Bleeding Out

Clare's first novel, Bleeding Out, is a taut, gritty, psychological thriller set in contemporary South Los Angeles. Police Lt. L.A. Franco is a tough, tall, handsome, intelligent, dyke investigator. Years ago, the traumatic loss of her lover prompted Franco to shut down much of her personal life and focus on work. Years in one of the city's toughest districts have built an armor around Franco. Franco cares about the people in her district and is alarmed when the first victim of a serial murderer appears. Franco sees the pattern in these murders as an extension of earlier, increasingly brutal, rapes and walks a razor's edge as she allows herself to sink deeper into the killer's mind in order to track him down. Clare provides remarkable insight into the "rearing" of a serial killer in a series of short, often horrific vignettes at the beginning of each chapter. These hauntingly powerful depictions stay with the reader. Allison Kennedy, a young, smart mouthed, narcotics officer is brought in to act as bait for the killer. Displeased with the stake out plan, Franco is annoyed, worried and just a little attracted to Kennedy. --Feelings that Franco does not welcome, yet may be important for her salvation. Not because their relationship is necessarily destined to be a success, this is not a "happily ever after" love story. -- Because for the first time in years Franco feels more than simple lust for another woman and is willing to risk the relationship.Some of Clare's secondary characters are difficult to differentiate, particularly in the macho police world. Yet other characters are complex, compassionately drawn and touchingly real. Not a thoughtless, pleasant armchair mystery; Bleeding Out is a well written, engrossing thriller of police investigation and politics.

I found drops of brillance in Bleeding Out. As with any debut novel, I give the authoress her due. Baxter Clare introduces us to the world of Lt. Franko and all that is entailed in her inner city struggle between criminals and police politics in solving a serial rapist case. We are also privy to inner demons of a violently lost lesbian love, a rebirth into a non-conforming society, and an isolation finally thrown off. Almost as if cloaks of darkness removed will allow voids to be filled--like buttery warmed pastries & the playing of "These Foolish Things" ( I prefer Etta James' version ) can fulfill a Sunday morn.An intriguing criminal read with inner glimpses into important issues of lesbianism.

How did L. A. Franco ever get her job? She hates her boss and distrusts the whole LA Police Department that she works for in Baxter Clare's good, new book "Bleeding Out". She's tough and competent. I got the book for a birthday present, and I wasn't sure I'd finish it. The back cover blurb says "Mystery/Lesbian Fiction", and that isn't anything I'd pick up for myself. But after a few pages, just a sample, I couldn't leave the book alone. Baxter Clare's first novel is a hell of a story. It's very graphic, but that goes with the territory, Southeast Los Angeles. Frank, that's what everybody calls Franco, drags you along with her single-minded determination to get the villain. She's real and her friends and coworkers are real. And the bad guy is really BAD. "Bleeding Out" is what a thriller should be. It will have broad appeal among all us mystery fans.

This is a very well written book, but the subject matter is quite disturbing. There were a couple of times that I had to lay the book down, the story was that intense. Probably not for the real squeamish, but definitely a "keeper".

Police lieutenant L.A. Franco commands Homicide Squad #93 in the gang-ravaged heart of south-central Los Angeles. A workaholic, she allows nothing into her bruised private life but booze and exercise, football and music. But when one, then another brutally murdered girl turns up within Frank's jurisdiction, the pressures of running one of the country's busiest homicide units increases when Frank and her squad find themselves dealing with a serial rapist turned murderer. As investigative leads go nowhere, a trap is laid for the unknown assailant. The bait is Allison Kennedy, a playful young narcotics detective who seems to delight in irritating Frank. The two women face are compelled to forge an alliance in order to survive as their hunt for the killer brings Frank painfully close to her own demons and she must choose between freeing herself from the bonds of a turbulent past, or remain fatally shackled by them. Bleeding Out is a superb police thriller, and justly documents Baxter Clare as one of the best.