Stealing Time (April Woo Suspense Novels) [Paperback]

Leslie Glass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000 | Series: April Woo Suspense Novels (Book 5)

With her mastery of police procedure and unflinching take on race relations, Leslie Glass is one of today's most original female suspense writers. April Woo's investigation of a child's disappearance in New York's Chinatown takes a nasty turn when suspicion falls on the wealthy parents. The father is hostile, the mother is unconscious, the police are without a lead, and all the pressure is on April. The facts don't add up and April's only hope of cracking the case is to find the child's real mother. Everyone involved is clearly hiding something, but is bound to silence by fear or guilt or both. With the reporters, her superior officers, and her own mother pressuring her, April is stuck in the middle of the kind of high-profile case most cops despise-- the kind of case perfect for cool-headed Sergeant Woo.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

April Woo (Judging Time, 1998, etc.) straddles two incompatible worlds: As a detective sergeant in the NYPD, she must be ambitious and aggressive; as the daughter of superstitious, demanding Chinese parents, she must be obedient and deferential. These tensions are the most involving aspect of this novel heavy on plot and coincidence. When Heather Rose Papescu, the Chinese-American wife of an affluent lawyer, is beaten and her adopted baby vanishes, it seems a straightforward kidnapping case. But Heather refuses to identify her attacker, and she and her husband, Anton, cannot produce adoption papers. Woven into the story is the plight of deathly ill Lin Tsing, an illegal alien working in a Chinatown factory owned by Anton's brutal relatives; Lin feels betrayed by her cousin, Nanci, who, coincidentally, was April's childhood friend. April's investigation of a case involving interracial marriage, meanwhile, prompts guilt over her affair with Latino cop Mike Sanchez. As the search for an apparently illegitimate baby continues, April examines her relationship with her parents, comparing her sense of assimilation with Heather's, who has also rejected Chinese traditions, and with Nanci's, who lives within them. While this overpopulated, overschematized story ends on an up beat, it's the themes of shame, guilt and familial obedience that make it work. Agent, Nancy Yost.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

NYPD Detective April Woo faces conflict in all directions--from bosses who are dubious about a woman in a macho department; to her Chinese mother, who is unwilling to see her child assimilated in a foreign world; and her boyfriend, who is pushing her toward commitment. April must negotiate her way through all these delicate relationships as she tries to find a missing Chinese-American baby. Kathy Hsieh's April is enormously appealing, if perhaps a bit innocent-sounding for a veteran police officer. More impressive are Hsieh's side characters, particularly April's mother and a wily Chinese woman who seems to know more about the crime than she lets on. Hsieh's reading perfectly captures the mixture of suspicion, guile, and manipulation that are part of Glass's complex characters. M.O. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Signet (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451199650
• ISBN-13: 978-0451199652
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank heaven for Leslie Glass, June 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Time (April Woo Suspense Novels) (Hardcover)

By far the best in this compelling series, STEALING TIME is a gripping read. I am constantly shocked by Glass's masterful ability to bring her reader inside the complex and realistic character of April Woo again and again. Unlike many other mystery series I have tried, the TIME series creates a true fictional world inhabited by believable and engaging characters; it remains the only modern mystery series that captivates my attention. STEALING TIME is a gem. Cheers, Ms. Glass! Keep up the good work!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lst rate, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Time (April Woo Suspense Novels) (Paperback)

Once again Leslie Glass has produced a fast paced lst rate mystery centered upon a heroine, Dectective Woo, of complexity -- a modern professional woman who struggles to preserve loyalty to her family yet separate psychologically from family myths and outdated cultural expectations which distress her.The reader is provided a double treat: the opportunity to track down the "bad guys" while enjoying this heroine's psychological growth.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice page turner, April 9, 2000

By 

Steven R. Kissel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stealing Time (April Woo Suspense Novels) (Paperback)

I recommend this book to any mystery buff who enjoys a plot of medium complexity, some interesting characters, and a touch of humor. The book is one of a series featuring NYPD detective April Woo, who is not anyone's idea of a stereotypical Chinese-American female. She, however, must deal with multicultural pressures including her own zany mother who's prescription for any medical ailment is "dragon bones and sour herbs". The mystery involves a missing child and a beaten mother and brings April back to her old haunts in New York's Chinatown where the reader is introduced to a number of sinister characters. There is no gratuitous violence; there is not a long list of suspects or crimes. I had one disappointment with the plot. The book devotes much time in building up the reader's compassion for one of the characters only to have the character killed off; I would have liked a happier ending. But it held my attention and I look forward to more in the series.