Initial inquiries at Maslow’s apartment which is in close proximity to Central Park yield the information that Maslow had started off on his usual evening run the previous day, but never returned. Alarms go off in April’s head as she remembers responding to a call in the vicinity the night before when someone reported hearing screams for help, but when she arrived there was no one to be seen. Inspection of Maslow’s apartment indicates he had planned to merely go for his nightly run, as his money, credit cards, and identification are all at home.

A search of the park yields no bodies or indication of a struggle. This heartens April, although she realizes Maslow could have been abducted in a vehicle and transported many miles away. Though it may already be too late, April enlists the aid of Sid Slocum and his German Shepherd, Freda. Slocum warns that Freda has been trained to search for survivors, not corpses, but April is hopeful Maslow is still alive and in the park.

Leslie Glass is the author of a series of police procedural novels located in New York City, featuring April Woo, a Chinese-American detective. Through the circumstances of the plot, the author is able to present information on tracking dogs and how they are used in police investigations. Ms. Glass’s real forte is her character portrayal, especially April Woo, and her fiancé, Mike Sanchez. As individuals brought up in two cultures simultaneously, April and Mike offer unique perspectives on life. Unfortunately, in this particular volume, Tracking Time, little space is devoted to the conflicts of the cultural differences these two individuals face.

A major portion of Tracking Time is dedicated to psychiatry. How psychiatrists help their patients try to cope with situations that distress them, and how these problems have arisen as a result of interactions in their prior lives. For those with an interest in such matters, you are going to like this one. For those who consider the social sciences “soft science,” and psychiatry so much psychobabble, you will not go amiss to pass this one by. From the title, Tracking Time, I would have assumed the canine component of the novel to play a much more dominant role. Probably the information about tracking dogs is accurate as far as it goes, but the dogs play a minor role and little specific information is given regarding how they track, or are trained to perform this skill.

Tracking Time is a slight departure from previous “Time” novels. April’s struggle to marry the two cultures in which she lives is not a major focus of this book. The same is true for Mike Sanchez, and the tracking dogs whose talents are essential to the resolution of the story are not given the “time” they deserve.

--Andy Plonka