An intriguing criminal read with inner glimpses into important issues of lesbianism.
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.
The lesser characters are very well defined and the reader can't help but empathize with each one in turn as they deal with varying aspects of their jobs and the unrelenting stress that takes them ever closer to burning out. But what makes this book work is the portrait the reader is given of the main character Lt. L.A. Franco. Here is a woman who willingly tortures herself with a past that she refuses to forget, preferring, instead, to inundate herself with work, alcohol and exercise.
The only drawbacks to this otherwise fantastic novel, are Clare's over reliance on nicknames and her portrait of Kennedy, a detective from another unit who is recruited as a decoy to try and trap the killer. After wading through more nicknames then I could count, I completely gave up trying to fit them with corresponding characters. As well, Clare's portrait of Kennedy as a drawling, gum cracking, pseudo surfer chick strains credibility. However, these are very minor flaws in an otherwise great book. This is one novel that will keep readers in its grasp long after the last page has been read.
