A
FEW SUPRISES AND INSIGHT INTO THE NYPD. THIS IS A BOOK I WOULD
GLADLY RECOMMEND TO ANYONE LOOKING FOR SUSPENSE THROWN IN WITH
A TOUCH OF HUMOR. APRIL'S PARENTS CONTINUE THEIR DEMANDS AND
INTERVENTION INTO HER NEWLY MARRIED LIFE. THE BOOK ALSO GIVES
A LOOK SEE AT THE GOINGS ON IN THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN
DOMESTIC LIVES AND FOIBLES. IN THIS CASE I HOPE IT'S MOSTLY
FICTION. COCAINE, PERSONAL TRAINERS, AND MISGUIDED NANNIES
MAKE FOR A FUN READ.

Here's the novel April Woo fans have been waiting for -- NYPD Detective Sargeant April Woo is back in the ninth novel in the New York Time Best-Selling series by Leslie Glass. If you haven't read any of the Leslie Glass novels featuring NYPD Detective April Woo, this is a good place to start. "A Clean Kill" is getting rave reviews in all of the mystery magazines. Glass makes her characters and the city of New York come to life as only a native New Yorker could. You will love this series! A testament to their enduring popularity, all 9 books are still in print. Leslie Glass has created her most provocative and spine-tingling work yet with "A Clean Kill", with all the characters her readers have come to love, and with the page-turning, heart-thumping action we have come to expect from this author. And, in a development that makes the characters even more real, April's relationship with Mike has taken the next big step -- they are now married and trying to put aside their work long enough to take their honeymoon. Unfortunately a murder on Manhattan's Upper East Side delays their plans once again: Maddy Wilson, the wife of a celebrity chef, is slashed to death in her fashionable townhouse. The murder scene alone is worth the price of the book. This is a keeper!