Lesbians on the Loose: Crime Writers on the Lam by Lori L. LakeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I see I did things wrong with this book - I read the last two stories before any of the rest and 1) they were damn fine stories and b) detective stories. Going from them to the rest of the book is something of a let down and - makes me aware that the book isn't actually called and/or have 'Detective Fiction' on the cover. This is not a collection of detective/investigative fiction, this is a collection of Crime fiction. Difference? Whether or not anyone is investigating anything.
More specifically - a crime story can be 'just' about someone committing a crime. There's no mystery about who did something crime like (or will, many of these include planning stages); there might be mystery as to whether or not they get away with it, but that specific mystery thread might not always be followed.
Sims & Chandler stories involve criminals doing something. Forrest, Redmann, and Thompson involve detectives detecting (though one also includes the POV of a criminal). Marquette also has a detective detecting, but an amateur detective. And, to somewhat confuse things, Taite has a police officer who becomes a bounty hunter. While some of the stories, like Vogt's, follow the victim's point of view.
Some others have police as characters detecting, but in a somewhat unofficial capacity (like Hardesty's story has a police officer heading to a completely different state to try to help in a murder investigation - as a favor not in an official capacity). Others involve Private Eyes.
Another solid collection of short stories.
Elizabeth Sims: Untold Riches
Banker; Age Difference
An older woman lusts after a younger as both train to become bank tellers. One does something stupid and the bank reacts like you'd expect the bank to react. Both express words indicating that the bank is stupid for reacting that way.
Then a crime occurs.
Rating: 2.88
March 15 2017
Carsen Taite: Colt .45
Police; Bounty Hunter; Dallas Texas
A woman recovering from being shot in the line of duty, as a police officer, turns in her badge, gun, and 'stuff'. Then goes and gets drunk. While getting drunk she gets a business card that leads to new job.
She works that new job.
I believe this is technically a prequel to that Luca Bennett series.
Rating: 4.34
March 15 2017
S.Y. Thompson: Tough to Crack
Police; Murder investigation; Kidnapping
A homicide detective works on a case that is too close to home. One of those cases investigators want to work, but shouldn't - because the investigator has a personal connection to the case. In this instance, the homicide detective had, at some point in the past, dated the murdered woman.
Rating: 4.65
March 15 2017
Andi Marquette: The Falcone Maltese
Young Adult; School; Budding lesbianism
I wish to note something first - the beginning was a little confusing. At first I thought there might be three people involved as Fred and Nattie talked - because both had their names constantly mentioned (Fred said this, Nattie said that) except when not.
Nattie took her biology book and notebook out of her locker. She feigned only passing interest but she thought immediately of Jo, Mrs. Falcone's daughter, and one of Nattie's classmates.- going by wording like found here, I thought there were three people involved. Nattie, Fred, and some third person. Because, the wording switches from 'she thought' to 'Nattie's classmates'. If we are going to be using words like 'she thought' then that second one should have been 'her classmates'. Or . . . something. Me thinks. Bah.
Despite that initial issue, I rather enjoyed this story. Unexpectedly. Since it is set in a school with 'juniors' - so . . . *thinks* people around the age of 16 to 17. You know, young adults. Not even out of high school yet.
This is the case of the dognapped dog - and a young woman who lusts after a fellow student and is talked into helping investigate the case. Apparently that young woman, Nattie that is, had previously investigated stuff - and gotten into trouble for it. So this would be her second case. Curious to see if there is some series this story corresponds with.
A solid entertaining story.
Rating: 4.727
March 15 2017
Linda M. Vogt: Roar
Victim POV; Portland; Oregon; Based on True Story
I initially thought I might not like this one, since we enter a third type of Crime Story - from the point of view of a victim. Despite expectations, I actually found this to be pretty intense and interesting.
Then found out it was based on a true story. Which is creepy.
Rating: 3.98
March 15 2017
V.K. Powell: Just Deserts
Police; Paedophile
I think I'm okay with the fact that I can't spell pedophile.
A strong case has been made against an evil man who has been abusing kids. It's not spoiler-y to note that the jury comes back with a not guilty verdict - since that's the starting off point to the story. One of the people who helped make the case is super pissed off.
The police stories in this collection tend to be better stories. And this one was well written - for what it is, but . . . (view spoiler).
Rating: 3.4
March 15 2017
Kate McLachlan: Seasons of Deception
Oh! I finally remembered what this story was. hehe. Reading a story. Making a short little note that consists of a name and a rating. Then trying to remember the story later to write something up. mmphs.
A woman spots a next door neighbor doing stuff. The neighbor is the neighborhood 'kid', though he is 74. Suddenly he starts acting weirdly. The main character woman is concerned and investigates.
Well enough story for what it is. And it is, as far as I recall, a complete story not just a snippet. But . . well, a 3 star rating on Goodreads really isn't a bad rating, per se.
Rating: 3.09
March 15 2017
Lori L. Lake: An Age Old Solution
Posing as old people; blackmail; arson
Two women mosey down the street - they look super old and stuff. Because that's their intention. They aren't, but the random people around aren't supposed to know that. One of the women is being blackmailed and the two are attempting to 'right things'.
Rating: 2.50
March 15 2017
Lynn Ames: It's a Dog's Life
Dog
I like how I try to read these stories without paying attention to which author actually wrote them (with exceptions, like I knew going in that I was reading Redmann, and/or Forrest (I kind of got the book because of them)). I say that because I've now read two Marquette short stories, and rather liked them, even though the one novel I've read (first) I didn't particularly care for.
But this is Ames? Well - if you look at what I've rated Ames stories in the past you would see . . . nothing. Because I couldn't finish the one story (full length novel) I tried to read by them. And while I knew this story here was by Ames, I didn't really remember until I finished and went to look at the author name so I could know which author to put down in my notes with the rating.
This was a neat story - told from the point of view of two dogs. Yes, dogs. The kind that walk around on four legs, are furry, and woof and stuff. The two dogs in this story meet an older woman while out and about (on the end of the leash of 'Mama' - their human). Mama's kind of tense, but the doggies are happy enough to be near this older woman. Mama's tense because that older woman is obviously homeless. Doggies happy enough to be near homeless woman because she has kind eyes.
Naturally . . . . well, this is a story told from the point of view of two dogs, so there's no 'naturally' here. hehe. The two doggies decide to try to help the homeless woman. Which proceeds to be the 'crime' in the story - 'stuff' is going missing from the human's home and she's flustered (see: dogs doing weird stuff). I won't go any further or spoil stuff (though feel the need to mention . . .nah, don't want to spoil stuff).
Cute story.
Rating: 4.15
March 15 2017
Sandra de Helen: Motel Noir
PI, Police; murder mystery
A private detective checks into a hotel room only to find a dead body in her closet. Unlike most such situations, the police do not immediately suspect her, the PI, of having killed the man. So the PI doesn't have to investigate to clear their name, keeping one step ahead of the police. Instead she asks and is allowed to help investigate. Because, hey, there was a dead body in her room and she's bored. The police are willing, mostly, to allow her to assist because it is a very small police department. I think they might have two or three people in it.
Solid enough story. Even if a little . . . flatish.
Rating: 3.45
March 16 2017
Jen Wright: Lost
Wilderness; camping; vacation; action/adventure.
This is the closest story in the bunch, if I recall the other stories correctly (I did just finish another short story collection and are reading two others at the same time), that involves the 'women getting into trouble in the outdoors' type of mystery subgenre.
Here one of the women is a police officer on vacation (with her gun) and the other is a psychiatrist (or psychologist; don't think it matters, here, which). They do stuff like fish. Paddle around in canoes. Fish some more. Sleep on the ground in tents. Both are lesbians but one is in a long term committed relationship, while the other is perpetually single - both are in their 50s.
All is going well until, while fishing again, another canoe fast approaches with a man and woman yelling in it. Before anyone leaps to any conclusions - they are the mother and father of a missing teenager - someone who had 'stepped into some bushes' and never returned.
Cop and psychologist help in the hunt.
Solid enough story.
Rating: 3.47
March 16 2017
Sue Hardesty: A Fine Mess This Is
Police; Native; Los Angeles; Arizona
A woman is awaken around 11 am by her ringing phone. She tries to ignore it but it keeps ringing. Then, trying to get it, she knocks it onto her dog. She still tries to ignore it (with pillow over head) but it continues to ring and the dog is now barking.
Her dead lover's family needs help - one of the youngsters is in jail for murder. The woman agrees immediately to head off to Los Angeles to help. And does.
Not really sure how much more to say. I could mention that she, the young woman, is half Apache. Has a girlfriend, current, who is half Irish and half Mexican (so hot-headed and stubborn about it - both of their interpretations of what that means - hot-headed from Irish, stubborn from Mexican background). Basically the girlfriend is an emotional basket-case whose emotions flip from one extreme to another without much notice. Alternating begging, to crying, to screaming, to . . well, you get it. She's not really in the story, though, since she's left in Arizona while Main Character is off in LA getting her dead lover's nephew off.
Another relatively solid story.
Rating: 3.53
March 16 2017
Jessie Chandler: Sweet Spring Revenge
Criminal; Blue collar
There's no real way to describe this story without giving away everything about the story.
A woman working three jobs to try to make ends meet uses a very bad car. That she has a great warranty for - in that the car dealership has to cover everything. Very bad in that it appears to be a one man dealership and he is a cheap handsy/gropy bastard.
One snowy night the woman decides to get even for all the times he offered to have sex with her - by grabbing her breast and stuff, that kind of offered.
I might have been tougher on the story than I should have been since I was still in the mindset that I was reading a collection of detective stories. And there's no mystery here. Just a spur of the moment crime.
Rating: 1.00
March 14-15 2017
J.M. Redmann: The Curious Case of the Disappearing Dildos
New Orleans; writer; mystery
A writer is asked, by a friend, to help on the case of the 'missing sex toys'. While the writer does write mysteries, she doesn't solve cases. But she's lured out of her house by the offer of food and the lack of 'no' being taken as an answer.
Quite good story.
Rating: 4.80
March 14 2017
Katherine V. Forrest: Jessie: A Kate Delafield Story
Police; missing person; murder mystery
Kate Delafield helps a friend, a sheriff, attempt to locate a missing friend - feared dead. Solid mystery and story.
(Notes: Walt - 64; Velma - nearly 50; Jessie - '52 years of hard living')
Rating: 4.70
March 14 2017
OVERALL
Elizabeth Sims: Untold Riches: 2.88
Carsen Taite: Colt .45: 4.34
S.Y. Thompson: Tough to Crack: 4.65
Andi Marquette: The Falcone Maltese: 4.727
Linda M. Vogt: Roar: 3.98
V.K. Powell: Just Deserts: 3.40
Kate McLachlan: Seasons of Deception: 3.09
Lori L. Lake: An Age Old Solution: 2.50
Lynn Ames: It's a Dog's Life: 4.15
Sandra de Helen: Motel Noir: 3.45
Jen Wright: Lost: 3.47
Sue Hardesty: A Fine Mess This Is: 3.53
Jessie Chandler: Sweet Spring Revenge: 1.00
J.M. Redmann: The Curious Case of the Disappearing Dildos: 4.80
Katherine V. Forrest: Jessie: A Kate Delafield Story: 4.70
Overall: ---------------------------------------- 3.64467
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