Unexpected Ties

Unexpected #2

by Gina L. Dartt

Sometimes the ties that bind can be deadly.

When Stephen Elliot ends up face down in his chocolate mousse at the Historical Society's annual dinner, Kate Shannon and Nikki Harris are swept up in another mystery, much to Kate's chagrin and Nikki's delight. Family ties run deep in the powerful Elliot family, who pull a lot of strings in the tiny town of Truro, and it's very possible that one of those snarled knots has led directly to murder. Meanwhile, Kate and Nikki have family threads of their own that become more complicated when Kate's grandmother unexpectedly returns from Florida, and Nikki's parents, out on the farm, start taking a sudden interest in the couple's unexpected romantic relationship. Can they sort out all these tangled strands before the killer cuts the lifeline that binds them together?

Unexpected Series Book 2

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, LGBT, Lesbian Fiction, Lesbian Romance

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Gina L. Dartt was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada. She grew up with a love of science fiction, particularly Star Trek (though that faded with the end of Voyager and the beginning of Enterprise). (from the publisher's website)

Reviews

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one as much as the first. I’m pretty disappointed there isn’t another in the series. Bummer dude.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think 3.5 stars. This is an odd book. It is a mixture of mystery, family dynamics, romance, and navigation of small town life in the midst of a lesbian relationship. The mystery plays second or third fiddle to the story so it feels like an afterthought. I never read the first in the series so I was a bit lost in the beginning since the author didn’t do any kind of rehash of the characters and how they met at the beginning of the book, only a bit later on in the story. This is an age gap romance between Katie and Nikki but it isn’t defined by a number. There is plenty of sex and working through their growing attraction. The author really didn’t need the mystery to add extra to the story. It was gently entertaining.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny read you read a book and suddenly realise you are the villain of the piece. Not the company execs trying to kill each other off, but rather the evil women in open relationships who just use that as an excuse to hit on women who aren't and who drink too much... (Absoultely dreadful portrayal of poly people).
But it was nice to see Janeway back in her AU fic.
This was definitely more fic than mystery. There were more sex scenes than there were scenes involving the murder. In fact when it did all come out in the last chapter I had such a hard time remembering which sibling was which, because there was so little time given to them. I remembered the bad ones had grown up in the trailer park, but not their names...
Also I realised for a book that was about a book store owner, and one of her best customers, no one ever read! Except the newspaper occassionally.
While it was nice to see Nikki and Kate happy together there really wasn't enough plot for a whole book here. I'm not surprised there wasn't a third.

[SussexCat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picks up right where Unexpected Sparks left off..pretty much...
The romance/relationship between Kate and Nikki continues on.
The best part of this is how they really figure out how much they like sex...together.
Nikki steps up her seduction technique and there is a scene when they are in a store... well.. Nikki got me bothered.
You'll know it.
Some family drama is folded in to the mystery which the story is weaving through and we learn a little more about the character of each woman.
A nice cosy read with a little something extra.

[Catherine T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun if predictable in places!

[Megan]

Although Gina Dartt does not list Penny Mickelbury among her favorite authors, it’s hard not to see resemblances between Dartt’s “Unexpected” series and Mickelbury’s “Giana and Mimi” mysteries. First and most obvious is that both have co-protagonist and use alternating points of view to tell the story. Neither Giana nor Mimi nor Kate nor Nicki play a supporting role. In fact, they are the only two authors I have read so far to use this technique. More parallels: Each series contains one character that is fully out and one that is not. In the first two books of Mickelbury’s series, each of the lovers gets trapped by the murderer, only to be saved by the other—and guess what: Dartt does the same thing. Finally, both authors create characters that truly and delightfully love one another. What all this tells me—if in fact Dartt read Mickelbury at all—is that she is smart enough to recognize a good thing when she sees it. Mickelbury is a good teacher; Dartt is not only a capable student, but ends up outstripping her teacher.

The second book in the “Unexpected” series is as good as the first, and that’s saying something. In this one, the characters of Kate’s rich grandmother and Nicki’s hard-working parents are introduced, giving both characters deeper back stories. When a prominent business man is poisoned at a benefit dinner, Nicki—much to Kate’s dismay—decides to investigate.

One thing I really love about Dartt’s writing is that she isn't satisfied to let silly plot twists go by without letting us know that she is aware of them. Whereas Penny Mickelbury is satisfied just to tell the reader that a number of victims were killed by boys throwing hunting knives from moving cars—an incredibly unlikely if not impossible task—Dartt lets us know that, for instance, she is aware that murders are very rare in her part of the country and that having three in a matter of months will probably never happen again. In other words, if there are oddities, Dartt is aware of them and is able to explain their possibilities.

The solution to this mystery does not rely on as much coincidence as it did in the first book. Nicki’s new job as dispatcher at the police station gives her more possibilities to uncover basic facts. And the disagreement between Kate and Nicki about the danger of investigating murders gives their relationship some give and take.

The sex scenes, too, are well done and loving. However, if I have a quibble about this book, it is that there are too many of them. I am a believer that what happens in a book must move either the plot or the relationship. Most, but not all, of the scenes in this book do it well—especially the scene where they experiment with toys for the first time. It is actually a brilliantly done scene and shows a great deal about what Nicki and Kate feel for each other. At least one later scene, maybe more, are in my opinion gratuitous, either to satisfy a desire for a certain page count or fans of the sex scenes in the first book.

Despite this small quibble, Unexpected Ties is a worthy sequel to Unexpected Sparks. The series remains near the very top of my list. I would hope that Dartt decides to write a third novel in this series, then stop. Three is enough. But if she decides to stop at two, that’s fine with me. The series works fine the way it is.

Note: I read the e-book version of this book that was available in November, 2013.

Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.

[Eero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second part of story of romantic interlude between small town bookshop owner (Kate) and police dispatcher (Nikki), who plays part of amateur detective on her free time. And when there is murder in acquaintance circle Nikki feels compelled to investigate it even when Kate is against it , because things what happened in previous book.

Although most of the book focus to romance between Kate and Nikki and how it developes. Romance between these two women is new, which probably the reason why there is so much sex scenes. All sex scenes are mildy descripted, so this is not erotic book, but it is full of passion.