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A review by bookcraft
Holy Hell by Elizabeth Sims
3.0
Though set maybe a decade laterearly 1990s versus early 1980sthis has a lot of the same feel as Sue Grafton's early Kinsey Milhone books; not exactly hard-boiled detective fare, but definitely in the same neighborhood. Sims's protagonist is a lesbian reporter instead of Grafton's straight PI, and the supporting cast is a lot more diverse, but the prose style is similar and the mystery is well-plotted and solid.
As a woman who was an adult in the 1990s, I recognize the unremarked sexism and homophobia throughout the story as period-appropriate, even as it makes the older and wiser 2019 version of me itch with the urge to slap some of the characterspossibly with a sexual harassment lawsuit. It's not heavy-handed, nor as ubiquitous as it was in reality during that era, but Lillian's acceptance of the various -isms as inevitable (or at least pointless to rail against) is kind of draining.
Content warnings:
I got the audiobook via Audible's Romance package, but despite what they think, it's not actually a capital-R Romance. The protag is navigating several relationships in various stages, from splitting with her ex to dating, considering dating, and/or sleeping with various women. The sex is, more often than not, fade-to-black, and there's no HEA or HFN.
As a woman who was an adult in the 1990s, I recognize the unremarked sexism and homophobia throughout the story as period-appropriate, even as it makes the older and wiser 2019 version of me itch with the urge to slap some of the characterspossibly with a sexual harassment lawsuit. It's not heavy-handed, nor as ubiquitous as it was in reality during that era, but Lillian's acceptance of the various -isms as inevitable (or at least pointless to rail against) is kind of draining.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
minor sexual assault of the "cop a feel in passing" variety; injury and death ofand villainy byqueer characters.I got the audiobook via Audible's Romance package, but despite what they think, it's not actually a capital-R Romance. The protag is navigating several relationships in various stages, from splitting with her ex to dating, considering dating, and/or sleeping with various women. The sex is, more often than not, fade-to-black, and there's no HEA or HFN.