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Lesbian

Review

The Case of the Missing Maid

by Brian Kenney

A wonderful foray into turn-of-the-19th-century Chicago, with women entering the workforce, immigrants transforming the city, and the LGBTQ community tucked away in hidden nightclubs. Harriet Morrow, all of 21 years old, is the first woman hired as a detective by the prestigious Prescott Agency—a decision that pleases almost no one, neither the male detectives nor the female typing pool. But working as a detective has always been a dream of Harriet’s, and now, with her parents dead and her younger brother to support, it’s a necessity. So too are the pants she wears, giving her the freedom to comfortably bike around Chicago while also exploring her identity as a lesbian. Within an hour on the job, Harriet gets her first assignment: to find a maid who has disappeared from one of the posh mansions on Prairie Avenue—and Harriet has only a few days to locate her. It’s magical how Osler transports us around Chicago, from the the large Polish community to queer social spaces to the ritzy homes of Chicago’s elite. Harriet is a wonderful lead character, and Osler brilliantly combines his protagonist’s growth into adulthood and Chicago’s emergence as one of the nation’s largest cities. This book is asking to be the first in a series

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Review

The Rivals

by Brian Kenney

The many fans of Jane Pek’s first book, The Verifiers, will be thrilled to get their hands on this new novel featuring the indomitable Claudia Lin. In this darker and tougher novel, with a robust comic streak and a deep foray into technology—featuring synths, the scary new generation of bots—Claudia can’t help but employ some espionage tropes as she investigates a corrupt matchmaking firm with the help of a corporate whistleblower. But there is plenty else to distract Claudia. Her family is falling apart at a prodigious rate; she is barely speaking to any of them. Romantic tensions are growing between Claudia and not one but two women, one of whom is the ever soignée Becks, Claudia’s one-time boss and major crush. Questions about sexual identity are sending these 20-somethings spinning in and out of the proverbial closet. While Inspector Yuan, a character created by Claudia, provides plenty of maxims throughout the text. Lots of fun, but also some real terror, in what is a brilliant depiction of New York City.

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Review

Blessed Water

by Henrietta Thornton

Perhaps only in New Orleans can there be a gay novice nun who is also a novice private detective and who offers up prayers like, “Hail Mary, share with me your divine vision, because I can’t see a fucking thing.” The nun in question is Sister Holiday, who teaches in a private school, runs a support group for survivors of Catholic Church sexual abuse, and on the side partners with a former cop to run Redemption Detective Agency. When the two hit the banks of the Mississippi to meet a new client, Holiday finds herself wading into the water to catch a body before it floats away. It’s her parish priest, and that awful discovery isn’t the last. Returning to school, the nun finds that another priest is missing. He seemed a kind young man, not one of the priests that Holiday loathes for their fake piety and fondness for their parishioners’ money. While a storm rages, Holiday must face the contradictions that are her life and life in New Orleans as well as help her brother and others face their demons, all while trying desperately to solve the mystery of the missing priest. Douaihy’s first in the series, Scorched Grace, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, among other accolades. Fans of that book, as well as all who love an irreverent and smart lead, will happily join Sister Holiday for her second outing.

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Review

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

by Brian Kenney

Whenever you love a book—that would be me and the first book in this series, The Mimicking of Known Successes—you can only approach the next installation with some trepidation. So I’m happy to report that this book more than lives up to my expectations—although it’s important to read the books in order. It’s set against a rather simple mystery: 17 students and staff members are missing from Valdegeld, the Oxbridge-like university where Pleiti is a professor. This is a space opera and a detective story, a romance and a cozy mystery, with the investigation led by Mossa, Pleiti’s lover and a detective, who in this story explicitly asks Pleiti for her help. Set in part on Giant, the huge rings that surround Jupiter and where many humans have settled, this narrative includes a lengthy trip to far-off Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. The pleasures in this book are many. There’s the growing relationship between the two women, especially Pleiti’s worries that Mossa may not have feelings as strong as she does. There’s the brilliant world-building, with special attention to the far-off settlements the two women seek out, revealing the fascinating means of travel and the many smaller, human communities scattered across the vast planet. Finally, there are ruminations from Pleiti about the aim of returning to Earth, her research area, and the hints of political dissent. Brilliant on all counts.

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Review

The Mimicking of Known Successes

by Brian Kenney

It’s hard to pull off a novel that attempts to have equal footing in two genres—never mind three—and typically one of the genres ends up taking on a minor role. Just think of all those unrequited romances lurking in the background of crime novels, sometimes through a whole series. But The Mimicking of Known Successes, a work of speculative fiction, a traditional mystery, and a romance is a walloping success. Earth is no longer a livable planet, and humans have long been settled on a colony located on the far outskirts of Jupiter, itself a gas giant. The worldbuilding here—how can humans survive in such an inhospitable environment?—is both subtle and fascinating. Layer over that a very traditional, academic, British mystery—think Gaudy Night—add a heart-felt romance, and you have one of the most unusual mysteries of the year. Terse and reserved, Investigator Mossa is seeking a man who’s gone missing, she doesn’t buy the notion that he committed suicide. He’s an academic, so the search takes her back to her university and Pleiti, an old girlfriend who’s now a professor researching the possibility of humans returning to Earth. Together they set out to find the missing academic, save themselves from death, and maybe even help rescue Earth from a calamity. Older is the author of the Centenal Cycle Trilogy. This would be a great choice for a book group.

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Review

The Verifiers

by Brian Kenney

Heads up! A smart, witty amateur detective has entered the crime fiction galaxy, and you won’t want to miss her. Twenty-five-year-old Claudia Lin, from a Taiwanese-American family, doesn’t live up to anyone’s model-minority expectations. She visits her mother in Queens monthly (not weekly), dates girls (not nice Chinese boys), and has a job (not a career). But her position at Veracity, a sort of detective agency that can suss out the truthfulness of one’s online dates, turns out to be tailor made for her. So much so that when Iris, one of her clients, suddenly disappears, Caroline falls down the rabbit hole in pursuit of her, unearthing shocking information both about online dating companies and the fate of Iris. While solving the mystery is central to the novel, Claudia’s complicated relationships with her mom, Harvard-educated brother, and beautiful, vain sister provide wonderful distractions. For readers who enjoy quirky characters, strong female leads, and love/hate family relationships.

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Review

Devil’s Chew Toy

by Brian Kenney

Life could be better for Hayden McCall, a diminutive, red-headed (don’t call him cute!) eighth-grade teacher in Seattle. The bad news: While hanging out at a gay bar, he manages to get kicked in the eye by Camilo, a beautiful go-go boy. The good news: Camilo invites him home for the evening and turns out to be quite a gentleman. The worse news: Hayden wakes up the next morning to find Camilo gone, his bull terrier needing to be fed, and the police knocking at the door. With that, we are off and running as Hayden searches for Camilo, accompanied by two of Camilo’s best friends, both lesbians: Hollister, who’s African American, a risk taker, and in possession of an impressive mohawk; and Burley, who’s a giant, a baker, and a total stoner. Both women are keenly aware that the cops are not going to take the disappearance of a young Latino man seriously, a go-go boy at that, and it is up to them to save their friend. This novel is a wonderful mix of lightheartedness—no surprise, sidekicks Hollister and Burley provide plenty of laughs—and seriousness, as we learn that Venezuelan-born Camilo is a “Dreamer” whose stay in the U.S. is precarious. Congratulations to Osler for creating a mystery set in the LGBTQ community that is both compelling and heartfelt. Bring on the next installment!

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