Hide and Snake Murder: A Shay O'Hanlon Caper
Jessie Chandler
Midnight Ink
http://www.midnightinkbooks.com/
978-0738725970
Trade paperback, $14.95, 261p

Life has a way of getting complicated for Shay O'Hanlon. A thirty-something lesbian, Shay is co-owner of the Rabbit Hole, a coffee shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, her hometown. Shay has had a reputation for being the "Tenacious Protector" of her family and friends, standing up to bullies since grade school. When she was ten years old, Shay was in a car accident that killed her mother and the son of Edwina Quartermain, her mother's best friend. Edwina became a de facto mother for Shay.  Intensely loyal to her family of blood and choice and still haunted by the accident, Shay is the smart-mouthed, first person narrator of Jessie Chandler’s Hide and Snake Murder: A Shay O'Hanlon Caper.

Basil Lazowski, an old schoolmate and ne'er do well, better known as Baz the Spaz, has called Shay for help and she finds herself drawn into a series of bizarre and often confusing events that will take her to the other end of the Mississippi and back. Baz needs to find a stuffed snake that he might have "borrowed" from a house where he was cleaning duct-work for "Ducky Ducts Duct Cleaning: we clean your pipes slick as a whistle, guaranteed." (4) Some very scary men want the stuffed reptile returned. Hide and Snake Murder is the second installment of Chandler's series that started with Bingo Barge Murder and it continues the fast paced hilarity of the first novel.

Shay, with one of her best friends, Nicholas Cooper -- better known as Coop, a member of the local environmental activist group the "Green Beans" and makes his living as a computer geek-- and Baz fly to New Orleans in search of said fuzzy serpent which is currently believed to be in the hands of Baz's aunt, Agnes.  With other members of a group of crafty poker players known as the Mad Knitters, Agnes has gone to the Big Easy for a holiday of gambling, live music, food and drink. 

Shortly after Shay et al arrive in New Orleans, they find that Baz's "big scary men" are real and chasing them.  Their initial escape turns into a strange and funny series of events and re-acquaints Shay with an old friend who is currently one of a group of buskers working Jackson Square. The bad guys are hot on their heels, and it's only by luck that the entire group returns to Minneapolis.  Various twists and chase scenes follow and Shay's gang of amateur detectives stumble into more trouble before they are out of it.

“Caper” is a good subtitle for this series.  Not a traditional mystery, the plot of Hide and Snake Murder has a certain Keystone Cops element. The gang tends toward breaking and entering, with varying degrees of competence and legality, to uncover answers. No one is entirely who they seem in this romping story and the reader must be willing to suspend belief in the more serious and technical law enforcement procedures and processes.

The characters of Hide and Snake Murder are the real gems of the story. They are richly faceted with distinct flaws. Chandler’s respect and affection for them shows through the novel. She allows the reader to laugh with them. For example, Rocky, another classmate of Shay and Nick, struggles with developmental issues, has a charming tendency to address people by their full name as well as providing unusually detailed bits of information as, “You must put pressure on the wound for it to stop bleeding. If it doesn’t stop after twenty minutes of firm, direct pressure, we must seek medical attention. “(82) One can’t forget Shay’s 80 pound boxer named Dawg, by the unimaginative previous owner.  Dawg adds a calming effect as well as comic relief which one doesn’t have to be a dog lover to enjoy.   

Hide and Snake Murder is fast paced and witty.  It is peopled with wonderfully colorful characters, making it a strong second novel in the Shay O’Hanlan Capers series.  I look forward to more stories from Jessie Chandler.

Fool on the Hill

Morgan Hunt
2008
$14.95, trade paperback, 190 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1593500276
Alyson Books
www.alyson.com

Morgan Hunt's second mystery, Fool on the Hill brings back Tess Camillo, a smart-mouth lesbian with a varied and colorful past. Tess is a 40-something computer nerd and breast cancer survivor. Her original love was actually mathematics, and computer programming was more palatable than accounting or teaching math. Hunt has created a strong, quirky voice in Tess. Her whimsical associations, internal musical sound-tracks, and slightly skewed world view are charmingly idiosyncratic.

Fool on the Hill opens as Tess and her housemate, Lana, attend a rock concert of Gabrielle Letheross with Cody Crowne as the opening act. Cody had been a chart topper in the 1980s but is fading in his late middle years. Lana, president of the local Cody Crowne fan club, has been waiting for years to see him in concert. Both women have a fantastic time. The next day brings a shock when his murdered body is discovered by Tess out walking in Open Space. Particularly shocking is the extremely brutal method of his murder. His teeth were removed, his finger tips were cut off, and he was crucified.

The traumatic discovery piques Tess's curiosity. Prompting her to this: "I wondered if [Lana]'d remember to separate the whites for bleaching, but didn't want to nag her. I wondered what Thomas Paine would have thought of our current electoral process. I wondered how many IQ points we lose for each hour of reality TV we watch. I wondered if I should take a personal interest in tracking down Cody's murderers. I wondered a lot of things, then helped Lana with the laundry. Even after your own personal Calvary, you need clean underwear. " (24)

Tess is assisted in her amateur sleuthing by a range of folks. Lana uses her new age touch to help question suspects and acts as look out. Tess's "husband" Roark Jurist -- they met over 20 years ago while both were struggling to survive in that closet called the US Navy, married for cover, divorced after they both left the service, and have remained friends -- now works with the "Immensely Powerful Government Spooks or IPoGS" (34) and provides Tess with an amazing array of valuable information via his connections. Kari, a detective with the SDPD whom Tess dated briefly, provides more official assistance. Hunt has created a fairly traditional mystery in that the clues are apparent to the reader as Tess finds them. The story is fast paced and fun. As secrets are uncovered, another murder occurs, bring the case even closer to home for Tess and Lana.

Tess's San Diego and its surroundings add color and character to Fool on the Hill with various locales playing roles in the plot. Carousel rides, trips to Legoland, Balboa Park, and the historic district give texture to the story, including a charming scene at the Chicken Pot Pie Shop, a San Diego landmark diner. Or as Tess describes, "The decor was Green Acres kitsch. .... A high shelf along the far wall held ceramic poultry of every sort. Rhode Island red knickknacks could be found behind the cash register; macaroni art of leghorns and bantams hung on the dinning area walls. Not exactly Martha Stewart, but with food this good, who gives a cluck?" (159)

Tess's voice is distinct and amusing, although sometimes her over-the-top metaphors are distracting. Occasionally Tess's powerful narrative voice becomes expository, not quite successfully taking the place of dialogue and action, from which some scenes might have benefited. This kind of "telling" of the story has a "thinning" effect to the novel overall. Hunt is a talented writer who has created a cast of quirky characters. Additional constructive editing could help Hunt develop a more robust mystery to better showcase her vivid characterization. She has great promise for future mysteries. This reader certainly looks forward to more of Tess.

The prime example of a metaphor that did not work, for this reader, was Tess's analogy for oral sex. "When we changed positions, her softest layers became the rink in an Olympic competition; my tongue, the skates. I played with figure eight's [sic], smooth glides, and occasional double Axels. Encouraged by her moans, I won the Gold with a triple loop." (143) Ice and blades, even attached to skates, just aren't on my mind regardless of the grace involved. If Hunt needed a sports analogy, synchronized swimming might have worked better.

Perhaps more importantly, the love scene, which was Tess's first sexual encounter since her surgery, seemed anticlimactic, as it were. Certainly the scene failed, for this reader, to resolve in a clear way the anxiety that Tess had previously expressed while anticipating the event, baring her surgery scars to a lover for the first time. It seemed a disservice to Nova's character for her not to be shown reassuring and satisfying Tess's needs. Yet Tess seems much less introspective about the relationship than she is about other aspects of her life. Since Tess's romantic life is the second most important thread to the novel, its light treatment is unsatisfying.

Overall, Fool on the Hill is fast paced, engaging and fun. The characters are interesting and compelling. Tess Camillo is a welcome addition to the cast of amateur sleuths that mystery readers can enjoy. Pick up a copy, Tess is sure to have you humming along with a world spinning round.

The Unknown Mile

Jamie Clevenger
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513570, $12.95

Life is in turmoil for Kelly Haldon, the protagonist of Jamie Clevenger's The Unknown Mile. A college student who plans to spend the summer earning her senior year tuition, she returns to her home town of Ashton, less than an hour from San Francisco, and experiences that odd "out of place" quality of a young adult in the midst of transitions. Traveling that "unknown mile" without a map, Kelly isn't sure what she wants to do after she graduates college. She can't decide on graduate schools or a profession. Compounding this confusion, within days of her arrival Kelly finds herself involved in love affairs with two women: Shannon has recently finished her Army enlistment and is in the Reserves, while Gina is an SFPD rookie officer. Neither woman has been able to let go of their last relationship and thus both are sending Kelly mixed messages.

Realizing that her job as an instructor at the local karate dojo will not provide enough money, Kelly begins looking for additional work. Very soon, however, the work comes to her. Rick, the enigmatic silent investor in the dojo, offers her to pay her to deliver mysterious packages late at night. Retired from the FBI, Rick runs his own investigative service and, strangely, he seems to be aware of Kelly's involvement with Shannon.

The coincidences compound when Kelly literally runs into a woman in the BART station who has a photo of Shannon's ex-girlfriend, apparently as part of a report of some kind. How can this woman be connected to Shannon? Before long Kelly's Don't Tell" policy for lesbians serving in the military comes to the forefront as it appears that Shannon and some of her friends are being investigated. Somehow Rick seems to be involved as well. Kelly finds herself trying to sort out everyone's secrets while she juggles a few of her own.

The Unknown Mile is Clevenger's first novel. She manages to capture the feel of that unsettled time of one's early 20s and her characters are intelligently drawn and interesting. This is particularly true of Kelly; even when (or perhaps because) she can be annoying in her indecision, she is also often quite endearing. There are insightful and touching little side stories with Kelly's students at the dojo, engaging sparring matches in Kelly's own study of the martial art, and some fast moving, suspenseful scenes in Kelly's "jobs" for Rick. Meanwhile, the sexual energy between Kelly and her girlfriends is electric.

In many ways, The Unknown Mile raises more questions than it answers. And indeed, the next book in what looks to be a promising new series has already been announced. However, the novel is not just a "series teaser" as Kelly does seem to have a little more direction for her drive through life and her growth is satisfying for readers. Like the sporty fun of a little ride in Kelly's Volkswagen Bug (chapter titles are actually the odometer readings from Kelly's car), The Unknown Mile is worth the purchase price of that tank of gasoline. This reviewer will be looking to catch Clevenger's next vehicle as well.

-MJ Lowe

Caught in the Net

Jessica Thomas
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513546, $12.95

A new dyke detective for the armchair mystery fan has arrived! Caught in the Net is a first novel from Jessica Thomas and introduces Alex Peres. Alex is a thirty-something dyke who lives (and grew up) in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Arguably, one of the country's most famous resort towns for gays and lesbians, Provincetown is "that strange and beautiful place, where the men are pretty and the women are tough." (1) With its seasonal population tide of tourists Provincetown plays as much of a role in Caught in the Net as many of the characters and Thomas brings the town's New England quirkiness and its queer color to life for her readers.

A thoughtful, self-sufficient, and independent woman, Alex Peres is a wry observer of nature (human and otherwise) who uses that skill to support herself. On the creative side her perceptive eye is expressed by her photography. She creates artistic impressions of the Cape and Provincetown area that are sold at local galleries. Alex's more analytical observation skills go into her work as a private detective. A job, which she explains, is filled with interesting but sometimes tedious work like following a wayward husband.

Fargo, the detective's 90-pound, black lab is as much a star of Caught in the Net as Alex. The details of Alex and Fargo's relationship will bring smiles, chuckles, tail wags, and warm fuzzy feelings, especially to readers with a canine love. Indeed Fargo's companionship is primary to Alex who has had rather bad luck in the love department.

That bad luck has held until a new woman appears in town. Janet Meacham, a beautiful, intelligent, young woman has moved to P'town to start a new chapter in her life. Alex finds herself quite taken with Janet and the attraction appears to be mutual. Alex thinks that this is a relationship that could build in a more positive direction.

Meanwhile the severed human foot that Alex, or rather Fargo, found on the beach during a daily walk is the foundation (as it were) of a series of crimes in the area. Alex's brother, a local cop is looking for a young man who may have known the owner of the foot.

This first novel from Thomas is filled with witty insights regarding human foibles with Alex personifying several endearing qualities. Of herself, Alex claims, "Frankly, I am not a great admirer of children as a species -- the younger ones smell funny and the older ones look as if they know something you don't-- but even I didn't want two young kids stumbling on this piece of flotsam or jetsam or whatever you called a lost/discarded body part". (10) Or regarding her personal habits, "I sat behind the wheel and took a pack of cigarettes off the dashboard and lit one of the five I allow myself each day. I allow myself five. The other eight or ten I smoke are not allowed." (11)

Although an engaging character, Alex does not quite ring true as a typical Gen-Xer, which might annoy some readers. The mystery is a little thin with a plot that is probably predictable for most fans of the genre and a tad irritating in that Alex did not seem to see it coming. However, the lovely writing, quirky characters, charming setting, and wry observations provide a great deal of promise for future Alex Peres mysteries. Many readers will find themselves caught in this net for pleasant evening's reading.

-MJ

Packing Mrs. Phipps: A Jo Jacuzzo Mystery

Anne Seale
Alyson Books
www.alyson.com
1555838375, $13.95

This first novel from Anne Seale introduces readers to a new lesbian mystery series. Jo Jacuzzo, a 27-year-old, shy, intelligent (if not the most educated), softhearted butch finds herself thrown into a series of unexpected, complicated, and even life-threatening events. Jo's first person narrative is often amusing and her view of the world has a sweet, almost childlike innocence that is charming without being saccharine. While touchingly neurotic and somewhat naive, Jo is also loyal and a bit stubborn with a definite moral core.
Until the last few weeks, Jo has worked as a homecare-nursing aide. However, an accusation and complaint from the family of one of her clients has resulted in unemployment for Jo.

Although she still lives with her mother and her mother's partner, Rose, Jo has been paying her part of the household expenses for years and her unemployment is a hardship for all. Soon her mother pushes Jo to accept a temporary job. That "errand" is to go to Tampa, Florida, and help pack up the snowbird mother of a friend for her summer return to Buffalo.

Of this mother-daughter talk, Jo comments, "I knew I was in for a deep discussion. [Mom]'d said, "So, Jo" when explaining what Kotex was for and before telling me that Daddy had left us, among other depressing things. (Having Daddy leave was depressing only because we didn't leave him first.)" (9)

The road trip begins safely enough. Jo stops to visit her Uncle Dom in Cincinnati to help him with some chores. She gets the low-down on him from the neighborhood kids including, "The best bit, however, was that he pushed an evangelist off his porch last year and had to do community service. That's my family, heathenish to a fault." (15)

When Jo's beloved Toyota truck has a break down in rural Georgia, she finds herself accepting a detour to Arizona to help the beautiful if enigmatic heiress, Charity Redmun, drive a motor home across country. The complications from here on are exponential.

Packing Mrs. Phipps is a very funny novel and Jo's observations are wonderfully droll at times. For example, this exchange with a woman who befriends Jo: "I guess people name their kids Faith and Hope, so why not [Charity]? Sonny and Cher even named their daughter Chastity. How'd you like to go though life with a name like that? What guy would want to have sex with a girl called Chastity?" [Jo's response] "I'm guessing that doesn't bother her too much." (184)

The mystery's plot has several unexpected twists, not the least of which is Jo deciding to go undercover to try to find a killer, and dressing as a high femme named "Sheridan" to infiltrate a right-wing militia group near the Mexican Border. Few things are quite as they appear to be in this suspenseful little tale. There are one or two incongruencies uncaught in the editing process -- like the change of a meeting time from afternoon to morning within three pages and without the implied change of that time. -- Nevertheless, Jo Jacuzzo is one of most charming reluctant detectives since Sarah Dreher's Stoner McTavish series. This entertaining and promising first novel will have this reader looking for Jo's future adventures.
-MJ Lowe

Unexpected Sparks

Gina L. Dartt
Justice House Publishing
0970887477

Forty years old and a prominent businesswoman in her town, Kate Shannon is about to change her life. The owner and manager of Novel Companions, an independent bookshop in downtown, Truro, Nova Scotia, Kate has spent much of the last year becoming friends with a regular customer, Nikki Harris.

The 26 years old Nikki is a shy, intelligent, beautiful and openly lesbian woman struggling to survive small town life in the economically depressed Canadian Maritimes. A book lover, Nikki enjoys the cozy atmosphere of Novel Companions, especially since Kate started carrying gay and lesbian fiction. She also enjoys the detailed discussions with Kate of novel plots, characters, favorite authors and related political themes. In fact, Nikki has become painfully aware that she is quite attracted to Kate and has recently cut down on her time at the bookstore, in hopes of weaning her affections away from the charming, presumably straight, owner. A bleak February is looming long and lonely for Nikki.

When the insurance office across the street from the bookshop burns down one night, Nikki rushes to the scene to make certain it's not Novel Companions. A perplexed Kate had noticed the new distance from Nikki. Seeing Nikki standing out in the cold, Kate invites the young woman into her apartment above Novel Companions. The two women watch the fire and begin to speculate about its origin.

Nikki's natural curiosity is piqued when the body of Sam Madison, the owner of the insurance office, is found in the ashes. She convinces Kate to help her investigate the fire. Kate, willing to go along with an opportunity to spend more time with Nikki, agrees to help. Unexpected Sparks is a classic armchair mystery with old fashioned, timeless clues and important character revelations leading Nikki and Kate to answer the questions of why and how Sam ended up in the burning office.

Via their amateur sleuthing project, Kate and Nikki find themselves drawing closer together. Their attraction and developing romance is another theme of Unexpected Sparks. Dartt illustrates falling in love and coming out in a charming and touching manner with respect and humor for her characters. Indeed, her characterization is realistic and perceptive. The elegant and composed Kate is surprised and delighted by the depth and range of the emotions she feels for Nikki. She is also startled by the attention, positive and negative, from customers, friends and neighbors as they begin to hear about her new lavender relationship. Dartt's Truro setting is nicely detailed and provides insight into Canadian small town life, particularly for lesbians.

Unexpected Sparks is Dartt's first novel and there are some elements that could be explored more. Several aspects of Nikki's past are still a mystery and readers who know Dartt's Star Trek fan fiction stories might be surprised at the slightly reticent quality of her love scenes. However, these details are minor and take nothing away from one's pleasure in the story. In fact, the possibilities for just such future revelations have this reader looking forward to the next two Kate and Nikki mysteries. In the meanwhile, if you enjoy armchair mysteries with a lovely lavender flair, pick up a copy of Unexpected Sparks. This book is a perfect cozy evening read.

-MJ Lowe

BN: Unexpected Sparks was re-released by Bold Strokes Books in 2006 and has been followed by Unexpected Ties.

Staying in the Game

Nann Dunne
Quest Books
1930928602

Several young women, students from nearby colleges in semi-rural Pennsylvania, have been found murdered in Nann Dunne's Staying in the Game. The various police departments have yet to find the killer who favors tall, dark- haired victims and butchers them with relish.

Shelley Brinton is a new student at Spofford College and on the women's softball team. Tall, dark-haired, and beautiful, she is a skilled and powerful player who seems to harbor many secrets as well as a fierce temper. Angela Wedgewood and her teammates are curious about the enigmatic Shelley who will be competing with Angela to play first base. An equally skilled athlete, Angie, who has been nursing a broken heart for months, is actually more than curious. She is very attracted to Shelley. Is there some connection between Shelley and the murders? Some of the teammates find her secrecy suspicious. Could Shelley actually be the killer?

Dunne's mystery seems to go in two directions at the same time. The youthfulness of Angie and her teammates creates an almost comic quality of a Nancy Drew parody as the gang sets out to track down the killer! However, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of who all the ball players are. And some of the information that they discover seems unlikely. The severity of Shelley's situation is unnecessarily complicated. So much so that it makes her chances of returning to Spofford seem slim.

Dunne's descriptions of the softball games as well as the practice sessions are detailed and engrossing. The development of the romantic relationship between Angie and Shelley is
pleasantly paced. And the depiction of players willing to help one another improve their skills for the betterment of the team, is positive and makes an encouraging role model. It seems unnecessary to include the grudge carrying Hurtz who resents loosing her position because of Shelley. These elements maybe typical of women's collegiate athletics but they don't seem to fit with the high suspense and deadly threat of the grisly murders.

From the first page of Staying in the Game, the reader knows that the killer is female and lesbian. This reader understands the point of this choice as a plot device. However, it is both tremendously improbable and feeds into unfortunate, homophobic stereotypes to use such a ploy. Neither the killer's apparent mental illness nor the prominence of other "positive" lesbian characters justifies or compensates for the killer's lesbian identity.

Overall Staying in the Game is not a bad story and as Dunne's first novel, it does show promise. It will be interesting to see what future stories she pens. Hopefully she will continue to explore the craft.

Gun Shy

Lori L. Lake
Renaissance Alliance Publishing, Inc.
1930928432, $18.95

Lake's Gun Shy is the story of two somewhat reluctant women who finally learn to believe in themselves and each other enough to commit to love. Covering just over a year in the lives of these women, the novel reads like a season's worth of episodes from a television show that lesbians might wish was on TV. The story opens with Desiree Reilly, a formidable cop over six feet tall with dark hair and startling blue eyes, capturing a pair of serial rapists and in the process saving two young women, Sara and JayLynn. It is a meeting that electrifies both JayLynn and Desiree. JayLynn Savage, a lesbian in her mid-20s, decides to become a police officer in order to get to know Desiree, the hero of her dreams, literally. Lake follows Savage through the academy and most of her rookie year on the St. Paul Police Department.

Gun Shy is also the story of Desiree who is struggling with the loss of her partner and good friend, Ryan. Early in her career Dez was a conquest for a rather superficial older female cop who apparently made a hobby of bedding young dyke officers. Hurt and embarrassed, Dez has made a rule not to date cops. Presumed by many of the other cops to be lesbian, Dez has rarely dated at all, let alone been seriously involved with a woman for almost eight years. Already known as the "Ice Queen" the tall and intimidating Dez has withdrawn even more since Ryan's death.

Reilly becomes Field Training Officer for Savage and the two women begin a long complicated dance toward friendship and love. Along the way, the bright and innovative, if diminutive Jay becomes a good police officer. She learns to develop her own attributes in her work, deals with the trauma her first shooting and the pries the elusive Dez out of her shell. Meanwhile Dez comes to grips with Ryan's death. Over the course of the year the partners learn a great deal about each other and themselves. And the reader learns about life as a patrol officer in St. Paul as well as being treated to an inside view of the world of amateur bodybuilding.

Gun Shy is an engaging, readable book. This second edition includes some editorial clean up that improves the flow of the novel and features new cover art. The characters are interesting and the action drew this reader into the story. Amusingly, Lake seems to have created two lesbians that are the antithesis of the standard u-haul joke. This reviewer was relieved when Jay and Dez finally got together! Overcoming the barriers to expressing their love is the theme of Gun Shy. The sequel, "Under the Gun" is due out this fall. It will be interesting to see how she depicts Jay and Dez as a couple. In the meantime, treat yourself to a copy of Gun Shy.

-MJ Lowe

BN: There is now a third in Lake's Gun Series, read them in order, they're more fun that way.

Deaths of Jocasta

J.M. Redmann
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513104

The thirty years old, Barnard educated and underemployed, out lesbian, private investigator, Micky Knight has accepted a job overseeing security for a very exclusive and "festive" annual party hosted by Emma Auerbach. Of an old money New Orleans family, Emma has been a friend and mentor to Mickey for years. Sober and celibate for over six weeks, Micky is beginning to face the demons from which the liquor and sex allowed her to hide for over a decade. Although determined to remain sober, Micky does hope the weekend party brings an end to her loneliness, especially when the good doctor, Cordelia James arrives. Micky lost her heart to Cordelia months ago, during the events of Death by the Riverside. But Emma's annual gay-la ends abruptly when the body of a young woman is found in the woods on her estate and everyone returns to the city.

At loose ends back in New Orleans, Micky goes to the library to check out some Dorothy Sayers books. "Some of her Lord Peter Wimsey books, not so much for detective ideas, but for dating tips." About which Micky concludes, "via Lord Peter, the method for making a woman fall in love with an offbeat detective was to save her from the gallows by proving her innocent. Somehow that didn't seem to have much bearing on Cordelia and myself." (55). Of course, Lord Peter is right!

Life is complicated for Micky and company. More bodies show up near Cordelia's clinic. When they turn out to be young women who were patients at the clinic, the police see Cordelia as the prime suspect. Cordelia decides to hire Micky to investigate. Meanwhile an uncharacteristically restless, NOPD Detective Sgt., Joanne, increasingly angered by these events, is spending more time with Micky. Joanne senses Micky has similar ghosts in her past.

With the same tough, first-person voice of the first Micky Knight novel, Death by the Riverside, Redmann directs the fast paced action of Deaths of Jocasta. Micky tracks down leads connecting the pasts of several characters with the current events. And the truth turns out to involve a dangerous combination of extremists --who justify murder in the name of life-- and people who crave old-fashioned, hateful revenge. Will Micky be able to take Lord Peter's advice?

Redmann presents serious and painful issues without hiding the pain, becoming pedantic, or losing her sense of humor. Her characters are well rounded, interesting women who deal authentically with their problems. One of the most impressive examples of this is Redmann's handling of child sexual abuse. Accurate and realistic, the depictions of the abuse and its ramifications run a spectrum of forms, parental reactions, and consequences from Micky to Joanne to Cordelia. This thread actually evolves throughout the Micky Knight novels as Micky has the opportunity to grow and heal.

This re-release of Deaths of Jocasta by Bella Books is a must for mystery lovers and in this reader's opinion, the covers of Jocasta and Riverside are the best Bella has produced to date. Ten years have passed since Jocasta was originally published. It is pinned to the early 1990s by technology --the lack of cell phones and email via the world wide web-- and Joanne's early adolescence (and rest of the crowd's ages in relation to her) is set prior to the Roe v. Wade decision (1973). However, the issues of the novel are very relevant today and Redmann treats the women struggling to survive them with respect and dignity. Deaths of Jocasta does not answer all the mysteries hovering in Micky's background. For that, readers should look for The Intersection of Law and Desire and Lost Daughters, in order.

Take Micky Knight home with you and laissez les bons temp rouler!

-MJ Lowe

Death by the Riverside

J. M. Redmann
Bella Books
1931513058

Newly reprinted, Death by the Riverside is the first of the Micky Knight mysteries (the third, Intersection of Law and Desire won a Lambda Lit Award). Here is an opportunity to meet Micky and her wonderful assortment of friends. The ensemble cast that Redmann creates is an amusing crew of friends and family (Puns intended). Each individual is clearly defined and easily recognizable with detailed backgrounds that evolve over the series.

Written in the first person, all the Micky Knight stories have a contemporary version of the gritty, gumshoe feel of classic noir mysteries. The action in Riverside (and Micky's irreverent humor) begins immediately as she finds herself helping a "tasteful" young blond socialite track down the fiance that spurned her. When said socialite turns out to be quite familiar with lesbian sex while laying a trap to cut her brother out of his share of the family inheritance for being gay, Micky decides to even the score. Thus she finds herself meeting the socialite's grandfather, the Holloway family patriarch and his other granddaughter, Cordelia. This meeting opens the door to ghosts from Micky's childhood which she tries very hard to smother with alcohol and women and foreshadows many storylines in the series.

At the request of a sort of friend, fellow karate student, and NOPD detective Joanne, Micky soon finds herself drawn into efforts to break a regional drug ring that turns out to be using part of the Holloway plantation as a shipping and storage location. There's a great deal of page turning action as Micky tries to help the police, her new friend Barbara, not to mention the good doctor Cordelia AND keep herself alive while catching the bad guys.

Meanwhile, the reader learns bits of the past that Micky tries desperately to hide from herself and others. Redmann's depictions of the scars left by childhood abuse are powerfully accurate in all four of the Micky Knight stories. Indeed many of the questions raised or hinted at in Death by the Riverside are not answered until the fourth novel, Lost Daughters. Redmann's well developed characterization has the reader wishing she could have a beer, or maybe a po'boy sandwich with some of these women. Certainly you will find yourself looking for the upcoming reissue of the Deaths of Jocasta to follow their continuing adventures. And to cheer Micky on as she struggles to reclaim her past and heal herself.

Bleeding Out

Baxter Clare
Firebrand Books
1563411180


Clare's first novel, Bleeding Out, is a taut, gritty, psychological thriller set in contemporary South Los Angeles. Police Lt. L.A. Franco is a tough, tall, handsome, intelligent, dyke investigator. Years ago, the traumatic loss of her lover prompted Franco to shut down much of her personal life and focus on work. Years in one of the city's toughest districts have built an armor around Franco.

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.

-MJ Lowe

BN: There are now five L.A. Franco mystery released by Bella Books including a new edition of Bleeding Out.

It Takes One to Know One

Kate Allen
New Victoria Publishers
093467874X,

The third installment in Kate Allen's Allison Kaine mystery series, It Takes One to Know One, continues to be my favorite. Allison, a Denver police officer and her best friend, Michelle, travel south to spend a peaceful, long, working retreat weekend on womyn's land near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The weekend takes several unexpected turns as Stacy, Allison's girlfriend and a professional dominatrix, shows up to make peace after a recent argument. Uninformed of the commune's strict rules, Stacy and her best friend, Liz set up "Fun Camp" outside the Land. Well provisioned with caffeine and alcohol, they become the local entertainment and outlet for the less pure retreat members. Predictably, arguments concerning feminism and the leather community flare up in the desert heat.

Despite their differences, or perhaps because of them, Stacy and Allison still manage to find time for a heated power exchange. Allison and company do a wonderful job of humanizing that feminist taboo- s/m. In depicting intelligent, caring women with ordinary jobs (except for Stacy . . .), bills, and pets, Allen creates cognitive dissidence for people who demonize the leather community.

Allison and Stacy aren't the only ones indulging their erotic affections. Away from the strain of domestic life with her girlfriend and their colicky baby, Michelle is expressing more than a professional interest in Persimmon, a fellow glass artist, and one of the commune sponsors.

Soon, Sarah Embraces-All-Things, the commune spiritual leader, a bully, and possibly a fraud, is discovered dead in the sweat lodge. Allison, suffering from a recently diagnosed chronic illness, struggles to sort out her professional responsibility as a police officer and her role as a supportive lesbian. Several members of the retreat appear happy to call Sarah's death an accident. Are they protecting a murderer?

Allen succeeds in poking fun at all the complexities and contradictions of the lesbian, gay, and feminist community without being malicious -- a great temptation, particularly over some of the issues -- and conveys intelligent ambivalence over controversial issues. As the characters struggle with their interactions, political views, and the question of Sarah's death, Allen points out how very funny lesbians can be while she consistently displays compassion for the women that make up our community. All of Allen's novels are intelligent, humorous, and worth buying but Takes One to Know One is still my favorite to date.

-MJ

BN: All of Kate Allen's titles are still available via www.bellabooks.com