police woman in LA, lesbian

I'm conflicted about this novel. On the one hand, wow, followed by a whoa. It's fast paced, tightly written and a very, very intense plot. But on the other hand from one moment to the next one page or chapter to the next I wasn't sure if I liked the characters, minor and major, or not. It wasn't that they were badly written. I think that they were so much more human than the normal (even really good) novel characters. On more than one occasion I wanted slap Frankie, or Kennedy upside the head 'cause they were being stupid.

The main story is about Lt. Detective "Frankie" Franco, who commands the LAPD Homicide Squad #93, there are a few different cases, but the main one is about a serial killer who likes to beat and humiliate young women (that would be the very intense part).

Interspersed between the police procedural parts of the novel were short vignettes from the point of view of the killer. They were well done. They didn't make me like the guy, but they did contain some of the killer's story from a non-police point of view. Some mitigating circumstances even.

A solid three stars and almost a four star book, if I'd been able to engage with the characters just a bit more. Still I'll keep reading the series. ( )