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Stevie Houston Mystery #1
Last Rites
When a grisly death turns out to be murder, newly promoted Detective Stevie Houston is determined to solve it. But when one of the suspects turns up dead, police officials brand him the killer and pronounce the case open-and-shut.Stevie knows that if she pursues the case, she risks spending the rest of her career writing traffic tickets. What she doesn't know is that the investigation could be leading her on a one-way trip to the wrong side of a body bag.
179 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
43 people want to read
About the author
Tracey Richardson
34 books264 followersI'm the author of several lesbian romance novels published by Bella Books, including the Lambda Literary Award finalists "Last Salute" and "No Rules of Engagement". I'm a voracious reader, even more so now that I've retired from a 27-year career as a daily newspaper journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2020
So I have a lot of thoughts on this one... which essentially boils down to I wanted it to be spicier and have more sexual tension/build-up.
January 5, 2023
Goed boek, alleen gaat relatie erg snel...
Een vrouw in een mannen wereld.
Ik vind niet , zoals mijn partner gezocht heeft op reviews van andere lezers, dat dit verhaal de spanning heeft van Ali Vali's Cain Casey serie!!!
Een vrouw in een mannen wereld.
Ik vind niet , zoals mijn partner gezocht heeft op reviews van andere lezers, dat dit verhaal de spanning heeft van Ali Vali's Cain Casey serie!!!
December 23, 2017
Cheesy fast read
Read
June 18, 2020Because so many lesbian police detective novels are similar, maybe it is best to focus on some of the things that make Stevie Houston different. There aren't many, but the few I can find are at least minimally interesting. First of all, she is not established in her position on the force, like Carol Ashton or Kate Delafield. She is a rookie detective with a fierce desire to succeed. Second, she was once half of a set of twins, her sister Sarah having drowned at age five. This gives the young (and grown) Stevie a fear of commitment—that whoever she loves might leave her as her sister did.
But that’s pretty much where the innovations end. Stevie has to work with a stable of officers that are homophobic and she takes chances that are simply out of line. When she is able to unearth a couple of clues to the murder, her superiors choose to ignore them, even though they not only point to the killer, but point him out in a way that would be almost open and shut for any jury.
And as in many other of mysteries I have read lately, Last Rites suffers from poor internal dialogue, as if the author (or editor) couldn't make up her mind whether to use first or third person point of view. Lines like “Jesus, Houston, get it together,” are more than vaguely reminiscent of Poppy .Dilworth’s unwieldy internal thoughts in the Dorothy Tell novels. Richardson also drifts into the point of view of other characters—just briefly enough to tell us that her plot and craft have gotten away from her. From an artistic standpoint, having to resort to another character’s perception—unless it is deliberately done in a chapter-by-chapter or section-by-section way (as is masterfully done in Penny Mickelbury’s Gianna and Mimi novels)—is a cop out.
And if I read any more descriptions about how our hero is a “lone wolf” or “doesn't like rules” or is “afraid of commitment,” I think I’ll scream. Especially if it is written in the language of Silhouette romances, which some of this is.
Okay, so what about Stevie’s relationship with the forensic pathologist she meets at the murder scene? Well, it’s not hard to see why Stevie falls for Jade; she is an intelligent, good-looking woman who is great at her job. But what does Jade see in Stevie? The uniform? Her strong silence? There just doesn't seem to be anything special about Stevie, and certainly nothing in their few brief conversations that would bring them together romantically. Stevie says it herself: “What was even more remarkable was that this woman seemed to be falling for her, too.” Remarkable indeed.
Give this one two stars and attach to it the label “Less than Mediocre,” a label that by no means fits this novel alone.
Final Rating: 2
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.
But that’s pretty much where the innovations end. Stevie has to work with a stable of officers that are homophobic and she takes chances that are simply out of line. When she is able to unearth a couple of clues to the murder, her superiors choose to ignore them, even though they not only point to the killer, but point him out in a way that would be almost open and shut for any jury.
And as in many other of mysteries I have read lately, Last Rites suffers from poor internal dialogue, as if the author (or editor) couldn't make up her mind whether to use first or third person point of view. Lines like “Jesus, Houston, get it together,” are more than vaguely reminiscent of Poppy .Dilworth’s unwieldy internal thoughts in the Dorothy Tell novels. Richardson also drifts into the point of view of other characters—just briefly enough to tell us that her plot and craft have gotten away from her. From an artistic standpoint, having to resort to another character’s perception—unless it is deliberately done in a chapter-by-chapter or section-by-section way (as is masterfully done in Penny Mickelbury’s Gianna and Mimi novels)—is a cop out.
And if I read any more descriptions about how our hero is a “lone wolf” or “doesn't like rules” or is “afraid of commitment,” I think I’ll scream. Especially if it is written in the language of Silhouette romances, which some of this is.
Okay, so what about Stevie’s relationship with the forensic pathologist she meets at the murder scene? Well, it’s not hard to see why Stevie falls for Jade; she is an intelligent, good-looking woman who is great at her job. But what does Jade see in Stevie? The uniform? Her strong silence? There just doesn't seem to be anything special about Stevie, and certainly nothing in their few brief conversations that would bring them together romantically. Stevie says it herself: “What was even more remarkable was that this woman seemed to be falling for her, too.” Remarkable indeed.
Give this one two stars and attach to it the label “Less than Mediocre,” a label that by no means fits this novel alone.
Final Rating: 2
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.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews