The Silent Bride - Leslie Glass

A young bride is shot and instantly killed at her extravagant orthodox
wedding. In a city still reeling from the World Trade Center disaster, the possibility of a hate crime heats emotions. Under extreme pressure to find the girl's killer, NYPD Sergeant April Woo and her boyfriend, Lieutenant Mike Sanchez, Commander of the Homicide Task Force, investigate a shocking case that takes one bizarre turn after another. Family members of the bride and groom are feuding, the wedding planner harbors deadly secrets of her own, and a world-famous wedding dress designer does everything she can to protect her
reputation. Digging deep into the passions behind the wedding business, April and Mike find themselves wrestling with their own pressures and conflicts about love and marriage.
When a sniper takes deadly aim and kills a second bride on her way up the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral, fear escalates in a marrying season when no one knows who's next.

I had never heard of Leslie Glass before when R. gave me this book as a gift. I was a bit worried when I started it and realized it was part of series (it’s nº 7) but the fact is that it can be read as a standalone.

The main character of the series is April Woo, an American of Chinese descent who is a police detective in NYC. That was one of the things I liked the most about this story, the fact April was Chinese and that her partner and lover is of Mexican descent. There so many different people in NYC with some many different inheritances and most books (at least the ones I read) don’t give you that idea. The fact that in this story their different traditions are very much in evidence just made it all the better.

The mystery in itself is both intriguing and compelling. Can anyone think of anything more original and sad than killing brides on their wedding day? When the first bride, Tovah, dies the first thought is that this is a hate crime as her family was Orthodox Jewish with strict beliefs. However a few days later another bride is gunned down at St Patrick’s Cathedral and she shares nothing in common with the first victim as this is a high society wedding. While investigating everyone that may be connected with both parties April and Mike meet an alcoholic wedding planner, an original florist who employs former African child soldiers and a Chinese American wedding designer.

As the investigation progresses April realizes that her sister-cousin Ching, whose wedding is planned for the near future, shares many of the same helpers that these two brides and may in fact be the killer’s next victim.

The progress of the investigation develops side by side with the romantic relationship of April and Mike but here it is more obvious that this a part of a series has there seems to be a lot of past history among Mike and April.

A very enjoyable read that convinced me that I have to look for the others in the series.

Grade: 4/5