Street Rules

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, Hard Hitting
Review: Baxter Claire takes you to the mean streets of LA, but with a modern twist. The language is vibrant and real, the story compelling and in the end the street does rule, just as it often does in real life. Lt. Franco and her squad are imperfect and interesting. This is a powerful series.

Rating:
Summary: Good plot, not so great dialogue
Review: I agree with the earlier reviewer that there is too much "gang lingo" in this book. However, if you can get past it, the plot is rather well done. Not as good as her first book ("Bleeding Out"), but good. The underlying love story is very well done and kept me turning the pages, hoping Frank wouldn't let Gail get away.

Rating:
Summary: Good plot, not so great dialogue
Review: I agree with the earlier reviewer that there is too much "gang lingo" in this book. However, if you can get past it, the plot is rather well done. Not as good as her first book ("Bleeding Out"), but good. The underlying love story is very well done and kept me turning the pages, hoping Frank wouldn't let Gail get away.

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, Hard Hitting
Review: I waited three years for this book, and was very disappointed when I finally got it. I read Clare's first book (Bleeding Out, Firebrand Books, 2000)and was amazed and astounded at the talent of that debut mystery.

In this outing, Detective L.A. Franco of the LAPD is faced with the murder of the Estrella family in the barrio. With few leads, and a closed society with its code of silence, she has difficulty finding the killer. Finally, the coroner makes a suggestion, over dinner, that leads to Franco building a case against the killer.

[...] There are too many typos, too many barrio words that need explanation (there are whole conversations that, unless the reader speaks the language, leaves the reader in the dark), too many instances where the author changed a character's name and the old name remains in the manuscript. The book, at 292 pages, is too long - another problem a good editor could fix.

This book did not have the robust, assured writing of the first. I'm hoping that this is merely the second-book doldrums and Clare returns to what made Bleeding Out such a strong entry in the world of procedurals.

[...]

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I waited three years for this book, and was very disappointed when I finally got it. I read Clare's first book (Bleeding Out, Firebrand Books, 2000)and was amazed and astounded at the talent of that debut mystery.

In this outing, Detective L.A. Franco of the LAPD is faced with the murder of the Estrella family in the barrio. With few leads, and a closed society with its code of silence, she has difficulty finding the killer. Finally, the coroner makes a suggestion, over dinner, that leads to Franco building a case against the killer.

[...] There are too many typos, too many barrio words that need explanation (there are whole conversations that, unless the reader speaks the language, leaves the reader in the dark), too many instances where the author changed a character's name and the old name remains in the manuscript. The book, at 292 pages, is too long - another problem a good editor could fix.

This book did not have the robust, assured writing of the first. I'm hoping that this is merely the second-book doldrums and Clare returns to what made Bleeding Out such a strong entry in the world of procedurals.

[...]