Praise for
Tracking Time
"Filled with wit and intelligence."
—The Dallas Morning News
"It all comes together in a suspenseful climax that tingles and tangles most satisfactorily ... well-plotted."
—Kirkus Reviews
"The strength of Glass's story lies in her cultivation of themes—broken families, culture clash, ambition and pride." —
Publishers Weekly
"[A] brash New York thriller.. . The writing style seems to fit the city's and heroine's characters."
—The Post and Courier
(Charleston, SC)
"With a plot as real and frightening as today's headlines, nail-biting suspense, and palpable tension,
Tracking Time
is a classic page-turner . .. riveting."
—Romantic Times
"Glass's newest entry succeeds at all levels ... excellent." —BookBrowser
"With each new work, the April Woo tales seem to get better ... Leslie Glass uses her beguiling heroine to provide a humanized police investigation that turns Tracking Time into a wonderful treat for anyone who enjoys a great story starring a strong individual."
—The Midwest Book Reviews
"This engrossing mystery is hard to set aside."
—Pacific Reader Literary Supplement
"An exciting and carefully crafted police procedural."
—I Love a Mystery
More praise for the novels of Leslie Glass
"One terrific read." —Tami Hoag
"Glass anatomizes relationships with a light touch of the scalpel." —
The New York Times Book Review
"Skillful... compelling . .. Weaving together divergent cultures and their people is one of Ms. Glass's strengths." —
The Dallas Morning News
"Detective Woo is the next generation descended from Ed McBain's 87th precinct." — Hartford Courant
"Fast-paced, gritty . . . [April Woo] joins Kinsey Mill-hone and Kay Scarpetta in the ranks of female crime fighters." — Library Journal
"Builds to an explosive climax as unpredictable and surprising as April Woo herself. A fresh, engrossing read." — New York Times bestselling author Perri O'Shaughnessy
"An intense thriller. . . Glass provides several surprises, characters motivated by a lively cast of inner demons and, above all, a world where much is not as it initially seems." —Publishers Weekly
"Glass not only draws the reader into the crazed and gruesome world of the killer, but also cleverly develops the character of Woo ... and her growing attraction for partner Sanchez." — The Orlando Sentinel
"A masterful storyteller in the field of psychological suspense." — Abilene Reporter-News
"Sharp as a scalpel.. . Scary as hell. Leslie Glass is Lady McBain." —New York Times bestselling author Michael Palmer
"If you're a Thomas Harris fan anxiously awaiting the next installment of the 'Hannibal the Cannibal' series and looking for a new thriller to devour, you'll find it in Burning Time." —Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"A suspenseful story in which those who appear to be sane may actually harbor the darkest secrets of all." —Mostly Murder
"The plot is clever . .. and the ending is a genuine surprise. Woo is so appealing a protagonist that Leslie Glass can keep her going for a long time." —The Newark Star-Ledger
"Glass writes a masterful police procedural. . . But it's her wonderfully rich portrait of smart, sensible, intrepid, stubborn April Woo that sets this book apart." —Booklist
"Brilliant. . . Skillfully done." —The Tampa Tribune-Times
"Glass does a masterful job of building suspense, and she's a wizard at creating believable, unforgettable characters." — Romantic Times
'This series [is] a winner." —Mystery News
"Tough, fast, edgy ... a layered and rewarding book." —Contra Costa Times
ALSO BY LESLIE GLASS
Tracking Time
Stealing Time
Judging Time
ONYX
First published by Onyx, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.
First Printing, June 2002
Copyright © Leslie Glass, 2002 Excerpt copyright © Leslie Glass, 2002 All rights reserved
For Alex and Lindsey
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For a decade the officers of the New York City Police Department and the New York City Police Foundation have been my constant source of inspiration. Every year I have a greater appreciation for the people who serve and defend New York City. This year more than ever before, I want to acknowledge and commend the NYPD for the courage of its personnel in all its departments and their profound commitment to protect the citizens of New York City no matter how perilous the job.
Thanks especially to Commissioner Bernard Kerik and Deputy Commissioner Maureen Casey and all the top brass for their tireless caring for all the personnel in the department and for the people of New York in the toughest of times. I also want to thank Deputy Chief Dewey Fong for Chinese opera and the Borough of Queens, Inspector Barbara Sicilia for Hate, Detective Margaret Eng Wallace and Detective Ed Wallace for wedding photos and crime scene background, also Lieutenant Joe Blosis of the Crime Scene Unit. Thanks to Pam Delaney, Judy Dyna, Greg Roberts, and all my friends at Crime Stoppers and the Police Foundation for all the good they do.
Two years ago I ran a contest on my Web site. The prize: the winner would appear as a character in my next book. Seems a long time ago, but we do have a winner. His name is Anthony Price. He's a Welsh butler now living on the north shore of Long Island. I interviewed Anthony, changed his name from Price to Pryce, and made up a family for him. Here he is, probably not as sinister as he would like to be.
I am deeply grateful for the friendship and help of Dorothy Harris, director of the Leslie Glass Foundation and perpetual reader and advisor, for being with me every step of the way. Dr. Rosemary Perez Foster of New York University's Ehrenkranz School of Social Work, and Dr. Linda Mills of New York University's School of Law have provided insight into the psychology of traumatized immigrants and the Orthodox community. Claudia Oberweger, C.S.W., C.A.S.A.C., has taught me a great deal about substance and alcohol abuse. Thanks to Nancy Yost and Audrey LaFehr, Woo fans in all seasons.
One
On May ninth, at three-thirty in the afternoon, two months after her eighteenth birthday, Tovah Schoenfeld was getting dressed for her wedding and living the last half hour of her life. She was in a downstairs room of Temple Shalom, near where the caterers were fussing over the last details of the reception and dinner to come. She was perspiring in her heavy bridal gown and very nervous.
To get her married, Tovah's father and mother had tried to make all her dreams come true. Thus she was wearing a Tang Ling gown of white satin covered with lace and seed pearls, unlike anything her friends had ever seen. Her dream had been for a sleeveless gown, something cut down below the hollow in her neck, but exposing skin was not allowed. So this dress was a waterfall that completely enveloped her. Folds of it tumbled down from her shoulders in a wide swath of puddling, snowy silk that weighed a ton and completely hid her beautiful figure.