Stormy Weather

In Inner City Blues (1999), set during the LA Riots, Detective Charlotte Justice burst onto the sister sleuth scene with a vengeance. Now, in the second Justice novel, Paula L. Woods continues the story of this sharp homicide investigator as she searches for the answers surrounding the death of a pioneering black Hollywood director. Charlotte continues to loathe her superior Steve Firestone, who made sexual advances towards her and has her riding the desk, where she is adrift in a sea of paperwork and administrative duties instead of out in the field. So when Charlotte's comrade Billie from across town tips her to the death of the director, Maynard Duncan, Charlotte is ready to get back down to business. The death seems strikingly familiar to a recent Kevorkian-like case Billie was an integral part of, and Billie needs Charlotte's help to find out if the two cases are connected.The circumstances surrounding the death of Maynard Duncan allow Charlotte, and her not-so-friendly partner Gena Cortez, a look into the lives of the director and his close associates and into the depths of what Duncan himself dubbed "Hidden Hollywood."STORMY WEATHER picks up right where Inner City Blues left off, but adds more insight to Charlotte's family and personal life. Her beau Audrey and her brother Perris are recurring characters, as are the ghosts of her deceased husband and daughter. Woods is a great storyteller, and she keeps you intrigued and allows you to easily become enraptured with the newest addition in the Charlotte Justice saga.Reviewed by CandaceK

Okay, here's the drill: Stock up on finger foods and drinks. Turn off the telephone. Take the day off from work and don't even answer your e-mail. Tell everyone that you're going away for the day and can't be reached. Get into comfortable clothes. Find a comfortable spot with comfort food within an arm's reach. Open Stormy Weather reverently and begin to read . . . By the end of chapter one you will have zoned out of reality and into Detective Charotte Justice's world and you will not want to come back . . . ever. Promise!!

Being a Southern Californian who has a mystery novel in current release, I certainly want clearly state my admiration for Paula Woods' new novel STORMY WEATHER. On the same Sunday that Ms. Woods organized a Mystery Writers of America function honoring Anthony Boucher, STORMY WEATHER received TWO SEPARATE HIGHLY POSITIVE reviews in the LA TIMES. This follow-up to the critically acclaimed INNER CITY BLUES concerns the death of a pioneering African-American filmmaker. The novel deals with serious racial issues within the Los Angeles film community and within the LAPD. It additionally deals with the hardships any woman detective must endure to pursue a career with the LAPD. In STORMY WEATHER, Ms. Woods continues to develop her Charlotte Justice character. Detective Justice continues dealing with past issues such as the deaths of her husband and child. Charlotte is also struggling to continue building a relationship with her doctor boyfriend. In STORMY WEATHER, Paula Woods attempts to tell a complex story on several distinct levels. From this author's perspective, Ms. Woods is entirely successful.

"Stormy Weather" is a great follow-up to Paula Woods first mystery novel, "Inner City Blues". Her evocative picture of Los Angeles reminded me of what the LA I grew up in looked like and felt like within the last 40 years. Her writing is excellent. The characters are believable and I found myself rooting for Det. Charlotte Justice all the way. Woods writes one of those complicated mysteries that keep you guessing who might have done it and why and then throws another twist or new information in that keeps you guessing. Her secondary plots, thankfully there are more than one, are equally as satisfying. I'm looking forward to a third Charlotte Justice mystery.

"Stormy Weather" is a great follow-up to Paula Woods first mystery novel,"Inner City Blues". Her evocative picture of Los Angeles reminded me of what the LA I grew up in looked like and felt like within the last 40 years.Her writing is excellent. The characters are believable and I found myself rooting for Det. Charlotte Justice all the way. Woods writes one of those complicated mysteries that keep you guessing who might have done it and why and then throws another twist or new information in that keeps you guessing. Her secondary plots, thankfully there are more than one, are equally as satisfying. I'm looking forward to a third Charlotte Justice mystery.