With the city still reeling from the aftershock of the Rodney King riots, the mean streets of Los Angeles have gotten a lot meaner and more treacherous as African-American detective Charlotte Justice of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide division returns to active duty after serving out a four-month suspension following a previous investigation which had ended tragically. Three weeks away from a potentially explosive...multi-candidate...mayoral primary, LA is a powder keg of racial/political tensions that's ready to blow at the slightest provocation. When Charlotte and her new partners, black lesbian Billie Truesdale and white 'newbie-Tec' Roger Middleton, catch their first case as a team (the cold-blooded killing of a politically-well-connected Korean-American woman whose dead body has been found bound, gagged and dumped in a Koreatown alley), it could well prove to be the high-profile spark that will destroy LAPD's last remaing shreds of credibility and set the city ablaze. Savvy, stunning Vicki Park had been working as a campaign strategist for charismatic, former news-anchor Mike Santos who is running hard and well-ahead of the pack in his campaign to become LA's first Mexican-American mayor. Apparently dissatisfied with the role which she's being asked to play in his race, has Vicki's discontent caused her murder? Charlotte's investigation becomes further complicated by another death...that of a Korean detective who has been serving as her link with the community: was it an accident or was he set up? and she needs every bit of her hard-won street smarts, detective skills and self-control to work her way through a maze of false clues, misleading information and an old-boys' Department network that would like nothing better than to see her lose her badge permanently. Inevitably, as she starts to zero in on the how's and why's of Vicki's murder, the stakes rise, and the final confrontation between Charlotte and a traitorous killer/cop had me glued to the pages until I could safely breathe again.

That's actually the best criteria that I have to praise Paula L. Woods as a fresh, unique and utterly absorbing new voice on the police procedural scene! This lady can WRITE! I came to Charlotte Justice cold, and was excited to the point where I stopped reading after only a couple of chapters (hard to do!) in order to seek out her two previous adventures first. Yes, this novel will absolutely stand-alone, but I quickly realized that if I really wanted to be able to savor its nuances...especially those having to do with the black community: its family values and focus which are so integral to Ms. Woods' plotting...obtaining additional background material from "Inner City Blues" and "Stormy Weather" could and did make an enormous difference in my enjoyment of "Dirty Laundry". I was especially enthralled and impressed by Ms. Woods' 'take' on Chalotte's experiences in dealing with the barbed-wire, racist/sexist climate in LAPD. This novel rang with the fervor of I'll-tell-it-like-it-is-let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may! authenticity, and I can tell you this: whatever she chooses to write in the future, I plan to be right there with her.

Eleven months after the Rodney King Riots, Los Angeles remains fragmented along racial lines and the LAPD is still reeling from the fact that four of their own are going to be on trial. Some members of the community are trying to heal the troubled city by campaigning for the mayoral candidate that they believe will work to unite the racially divided city. Korean-American Vicki Park believes that Latino candidate Mike Santos is the person for the job and works as a campaign strategist on his election team until someone kills her.

African-American LAPD homicide detective Charlotte Justice, a black woman who can pass for white, knows how racially and sexually prejudiced the department is against blacks and women. She is assigned to find out who killed Vicki Park and dumped her burned body in a back alley in Koreantown. Aware of what a political hot potato she is dealing with and just coming off a suspension because she killed a dirty cop, Charlotte must once again deal with dirty police officers and multiple suspects who had ample reason to want the victim dead.

In March 1993, Los Angeles is a city in pain especially the Korean community who lost some loved ones and much of their local shops due to rioters. The police department is still run by the white good old boys, leaving minorities and women losing the fight against an entrenched system that has been in place for decades. DIRTY LAUNDRY is an excellent police procedural that gives a step by step play of a homicide investigation against one heck of a realistic backdrop.

Harriet Klausner

Paula L. Woods comes back onto the sleuth scene in her third Charlotte Justice tale, DIRTY LAUNDRY. This time, our fearless diva is back on the job after an administrative leave, and ready to roll some heads. After taking on the title of supervisor, Justice is assigned to a case involving a dead Korean girl whose body was found in an alley. The vic, Vicki Park, was a member of the campaign team for the Latino mayorial candidate, Mike Santos. Something stinks in the events leading up to Park's demise, and Charlotte and Billie Truesdale are on it like white on rice.

In DIRTY LAUNDRY, not only is the Park case part of the plot, but Charlotte's own life transgressions and dirty laundry come out in the open. She is forced to confront feelings about her family, her career, her fiancee Aubrey, and the passing of her husband and daughter years earlier. A novel about secrets, lies, and letting go, DIRTY LAUNDRY won't disappoint followers of Justice. Woods' prose is tight and, once again, Charlotte was allowed into my heart. Another page turner from this talented mystery writer, DIRTY LAUNDRY is an especially symbolic read for those who know that "digging up dirt will just get you dirty," but it'll all come out in the wash.

Reviewed by CandaceK
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This is one of the most beautifully put together books I've seen in a while--the texts, the art, the commentaries--it's all first rate, a rich and luscious feast for mind and heart and soul.

This book is elegant, powerful, passionate, dirty, tasteful, and soulful! I hope that I have tempted all who read this by the diverse adjectives used here! This book will appeal to many different tastes, but by all means drink from this book's fount! Water of your Bath by Ahmasi, Be Somebody Fragrant by Peter J.Harris, and Poem of Friendship by Nikki Giovanni are my personal favorites-but I LOVE the whole book! My highest recommendation!A great gift book! -ed-

Holiday remembrances that will make you laugh, sigh and cry and recall your own special holiday experiences. A fine must have collection

Writing a good story is an art; likewise, writing a solid, enthralling mystery is a gift. Paula L. Woods has the gift of weaving the threads of secrets, lies, love and hate into an intriguing mystery and captivating read.

In "Stormy Weather" Paula L. Woods gives us Charlotte Justice, a determined, intelligent, dedicated detective of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division.

In her latest adventure, Detective Justice delicately negotiates the murky politics of the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the Rodney King Verdict, while attempting to solve a complex and potentially dangerous mystery.

The closer she gets to the truth, the more the threads of her personal and professional life become tangled in a web that proves almost impossible to untangle.

Charlotte's intense involvement in a murder of a renowned director of film noir creates an increasingly damaging effect on her relationships with her lover and her family. Even on the verge of losing her career and quite possibly her life, Charlotte Justice never wavers in her pursuit of the truth (Charlotte "Justice" - get it?).

This story inspires the true spirit of the traditional mystery while allowing the reader to marvel at a true heroine with rock solid integrity and vulnerabilities that make her human.

"Stormy Weather" is the second in what I hope will be a series of Charlotte Justice mysteries. For all you mystery buffs out there, this one will keep you on your toes.

Charlotte Justice is on the case again. This time the case involves the death of Maynard Duncan, who in his day was one of the elite of black Hollywood. Was it murder, suicide or an accident;Charlotte will have to delve into the victims life to figure it out and Maynard has a few more skeletons in his closet than most of us.

This novel picks up where Inner City Blues left off. It's an entirely different case Justice is assigned to but there are a lot of constants. Steve Hightower, her supervisor, still needs a good castration;he continues to make Charlotte's days in the department a living hell. Her family which she affectionately calls the "Nut House" is still earning its' good name and her relationship with the "good" doctor is heating up in more way than one.

Paula Woods writes with such grace. Her story lines are so well thought out and clever, but I think I enjoy her characterizations the most. They are just as paramount to the enjoyment of her novels as the plot. She gives us some of the most interesting and flushed out characters.

Another Winner!

Reviewed by Ruby
APOOO Book Club

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

Paula Woods debuts a new entry into the world of mysteries - black homicide detective Charlotte Justice is an interesting and compelling character. Her unique status as a female and African American in the LAPD makes this an interesting read. The mystery on the other hand is not too shocking and uses the ABC method (the murder is not A, or B, so who's left method). The police procedure aspects could also use a bit of work and further technical authenticity. The personal life portions and the dwelling of her romance, in particular the sexual encounters, is at times embarassing and unnecessary. However, despite all of this, it is still a worthy read simply to get a fresh perspective in this sometimes cliched genre.

Coming from me, who usually has books, movies, etc. figured out by the middle, that's saying a lot.

Inner City Blues is a mystery that takes place during the Rodney King riots. A well-to-do doctor is accused of being involved in a string of murders, but our heroine, Charlotte, isn't so sure.
Join Charlotte in a journey to find justice.

Woods kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time (albeit from the suspense of the case Charlotte was working OR the suspense of Charlotte's life, including her love life), and had my mind working overtime.

I applaud Paula L. Woods for creating a heroine I could root for, feel sympathy for, and in the end, care for.

I am anxious to read the next book in the Charlotte Justice series, Stormy Weather.

As a mystery writer with my first novel in initial release, I have had a difficult time believing INNER CITY BLUES is genuinely Paula Woods' debut novel. It is simply too perfect. Set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles civil disturbances of the too recent past, Woods creates a perfect heroine for the police procedural of today. Charlotte Justice is struggling with emotional baggage, yet she is trying to move on with her life. She suffers from various types of discrimination as an LAPD officer, yet she is dedicated to her work. In INNER CITY BLUES, Detective Justice is faced with a baffling case mixing her personal past, the murder of her husband, with the racially turbulent situation in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict. Charlotte Justice is a convincing contemporary woman with internal struggles and external challenges. Ms. Woods captures her setting perfectly, and her plot is swiftly paced. INNER CITY BLUES is an excellent book, most deserving of the recognition it has received.

I truly enjoyed reading the compilation of stories contained in this book. From Fisher to Himes to Mosely to Haywood and to the "sistuhs in crime." Anyone who is interested in quality mystery,crime and suspense novels will enjoy this book. I will search out more writings by many of these authors.