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hardlyworking's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
4.0
sirlancereads's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.25
lady_kay's review
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This was a surprisingly good read. Set in the early '80s, so beware of an almost unbearable homophobia!
I really liked the pulp format and the portrait of the queer scene at that time. I also enjoyed Valentine and Lovelace friendship, and the fun Lovelace brings to an otherwise dark story.
Valentine is a gay bartender who spent time in prison and now is set in helping other ex-cons. Lovelace is a straight woman, who works in real state and has a refreshing view of what's really important in life :P
Both characters are interesting, and leave you wanting to know more about them.
The mystery is truly well done. I spent most of the book truly convinced that I knew the killer, and was nicely surprised when I was proved wrong :P
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series :)
I really liked the pulp format and the portrait of the queer scene at that time. I also enjoyed Valentine and Lovelace friendship, and the fun Lovelace brings to an otherwise dark story.
Valentine is a gay bartender who spent time in prison and now is set in helping other ex-cons. Lovelace is a straight woman, who works in real state and has a refreshing view of what's really important in life :P
Both characters are interesting, and leave you wanting to know more about them.
The mystery is truly well done. I spent most of the book truly convinced that I knew the killer, and was nicely surprised when I was proved wrong :P
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series :)
rouge_red's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
Kinda fun and guilty pleasure-y?
ratking's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book at a local community book swap with very little expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. I’m not a big mystery, crime solving reader but I loved this story so much!
The characters in this story were so engaging and well written with great chemistry. Every time a new character was introduced, even if they only stuck around for a scene or two they had such a well fleshed out personality.
The way the clues get unearthed is so engaging, it felt as if there was really good progress being made the whole book yet when you think you’d put two and two together a spanner was thrown in the works and you were lead a different direction.
I enjoyed every word and was thrilled when I found out there were other books in this series! I can’t wait to read the rest!
The characters in this story were so engaging and well written with great chemistry. Every time a new character was introduced, even if they only stuck around for a scene or two they had such a well fleshed out personality.
The way the clues get unearthed is so engaging, it felt as if there was really good progress being made the whole book yet when you think you’d put two and two together a spanner was thrown in the works and you were lead a different direction.
I enjoyed every word and was thrilled when I found out there were other books in this series! I can’t wait to read the rest!
quirkycynic's review
3.0
Queer mysteries are some of my favourite things ever, but even I'll say I'm more often than not kind of disappointed by them since they usually veer more to one side more than the other. Vermilion has a lot of great queerness, but a pretty flimsy, dull mystery. The world around the characters is very full and colourful, but the entire plot kind of just spins its wheels until the big reveal at the end, which was kind of a letdown.
It was really nice though reading about such a full queer world in the era just before HIV -- I think people usually forget that the 1960s and 70s actually had a pretty full roster of great queer crime novels and queer fiction in general that didn't just depict decadent underground worlds but actually thriving queer communities right out in the sunlight co-existing with the straight world. And I always really appreciate a book like this that acts as that sort of time capsule.
It was really nice though reading about such a full queer world in the era just before HIV -- I think people usually forget that the 1960s and 70s actually had a pretty full roster of great queer crime novels and queer fiction in general that didn't just depict decadent underground worlds but actually thriving queer communities right out in the sunlight co-existing with the straight world. And I always really appreciate a book like this that acts as that sort of time capsule.
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
4.0
This was a surprisingly good read. Set in the early '80s, so beware of an almost unbearable homophobia!
I really liked the pulp format and the portrait of the queer scene at that time. I also enjoyed Valentine and Lovelace friendship, and the fun Lovelace brings to an otherwise dark story.
Valentine is a gay bartender who spent time in prison and now is set in helping other ex-cons. Lovelace is a straight woman, who works in real state and has a refreshing view of what's really important in life :P
Both characters are interesting, and leave you wanting to know more about them.
The mystery is truly well done. I spent most of the book truly convinced that I knew the killer, and was nicely surprised when I was proved wrong :P
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series :)
I really liked the pulp format and the portrait of the queer scene at that time. I also enjoyed Valentine and Lovelace friendship, and the fun Lovelace brings to an otherwise dark story.
Valentine is a gay bartender who spent time in prison and now is set in helping other ex-cons. Lovelace is a straight woman, who works in real state and has a refreshing view of what's really important in life :P
Both characters are interesting, and leave you wanting to know more about them.
The mystery is truly well done. I spent most of the book truly convinced that I knew the killer, and was nicely surprised when I was proved wrong :P
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series :)
counselorcarl's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
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