Mystery/Thriller Book Reviews
Page Two of TwoTracking Time by Leslie Glass
Dutton, October 2000.Hardcover, 320 pages.
ISBN: 0525944699.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
NYPD Detective April Woo
has her hands full with her latest case. A bright young
psychiatrist, Dr. Maslow Atkins, went out for his evening jog in
Central Park, and hasn't been heard from since. April is out of
her jurisdiction, but her instincts tell her that Maslow is still
alive somewhere in the park. After a much-publicized K-9
search of the park fails to turn up Maslow, the full weight
of the press and her superiors falls on Woo's
small but sturdy shoulders. As she investigates further, April
discovers that the only people who have knowledge of the
doctor's disappearance are a disturbed young woman called
Allegra, and two very spoiled, wealthy, sociopathic adolescents:
Brandy and David. When another victim is found murdered in
the park, April knows that time is running out to solve the
case and to find Maslow Atkins alive.
This is one cop series which just keeps getting better and better. April Woo is a fascinating woman of many contradictions. Raised in Queens by her formidable traditional Chinese mother (Skinny Dragon to April) and her quiet, chef father, April is torn between her American upbringing and her mother's wishes (well, demands really) that she marry a nice Chinese doctor and settle down to have lots of children. Despite her diminutive size, she's a tough cop -- and a smart one. Tracking Time is an edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller; the precocious and sociopathic teens Brandy and David are chilling, especially in light of the Columbine massacre and other current events which show that clearly there are more than a few disturbed and violent teens in our society today. April's love interest, Mexican American NYPD Detective Mike Sanchez, is a compelling and likeable character, and Skinny Dragon always provides some welcome comic relief with her impossible demands and bizarre superstitions. If you haven't made the acquaintance of April Woo, by all means do so. Highly recommended.
--Claire E. White
Trust Fund by Stephen Frey
Ballantine, January 2001.Hardcover, 341 pages.
ISBN: 0345428293.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Bo Hancock, a financial wizard, is also the
black sheep of his billionaire family.
Hancock heads Warfield Capital, a
multi-billion dollar investment firm
which is the basis of the family's
wealth. Unfortunately for Bo, his
father favors his brothers Teddy and Paul,
especially now that Paul is campaigning
for the U.S. presidency. It looks likely that Paul
will win, but the family isn't taking any
chances of having Bo foul things up.
They want Bo and his drinking problem
out of the way. So Bo's control-freak father,
with the support of his brothers,
sends Bo off to nowheresville Montana. The
family replaces him at Warfield and
concentrates on the presidential race.
However, everything is not as it seems
at Warfield; Paul has some
wrongdoing in his past that could
damage his presidential bid, and there
are plenty of enemies that would love
to see the Hancocks and Warfield Capital
fail. A year later, after the sudden
death of his father, Bo fights his way back
into the helm at Warfield only to find a slew of
financial problems he has to solve. Not
to mention the fact that someone is trying
to kill him and ruin the reputation and
financial stake of his self-absorbed family.
Stephen Frey is familiar to many readers as a writer of fast-paced, exciting financial thrillers, including The Takeover, The Inner Sanctum and The Vulture Fund. The plot of Trust Fund is not quite on par with Frey's last novel, The Insider, which was much more original and more focused. One highlight in Trust Fund is Bo Hancock, an interesting character who has to overcome a drinking problem and the ridicule of his brothers to solve his family's problems, save his marriage and avoid financial ruin. Despite a somewhat mediocre plot, fans of Stephen Frey's and financial thrillers will still enjoy this one.
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