Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries Series by Baxter Clare
Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries #1
Bleeding Out
Baxter Clare
Fans of police procedurals and the grittier murder mysteries will welcome Baxter Clare's debut novel, in which a hardened female police lieutenant, L.A. Franco, known as "Frank," tries to catch a serial rapist and murderer while stoically nursing her grief over the shooting death of her lover Maggie. Having been assigned right out of the academy to Figueroa, the LAPD's roughest district, at 39, Frank's "mastery of the mean streets was no longer a question, either for herself, her colleagues, or the veteranos and OGs within the division." As a (closeted) lesbian and a legendary hard-ass, Frank isn't the most popular of cops, but she earns the grudging admiration of almost everyone she works with. In a film, she would be played by Humphrey Bogart, and speak out of the side of her mouth. Despite this stereotypical characterization, and some tedious, slangy dialogue between cops that periodically interrupts the flow of the story, Bleeding Out is fairly engrossing. Frank may not be new, but she's effectively drawn, and her exploits on the trail of the killer would enliven a beach vacation or a transatlantic flight. --Regina Marler
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Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries #2
Street Rules
Baxter Clare
For Frank, L.A.P.D. Homicide Lieutenant L.A. Franco and her homicide squad, it's business as usual — a multiple murder, ugly as it is, at least seems to have an easy explanation. Until it coincides with an untimely drive-by shooting. The investigation ultimately pulls Frank and her squad in conflicting directions while drawing Frank closer to the county's new Chief Coroner, Gail Lawless. Through a series of twists and turns, all Frank's leads eventually bring her to the disquieting possibility that the killer she seeks might well be one of her own brothers in blue. Baxter Clare lives on a ranch in Southern California with her longtime companion.
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Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries #3
Cry Havoc
Baxter Clare
Lambda Literary Award Nominee Lieutenant Franco faces a psychotic killer. Case closures are up and homicide rates are down for LAPD's 93rd Homicide Squad. "Frank", Lieutenant L.A. Franco, is revitalizing her depleted detective crew while quietly mending private scars. And Frank is about to need all the back she can muster as she faces her own personal demons while trying not to jeopardize her developing relationship with Gail. When a corner hustler turns up dead with a headless rooster in his lap, Frank realizes she's up against Mother Love-Jones, renowned psychic, drug dealer and santería priestess. Soon Frank becomes inexorably pulled into Mother Love's ambush. Heedless of the warnings around her, Frank plunges into battle with Mother Love and her violent minions: A battle as dark and deadly as the ancient bloodied sands from which it sprang.**
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Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries #4
Last Call
Baxter Clare
LAPD Homicide Lieutenant L. A. "Frank" Franco is back in the latest installment of the popular Detective Franco Mystery series. Six years ago, Lieutenant L. A. Francos partner, Detective Noah Jantzen, investigated the case of a double homicide of two innocent children. Unable to close the case, the two murdered children haunted Noah for years Now that case is haunting Frank, who must cope with the loss of her dear friend and right-hand man. Unwilling to deal with her grief, Franco buries herself in obsessive work, rigid denial and bottle after bottle of her favorite alcoholic beverage. Franks refusal to mourn her old friend strains her business relationships and more importantly, the romantic relationship with the countys Chief Coroner. Focused only on solving the cold case of the murdered children, can Frank see the cost to those around her and the risk to her own life?
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Detective L.A. Franco Mysteries #5
End of Watch
Baxter Clare
Francis M. Franco. Shot for three bucks and change. The only witness, his ten-year old daughter. Thirty-five years later, that daughter is LAPD Lieutenant L.A. Franco. Tired of running, Frank realizes its time to either face the past or die by its long hand. In an effort to quiet her demons she returns home, to New York’s Lower East Side. But the journey intended to rest old ghosts only resurrects them. While visiting her mother’s grave Frank is stunned to discover a lead in her father’s long-unsolved murder. Aided by NYPD Detective Annie Silvester, Frank follows the lone clue down the unlit steps of memory to a final, unthinkable resolution. In End of Watch, L.A. Franco at last kneels before Fate and in so doing becomes its master.**
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