Product Description

She barely escaped a deranged killer in "Hanging Time", but now Chinese-American police detective April Woo faces even more danger at a prestigious New York psychiatric center where someone is twisting love into something obsessive, sinister and deadly. Together with psychoanalyst Jason Frank, April is out to solve her most complex and disturbing case yet, where one man is tired of waiting for justice to prevail, and where others are--literally--dying for love. Online promo.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #582436 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-01
• Released on: 1997-11-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
From the author of Hanging Time and Burning Time comes an intense thriller centering around the suspicious death of a former psychiatric patient, Raymond Cowles. Fourteen years before he's found dead with a plastic bag over his head, Cowles was "cured" of his homosexual fantasies by the beautiful and ambitious Clara Treadwell, then a resident at the New York Psychiatric Centre. Now Treadwell, currently director of the center, and her former mentor, Harold Dickey, face allegations of malpractice and sexual impropriety arising from Cowles's death. Detective April Woo and Sergeant Mike Sanchez of the NYPD quickly become twin thorns in Treadwell's side, and romance blossoms between them. When someone begins playing malicious gags on Treadwell (used condoms planted in her desk-drawer and daybook), she blames Dickey, whom she seduced and discarded on her way to the top. Treadwell's trouble doubles when a lethal mixture of booze and Elavil kills the embittered man who'd loved and helped her. Woo and Sanchez realize there's a connection between the deaths of Dickey and Cowles, but they must walk a long and tortuous road before getting at the truth. On the way to a predictable ending, Glass provides several surprises, characters motivated by a lively cast of inner demons and, above all, a world where much is not as it initially seems. In Glass's dark vision, the cops need policing, and the shrinks are in dire need of psychiatric help.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In her sixth book, Glass brings back NYPD Detective April Woo, her partner Mike Sanchez, and psychiatrist Jason Frank. This time, the focus is on New York's prestigious Psychiatric Centre, its director, Dr. Clara Treadwell, and the tragic suicide of Ray Cowles, one of Treadwell's former patients. Unfortunately, this is a tangled and confusing story, which lacks Glass' usual taut plotting and gripping suspense. The plot revolves around the discovery that Cowles' suicide may have been a homicide. Along with the main plot, there are assorted subplots involving Woo and her quest for advancement, Sanchez's oft-foiled attempts to win Woo's affections, and Frank's on-again-off-again marriage. Despite its lack of focus, the novel is worth buying for Glass' flashes of ingenuity and humor as she describes Woo's demanding, old-fashioned Chinese mother and the ambivalent relationship between Woo and Sanchez. Another plus: Glass' intriguing descriptions of cop-shop politics. A misstep, yes, but a series worth supporting. Emily Melton

Review
"An intense thriller...Glass provides several surprises, characters with a lively cast of inner demons and, above all, a world where nothing is as it initially seems."
--Publishers Weekly

"Glass clearly knows her psychology....The corruption of power, the power of love, and the clash of cultures--all contribute to the reader's enjoyment."
--Pen and Dagger

"Detective Woo is the next generation descended from McBain's 87th Precinct."
--The Hartford Courant -- Review

Customer Reviews

Not as good as Hanging Time or Burning Time
Aside from the lame title (seems more appropriate for a sleazy romance), this book was less than appealing to me. The plot development was SLOW...not that I even cared what was going on. The characters didn't DO much, the sections focusing on April's mother and Sanchez's mother were seemingly pointless, and the "crime" was boring. Get it at the library or skip it altogether.

VERY Slow - Worst of the 1st 4 in the April Woo series
You know a mystery isn't very riveting when it takes 9 wks. to read it! I only stuck with it because I loved the 1st 2 April Woo books & wanted to see what would happen with the personal lives of the 3 main characters: Det. April Woo, Det. Sgt. Mike Sanchez (her potential love interest), & psychiarist Jason Frank, M.D. who is very likeable (& generally intriguing but not in this installment) but has a troubled marriage.

I kept hitting boring spots and then wouldn't read it for a week. Then I'd have to skim the last couple chapters I'd read because I'd forgettten what happened in just 1 week's time because it wasn't very memorable.

The first 2 books in the April Woo series I just flew through. I gave them 4-5 stars each. This one gets bogged down by a lack of action. New developments are too slowly revealed to hold the reader's attention. Also, unlike the 1st 2 books, the writing style is clunky. I would re-read sentences because there was more than one way to interpret them and even with re-reading them I still was unsure what Glass meant. I don't normally have this problem -- I have a Bachelor's Degree from a good university with a minor in English.