Dirty Laundry: A Charlotte Justice Novel (Charlotte Justice Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Paula L. Woods (Author)

Book Description

Series: Charlotte Justice Novels | Publication Date: July 26, 2005

In her award-winning Charlotte Justice novels, Paula L. Woods has created a rare blend of mystery, suspense, and an unflinching social critique of urban, multiethnic America. Featuring an African American homicide detective in the LAPD’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division, this new Charlotte Justice novel is a sizzling story of murder, politics, families, and betrayal in the uneasy melting pot of Los Angeles, where everyone has their own. . . .

DIRTY LAUNDRY

For Charlotte and her team, the case begins when a woman’s body is found in L.A.’s Koreatown district, where a series of robberies and murders has already put besieged merchants on edge. Now the spectacle of a bright, successful young Korean woman found bludgeoned and bound in an alley is stirring fears, passions, and city politics. In the hours after Vicki Park’s murder, Charlotte Justice must contend with a complex crime scene and a beleaguered community’s hostility toward the police.

Interestingly enough, Vicki (like Charlotte) lived and worked in two different worlds: her close-knit Korean community and the wider political world where she served as a special aide to handsome, media-savvy Mike Santos, whose is vying to become L.A.’s first Latino mayor. With twenty-four candidates running to replace a long-standing African American incumbent, the mayor’s race is shaping up as a wild brawl, full of dirty tricks and innuendo. Is Vicki’s murder connected to the campaign or is the answer to be found in the ethnic enclave that nurtured Vicki–and that may now be hiding her killer?

While Charlotte searches for answers, she must also navigate the perils of life in the LAPD, which complicates her personal life, namely her budding relationship with Aubrey Scott, an emergency-room physician. Justifying her relentless hunt for Vicki’s killer as part of her mission as a homicide detective, Charlotte must face the possibility that her motivation may also be to ease the pain she feels over the violent death of her husband and young daughter years before–a possibility that is challenged in unexpected ways.

A powerful story about families and the secrets they keep, Dirty Laundry is a fast-paced, deeply human thriller that builds to a powerful climax. Featuring one of the great female characters in detective fiction today, this book is a fascinating portrait of Los Angeles from the streets of Koreatown to the power corridors of City Hall. Dirty Laundry is Paula Woods’s richest, most rewarding novel to date.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wood redefines L.A. urban noir as an explosive blend of race relations, politics and murder in her third installment (after Stormy Weather) of the award-winning Charlotte Justice series, which follows the career of an African-American LAPD detective after the 1978 gang-related murder of her husband and son. Fast forward to 1993, 11 months after the riots, to an L.A. still struggling with post-Rodney King tensions. Justice, now assigned to Robbery Homicide, is investigating the murder of Vicki Park, a young Korean campaign worker for Mike Santos, a former news anchor who is now a mayoral candidate. On her first case since a suspension for her part in "the mishandling of a confessed murderer," Justice, along with Det. Billie Truesdale, has to work alongside some "female-hating, trash-talking cowboys," but solving the crime unites them in a common purpose. Woods's gift for realistically depicted police work, tight plotting and succinct characterization serves her well, notably with angry, self-righteous African-American patrol supervisor Tony Brackeen and Asian Task Force Det. Young "King" Kang, who introduces Justice to the workings of Koreatown's underside. Justice's visits to her family's "Nut House" for folksy consultations and her rushed moments with boyfriend Aubrey round out this satisfying, fast-paced police procedural. Its only flaw may be that the rush to "justice" is too swift, and that the plot threads-the suspicious suicide of a former Japanese WWII criminal living in L.A.; the enigma of Park-could have been developed further.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Charlotte Justice, an African American homicide detective in the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division, is part of another elite crew, that of fictional women cops who are multidimensional and fun to watch. Justice has a tragic past: her husband and infant daughter were murdered years back. Woods gives us a convincing portrayal of a grieving widow and mother without stooping to an easy, formulaic use of Justice's tragedy. In the latest in the Justice series (previous novels include Inner City Blues [1999] and Stormy Weather [2001]), L.A.'s Koreatown is shaken by the discovery of the body of a well-known young Korean woman, a campaign strategist for a mayoral candidate. It is a high-profile case, and Justice must slog through messy city politics, her colleagues' infighting, and the Korean community's hostility to police in an investigation that grows both uglier and more threatening every day. Riveting. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345457013
• ISBN-13: 978-0345457011
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 0.8 x 4.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paula L. Woods is the author of the Charlotte Justice mystery series, including STRANGE BEDFELLOWS (2006). In conjunction with publication of the fourth novel in the series, Paula is sponsoring the Get Justice! Sweepstakes on her website, www.woodsontheweb.com, where a lucky winner can win a weekend in Los Angeles. She invites you to visit the site and enter the sweepstakes.

DIRTY LAUNDRY (2003), third novel in the Charlotte Justice series, was named a best mystery by the Seattle Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel STORMY WEATHER (2001), the second in the series, was a September 2001 Penzler's Pick on Amazon.com and was named one of the best books of 2001 by the Los Angeles Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. INNER CITY BLUES (1999), the first Charlotte Justice mystery, was on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list for three weeks and was also named by the newspaper as one of the best books of 1999. Inner City Blues received the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, was named Best First Novel by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and was nominated for the Edgar and Anthony awards for best first mystery novel.

Paula began writing mysteries after studying the genre and editing the critically acclaimed anthology SPOOKS, SPIES, AND PRIVATE EYES: BLACK MYSTERY, CRIME, AND SUSPENSE FICTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY (1995). Although SPOOKS, SPIES was nominated for an Anthony Award, Macavity Award, and received a special award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Woods always thought a voice was missing from the collection, "that of a female cop who was tough as nails but feminine enough to get her nails done." Charlotte Justice was her dynamic addition to the genre.

With Felix H. Liddell, Paula also wrote and/or edited the best-selling I, TOO SING AMERICA: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN BOOK OF DAYS (1992), as well as MERRY CHRISTMAS, BABY: A CHRISTMAS AND KWANZAA TREASURY (1996), and I HEAR A SYMPHONY: AFRICAN AMERICANS CELEBRATE LOVE (1994), the latter of which won Fiction Honors from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Multicultural Literature.

A member of the National Book Critics Circle, she reviews books regularly for the Los Angeles Times and has served a a mystery columnist for the Washington Post.

Paula is a member of Mystery Writers of America and other crime writing associations. She has also served as an Edgar judge, on the Author Committee of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and speaker at the festival.

Paula's novels are noted by critics for their searing analysis of race and gender politics in the LAPD, portrayal of a loving if dysfunctional family and strong evocation of Los Angeles' diverse ethnic communities. An L.A. native, Paula's lifelong love of books and reading has resulted in the growth of her personal library to over 1,000 volumes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Those Who Live in Glass Houses Should Not Have Dirty Laundry, November 15, 2003

By 

Dera R Williams (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirty Laundry (Charlotte Justice Novels) (Hardcover)

Paula Woods has brought back the sharp-edged, tough-talking detective, Charlotte Justice, in her latest mystery, Dirty Laundry. As always, readers can expect a supporting cast of a diverse group of detectives from all walks and cultures of the greater Los Angeles area on duty, getting the job done and putting their own twist on the murder case involved. When Vicki Park, a Korean-American woman is found dead behind a Laundromat it becomes symbolic of the dirty laundry that is thrown around throughout the novel. The murder is immediately counted as a celebrity murder as Vicki is an assistant to the Latino candidate for mayor, Mike Santos, a charismatic guy, who has some dirty laundry of his own. This is a year after the Rodney King riots in 1992 and relationships between Koreans and the Black and Latino residents of the neighborhoods where they have businesses are tenuous, to say the least. They also feel they have not been supported by the police department and the city, in general.

Charlotte is at the best place in her life as she approaches her fortieth birthday-in fact she has never been better. After the devastating, violent deaths of her husband and baby daughter fourteen years prior, she has finally found happiness with a great man, Aubrey and has made peace with her manipulative mother, who is a snob. In fact, Charlotte calls the family home where her upper-class African American family congregates, the Nut House. As a detective in the highly regarded Homicide and Robbery division, she has gone through more than her share of drama in the department. She comes into the Park murder after a particularly rough year when she brought accusations against her former superior while she was required to appear before a police commission for questionable conduct while on duty.

It is known nationally that the Los Angeles Police Department has their share of problems with countless cases of victims' abuse and corruption amongst their personnel. Woods does an effective job of demonstrating the nuances of a city under a microscope without over dramatizing the details or pointing fingers at any one issue or group. Additionally, this author does an excellent job, as in her previous novels, of giving readers a view of Los Angeles (also her home) history interwoven throughout the narrative. When Woods was here in Oakland for her book signing, she said she wanted to weave a multicultural tale that would depict the diversity of the city. In doing so she also manages to create realistic three-dimensional African American characters from different walks of life. Her characters, including the protagonist, are flawed and Woods delves deep into the psyche of these people as if they are real people. The first fifty or so pages moved a little slowly but picked up momentum and made for an evenly-paced, satisfying read. I look forward to meeting up with Detective Charlotte Justice in her next assignment.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paula Woods is Graphic! Gritty! and GREAT!, July 4, 2003

By 

Eleanor V. Miller (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirty Laundry (Charlotte Justice Novels) (Hardcover)

With the city still reeling from the aftershock of the Rodney King riots, the mean streets of Los Angeles have gotten a lot meaner and more treacherous as African-American detective Charlotte Justice of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide division returns to active duty after serving out a four-month suspension following a previous investigation which had ended tragically. Three weeks away from a potentially explosive...multi-candidate...mayoral primary, LA is a powder keg of racial/political tensions that's ready to blow at the slightest provocation. When Charlotte and her new partners, black lesbian Billie Truesdale and white 'newbie-Tec' Roger Middleton, catch their first case as a team (the cold-blooded killing of a politically-well-connected Korean-American woman whose dead body has been found bound, gagged and dumped in a Koreatown alley), it could well prove to be the high-profile spark that will destroy LAPD's last remaing shreds of credibility and set the city ablaze. Savvy, stunning Vicki Park had been working as a campaign strategist for charismatic, former news-anchor Mike Santos who is running hard and well-ahead of the pack in his campaign to become LA's first Mexican-American mayor. Apparently dissatisfied with the role which she's being asked to play in his race, has Vicki's discontent caused her murder? Charlotte's investigation becomes further complicated by another death...that of a Korean detective who has been serving as her link with the community: was it an accident or was he set up? and she needs every bit of her hard-won street smarts, detective skills and self-control to work her way through a maze of false clues, misleading information and an old-boys' Department network that would like nothing better than to see her lose her badge permanently. Inevitably, as she starts to zero in on the how's and why's of Vicki's murder, the stakes rise, and the final confrontation between Charlotte and a traitorous killer/cop had me glued to the pages until I could safely breathe again.

That's actually the best criteria that I have to praise Paula L. Woods as a fresh, unique and utterly absorbing new voice on the police procedural scene! This lady can WRITE! I came to Charlotte Justice cold, and was excited to the point where I stopped reading after only a couple of chapters (hard to do!) in order to seek out her two previous adventures first. Yes, this novel will absolutely stand-alone, but I quickly realized that if I really wanted to be able to savor its nuances...especially those having to do with the black community: its family values and focus which are so integral to Ms. Woods' plotting...obtaining additional background material from "Inner City Blues" and "Stormy Weather" could and did make an enormous difference in my enjoyment of "Dirty Laundry". I was especially enthralled and impressed by Ms. Woods' 'take' on Chalotte's experiences in dealing with the barbed-wire, racist/sexist climate in LAPD. This novel rang with the fervor of I'll-tell-it-like-it-is-let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may! authenticity, and I can tell you this: whatever she chooses to write in the future, I plan to be right there with her.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Gritty, Haunting and Intriguing Work, July 26, 2003

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Laundry (Charlotte Justice Novels) (Hardcover)

Police work involves quite a bit more than fighting crime. There is, and always has been, a political and cultural element to it, as well as the tide of different ethnicities that ebb and flow into and out of a city. This is hardly a recent development; Irish police resented the influx of Italian officers into the New York City and Chicago police ranks during and after the turn of the 20th century; the New Orleans Police Department for years roiled with the uneasy mixing of Italian and French South Louisiana officers, who in turn, had to adjust to the inevitable but overdue influx of black officers into the ranks.

The race of the officers is not the only factor that affects a police department, however. Nor is the size of the city the department patrols. There is a municipality within spitting distance of my residency that has made national headlines by virtue of the fact that it exists solely to support its police department, which writes traffic tickets by the handful, in order to support its police department, which writes traffic tickets by the handful, in order to...well, you get the idea.

Most police procedural novels lead the reader painstakingly through the evidence-gathering process, and while they may touch on the internal and external politics of the department, that touch is light and almost incidental. That is not the case with the Charlotte Justice novels.

Justice is a black homicide detective in the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division. Her creator, Charlotte Woods, has carved out a series in which Justice and her supporting characters are constantly evolving, making mistakes, paying for them, and moving on. The crimes that are investigated usually take place off the page, though the violence that is transmitted through the crime scene description to the reader is certainly graphic enough. Woods's major accomplishment, however, is to nicely balance her description of the crime-solving procedure against the backdrop of the political and social factors that affect how, and in some cases whether, the crime is investigated and the wrongdoer apprehended.

DIRTY LAUNDRY, the latest of Woods's Charlotte Justice novels, begins with the grisly discovery of a murder in a transient area of Koreatown. The victim is quickly determined to be Vicki Park, an up-and-coming political assistant to mayoral candidate Mike Santos. There is no lack of suspects, from Park's fiancée to members of Santos's campaign staff to, surprisingly enough, members of the Los Angeles Police Department. Park, it seems, was a bit of a maverick, a Korean working on the campaign of a Hispanic mayoral candidate and, as it turns out, did not approve of some of his campaign tactics. Yet, there were other mayoral candidates who also did not approve of his work.

Justice finds that her investigation is hamstrung by opportunists in the police department, political realities (she can investigate candidates, but not too closely) and even, to some extent, her personal life. It is almost a foregone conclusion that solving Park's murder will have some effect on the mayoral campaign. When the identity of the murderer is revealed, it should not be a surprise, but it is a very big one.

DIRTY LAUNDRY even contains echoes of some of Raymond Chandler's best work, in the sense that Woods, like Chandler, utilizes her well-crafted storylines as a vehicle for commenting on the culture of Los Angeles. Reading Woods is like walking down the sidewalk of a neighborhood that you would, at best, only drive through, if you knew that it existed at all. The difference is that, once you take one of Woods's tours, you will keep coming back.

Given the fresh publicity that accompanies the publishing of DIRTY LAUNDRY, Woods can begin getting the attention her work needs and so greatly deserves. DIRTY LAUNDRY is a gritty, haunting work that is intriguing the first time through and that will no doubt stand up to repetitive readings.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub