Vera Kelly: Lost and Found

A wonderful story—if barely a mystery—this third in the Vera Kelly series has Vera and Max, her girlfriend, heading off to sunny southern California. But the trip is no vacation. Max, who comes from serious wealth, learns that her parents are divorcing. And even though her homophobic dad threw her out of the house—think of the Hearst Castle—when she was twenty-one, Max still feels the need to intercede. Turns out dad is about to marry a much younger woman while allowing a kooky occultist to get his hands on his funds. When Max suggests over dinner that she’ll inform her mother of the financial shenanigans, all hell breaks loose. And when Vera wakes up the next morning, it’s to find Max missing. Finally, Vera gets to put her detective skills to use! Knecht excels in creating character and setting. Her depiction of the lesbian and gay world of 1971—oppressed and discrete, yes, but also a strong community undergoing change—is fascinating, as is how Vera and Max navigate straight society. The resolution is both poignant and hopeful.