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mischievous_monkey's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and easy read. The characters were well fleshed out, the mystery was interesting and the romance was realistic. Some of the attitudes of certain characters were hard to take. I remember those days when racism, sexism and homophobia were so commonplace and in your face. I am glad that they are less socially acceptable now.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Fine as far as whodunnit/procedurals go. Would get a .5 star if I could give it for the beautiful scenes of lesbian intimacy and romance, which are refreshing in this hetero-dominant genre.
venti's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
a little dated by today’s standards but that’s a given. good pulp crime fiction 🤷 but also fuck the police
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Although I wasn't sure about this book in the first few chapters, I ended up really liking as well as admiring it. It's a groundbreaking mystery with a lesbian detective protagonist, published and set in 1984. It feels very much like a slice of 80s L.A. life, which was a big part of the fascination for me, but also some of my qualms. Living a queer life, even in a supposedly progressive city, was soooooo different and more difficult then. It's hard to believe I was even alive in that decade. I loved getting Forrest's perspective on lesbian identity and culture in this era. Although it was obviously contemporary when it was published, for me it's an amazing piece of queer history. Forrest's writing reminded me of another lesbian trailblazer author, Jane Rule.
Aside from other more innocuous time period specific details, like everyone fucking smoking like a chimney in their offices!!, the explicit, virulent racism, in the workplace especially, was difficult to read. All the racial slurs. I have to assume Forrest -- although she's white -- was attempting to be true to the era and was writing characters that were quite realistic. The racism exhibited by certain characters is clearly textually condemned, although the book has its own issues, particularly its constant assumption that characters are white unless explicitly noted otherwise. There is also some horrible corporate sexism -- like women having to sleep with their disgusting bosses to get ahead -- that was also hard to read about.
Speaking of Forrest's characterization: it's sharp as a knife and deeply uninterested in flat or stock characters or portraying anyone in a black and white way. It's very much Forrest looking the characters straight in the face, no beating around the bush about their flaws or mistakes or bigotry. The mystery here is mostly a character study, with a closed circuit of suspects given the crime takes place in a secured office building and employees are the only possible murderers.
There is a touch of pro-police stuff in this book ("serve and protect" bullshit) that didn't sit well with me, although honestly not nearly as much as I expected from a book by a white author written mid-80s. I expect this take to become more nuanced and critical as the series continues and the awareness of white queer authors like Forrest changes. I've already started the second book! Kate Delafield is a fascinating flawed character.
Aside from other more innocuous time period specific details, like everyone fucking smoking like a chimney in their offices!!, the explicit, virulent racism, in the workplace especially, was difficult to read. All the racial slurs. I have to assume Forrest -- although she's white -- was attempting to be true to the era and was writing characters that were quite realistic. The racism exhibited by certain characters is clearly textually condemned, although the book has its own issues, particularly its constant assumption that characters are white unless explicitly noted otherwise. There is also some horrible corporate sexism -- like women having to sleep with their disgusting bosses to get ahead -- that was also hard to read about.
Speaking of Forrest's characterization: it's sharp as a knife and deeply uninterested in flat or stock characters or portraying anyone in a black and white way. It's very much Forrest looking the characters straight in the face, no beating around the bush about their flaws or mistakes or bigotry. The mystery here is mostly a character study, with a closed circuit of suspects given the crime takes place in a secured office building and employees are the only possible murderers.
There is a touch of pro-police stuff in this book ("serve and protect" bullshit) that didn't sit well with me, although honestly not nearly as much as I expected from a book by a white author written mid-80s. I expect this take to become more nuanced and critical as the series continues and the awareness of white queer authors like Forrest changes. I've already started the second book! Kate Delafield is a fascinating flawed character.
orinposner's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Nice and quick murder mystery with a lesbian detective, office drama, confrontations with racism, and a good pinch of romance.
LAPD Detective Kate Delafield is investigating the murder of a terrible boss that everyone hated, killed in his office in the early morning. Kate wades through office politics, performs thorough questioning and tests, becomes friendly with some employees - all while still getting over a recent personal loss. We end up learning a lot about this company and its people, except, of course, what business they actually do...
Beyond the murder mystery, issues of race, sexuality and gender abound. This is Los Angeles in the 80s after all, so perhaps realistically our detective is virtually surrounded by bigots - and since she's in the process of an investigation, Kate mostly listens to the spouting of slurs in a kind of resigned irony, though it's relatively clear she does not agree.
Most enjoyable is how lesbians are everywhere in this novel, discreetly but happily having relationships, recognizing one another, leading comfortable lives even while dealing with a variety of difficulties.
The two POV characters - detective Kate and the main witness, Ellen - are both lesbians, which is great on its own but also immediately made me think a romance between them is inevitable, and I ended up really enjoying that aspect of the novel. The POV shifts often happen mid-chapter and even mid-interaction between these two, which is disorientating at times but manageable.
*
A note about my copy of this book:
During a trip to London several years ago, I visited the Feminist Library, which is occasionally opened as a bookshop where you can buy books, zines, art etc. - including old library books that had been removed from their catalogue - and this is where I found and bought this book. So as an added bonus, I can tell you that this book was checked out from the Feminist Library around thirty times between 1986 and 1999.
LAPD Detective Kate Delafield is investigating the murder of a terrible boss that everyone hated, killed in his office in the early morning. Kate wades through office politics, performs thorough questioning and tests, becomes friendly with some employees - all while still getting over a recent personal loss. We end up learning a lot about this company and its people, except, of course, what business they actually do...
Beyond the murder mystery, issues of race, sexuality and gender abound. This is Los Angeles in the 80s after all, so perhaps realistically our detective is virtually surrounded by bigots - and since she's in the process of an investigation, Kate mostly listens to the spouting of slurs in a kind of resigned irony, though it's relatively clear she does not agree.
Most enjoyable is how lesbians are everywhere in this novel, discreetly but happily having relationships, recognizing one another, leading comfortable lives even while dealing with a variety of difficulties.
The two POV characters - detective Kate and the main witness, Ellen - are both lesbians, which is great on its own but also immediately made me think a romance between them is inevitable, and I ended up really enjoying that aspect of the novel. The POV shifts often happen mid-chapter and even mid-interaction between these two, which is disorientating at times but manageable.
*
A note about my copy of this book:
During a trip to London several years ago, I visited the Feminist Library, which is occasionally opened as a bookshop where you can buy books, zines, art etc. - including old library books that had been removed from their catalogue - and this is where I found and bought this book. So as an added bonus, I can tell you that this book was checked out from the Feminist Library around thirty times between 1986 and 1999.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Rape
eliasiexil's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
eyrinreads's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
neurodivengeance's review against another edition
3.0
maybe it's all the Agatha Christie I'm used to hearing but I was expecting this to be twistier. I was right about who did it - which is ridiculous bc I suck at this kind of thing - but frankly I was expecting more MSM. oh well. fancy the shit out of Kate, OBVIOUSLY. enjoyed the femme-butch representation, and ESPECIALLY enjoyed the critique of overbearing controlling masculine privilege butches and the resistance Ellen as a femme put up to assumptions about her capabilities and how these things were not presented as being in any way unusual by the narrative voice. all the racism tho, that was tough to stomach, and I question whether Katherine Forrest has any right to have any characters use the terminology that comes up a few times in the text. (frankly I don't think she does have any right to that.) idk, I think I feel a bit underwhelmed by the ending but pleasantly surprised by how it was about (white, middle-class) femmes.
SPOILER
oh also the sex was sexy but jesus god would it kill you to make DIRECT REFERENCE TO CUNTS like srsly Katherine you're writing a sex scene, deal with it and be upfront pls. kthx.
SPOILER
oh also the sex was sexy but jesus god would it kill you to make DIRECT REFERENCE TO CUNTS like srsly Katherine you're writing a sex scene, deal with it and be upfront pls. kthx.