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Love Dies Twice
Cassandra Reilly, the Irish-American translator and amateur sleuth, shares a flat in London with her long-time friend, retired bassoonist Nicky Gibbons. Their lives are disrupted when Cassandra attends a lecture on the beguines, laywomen who lived in sisterhood in thirteenth-century Belgium. The beguines were the subject of a popular historical mystery series by Stella Terwicker who died ten years before, but whose literary estate is still creating problems for those who knew her, including her biographer. Cassandra is soon pulled into investigating a possibly suspicious death, a task that takes her from the Ladies’ Pond in London’s Hampstead Heath to the medieval city of Bruges to the seacoast of Devon. With Nicky’s help, Cassandra must unravel a story of desire, lies, and love that stretches back decades to decades to the rabble-rousing years of queer liberation and feminist publishing.
290 pages, Paperback
Published May 27, 2022
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Wilson
41 books27 followersBarbara Wilson is the pen name of author and translator Barbara Sjoholm. Her mysteries, written under the name Barbara Wilson, include two series, one with printer Pam Nilsen (Murder in the Collective) and one with translator-sleuth Cassandra Reilly. Her mysteries include the Lambda-award-winning Gaudi Afternoon, made into a film of the same name. She was a co-founder of Seal Press and in 2020 received the annual Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society for her contributions to lesbian literature. Her books have been published in England and translated into Spanish, Finnish, German, and Japanese.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 24, 2022
When I reviewed the previous Cassandra Reilly mystery, Not the Real Jupiter: A Cassandra Reilly Mystery, I wrote that I didn’t care much for Cassandra and that I might have enjoyed the book more had I read the ones that came before it. My enjoyment of this new novel seems to prove me right. The more I know Cassandra, the more I like her.
The death of Yvonne – Vonn – Henley is deemed a suicide by the London police but Cassandra doesn’t buy the old-depressed-lesbian narrative. Vonn was a leading figure in the lesbian publishing world in the 1980s, a strong character, a player, leaving women either smitten or enraged. Amateur sleuth that she is, Cassandra can’t resist the temptation to try and find some justice for Vonn.
I really like that Cassandra is in her late sixties or early seventies, as are most of the characters. They’re not decrepit but they’re definitely older and it’s a nice change. The mystery is rather cosy and intricate enough that I kept changing my mind on who I was sure the culprit was. This time, the plot is what kept me reading, even though I still like being in Cassandra’s head. It takes Cassandra, and the reader with her, on a journey in both time and space, to the Middle Ages and beguinage, to women’s collectives and queer liberation in the eighties, and to Bruges, in Belgium, as well as different places in England.
I found the relationship with Cassandra’s best friend Nicky, the bassoonist whose flat she shares in London, very nice. Friendship goals, those two. There’s also a whole gallery of secondary characters, some of whom are suspects as well, and I won’t detail them since it could lead to involuntary spoilers. All I’ll say is that I hope to see at least a couple of them again in future books. Cassandra grows to unexpectedly appreciate one of them and there’s potential there for another interesting friendship. There’s also a little romance, just enough to bring some excitement and light to a rather rainy and grim story. I didn’t need the romance to find Cassandra more interesting but it did show aspects of her personality that I didn’t know yet.
It may have taken me a little while to warm up to the Irish-American translator/traveller/sleuth but I’m now looking forward to her next adventures.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog: Jude in the Stars
The death of Yvonne – Vonn – Henley is deemed a suicide by the London police but Cassandra doesn’t buy the old-depressed-lesbian narrative. Vonn was a leading figure in the lesbian publishing world in the 1980s, a strong character, a player, leaving women either smitten or enraged. Amateur sleuth that she is, Cassandra can’t resist the temptation to try and find some justice for Vonn.
I really like that Cassandra is in her late sixties or early seventies, as are most of the characters. They’re not decrepit but they’re definitely older and it’s a nice change. The mystery is rather cosy and intricate enough that I kept changing my mind on who I was sure the culprit was. This time, the plot is what kept me reading, even though I still like being in Cassandra’s head. It takes Cassandra, and the reader with her, on a journey in both time and space, to the Middle Ages and beguinage, to women’s collectives and queer liberation in the eighties, and to Bruges, in Belgium, as well as different places in England.
I found the relationship with Cassandra’s best friend Nicky, the bassoonist whose flat she shares in London, very nice. Friendship goals, those two. There’s also a whole gallery of secondary characters, some of whom are suspects as well, and I won’t detail them since it could lead to involuntary spoilers. All I’ll say is that I hope to see at least a couple of them again in future books. Cassandra grows to unexpectedly appreciate one of them and there’s potential there for another interesting friendship. There’s also a little romance, just enough to bring some excitement and light to a rather rainy and grim story. I didn’t need the romance to find Cassandra more interesting but it did show aspects of her personality that I didn’t know yet.
It may have taken me a little while to warm up to the Irish-American translator/traveller/sleuth but I’m now looking forward to her next adventures.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog: Jude in the Stars
May 28, 2022
Cassandra Reilly’s unsolicited nose-poking yields yet another captivating story for mystery readers to enjoy. This time Cassandra’s first-person narrative leads readers through the inner workings of the publishing world as she tries to ferret out who killed Yvonne Henley, a well-known and outspoken feminist and author. The trail to her murderer is intriguing, and the ending is surprising. Fans of Wilson’s Cassandra Reilly series will not be disappointed.
Cassandra Reilly is probably one of the more interesting mature queer female characters in wlw fiction today. She’s more or less a modern-day Agatha Christie, employing a talent for amateur sleuthing. She snoops around in places that have piqued her curiosity and aroused her suspicion, even if her volunteer detective work is unwanted. However, that never deters her; she digs around until she’s extracted the answers she needs, even when it’s dangerous. Her curiosity is the ultimate conduit for the tension and suspense of this mystery, making Love Dies Twice a real page-turning thrill.
Wilson’s storytelling in Love Dies Twice is everything readers have come to expect from her. It’s tightly constructed, well-formed and engrossing. Readers are easily caught up in the drama of this mysterious tale. As always, she brings something unique and interesting to the story, giving readers detailed content that provides the plot with a mantle of substance and dimension. Readers walk away learning something about the publishing world and the kinds of people that inhabit it. It’s a nice bonus. Not only do readers get a well-written, engrossing mystery, they get a smart, well-researched story.
Final remarks…
If you like well-written, shrewdly designed mysteries and haven’t yet become acquainted with Barbara Wilson’s riddling whodunits, then I’d strongly recommend picking this book up. Her well-layered, complex plots are splendidly constructed and original. Her writing style is well-suited for mystery, with its well-formed prose and intelligent, but precise word choice. Readers can count on a solidly constructed story world filled with interesting characters and plot-twisting drama. Love Dies Twice is cover to cover, intriguing adventure, and a solid two thumbs up.
Strengths…
Well-written
Well-plotted
Intelligent
Layered, complex
Engrossing
Entertaining
Cassandra Reilly is probably one of the more interesting mature queer female characters in wlw fiction today. She’s more or less a modern-day Agatha Christie, employing a talent for amateur sleuthing. She snoops around in places that have piqued her curiosity and aroused her suspicion, even if her volunteer detective work is unwanted. However, that never deters her; she digs around until she’s extracted the answers she needs, even when it’s dangerous. Her curiosity is the ultimate conduit for the tension and suspense of this mystery, making Love Dies Twice a real page-turning thrill.
Wilson’s storytelling in Love Dies Twice is everything readers have come to expect from her. It’s tightly constructed, well-formed and engrossing. Readers are easily caught up in the drama of this mysterious tale. As always, she brings something unique and interesting to the story, giving readers detailed content that provides the plot with a mantle of substance and dimension. Readers walk away learning something about the publishing world and the kinds of people that inhabit it. It’s a nice bonus. Not only do readers get a well-written, engrossing mystery, they get a smart, well-researched story.
Final remarks…
If you like well-written, shrewdly designed mysteries and haven’t yet become acquainted with Barbara Wilson’s riddling whodunits, then I’d strongly recommend picking this book up. Her well-layered, complex plots are splendidly constructed and original. Her writing style is well-suited for mystery, with its well-formed prose and intelligent, but precise word choice. Readers can count on a solidly constructed story world filled with interesting characters and plot-twisting drama. Love Dies Twice is cover to cover, intriguing adventure, and a solid two thumbs up.
Strengths…
Well-written
Well-plotted
Intelligent
Layered, complex
Engrossing
Entertaining
May 24, 2022
Following sleuth Cassandra Reilly across Europe – a grand adventure
Washington state author Barbara Wilson is best known for her highly awarded mysteries – the Pam Nilsen series and the Cassandra Reilly Series, of which LOVE DES TWICE is the sixth installment. Her awards include the Lambda Literary awards, the British Crime Writers’ award, and the Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer award. Writing as Barbara Sjoholm her credits include travelogues, a memoir, other non-fiction works, and serving as translator of Norwegian and Danish works. She is the co-founder of Seal Press in Seattle
Having established the inimitable lesbian protagonist Cassandra Reilly through the prior five novels, jetting along with the good humored lead assures a satisfying journey as this novel opens: ‘On my own I would never have decided, especially on a filthy wet afternoon in early February, to take the train to Southeast London and to dash through the rain to a college lecture hall to hear a topic like “Stella Terwicker and the Medieval Mystery.” A month or so before, at a holiday party, I’d run into Avery Armstrong, a literary agent, and we’d agreed that it had been far too long since we’d lunched and caught up properly….’ And the mystery opens!
Barbara shares the plot summary on the back of her book: ‘Cassandra Reilly, the Irish-American translator and amateur sleuth, shares a flat in London with her long-time friend, retired bassoonist Nicky Gibbons. Their lives are disrupted when Cassandra attends a lecture on the beguines, laywomen who lived in sisterhood in thirteenth-century Belgium. The beguines were the subject of a popular historical mystery series by Stella Terwicker who died ten years before, but whose literary estate is still creating problems for those who knew her, including her biographer. Cassandra is soon pulled into investigating a possibly suspicious death, a task that takes her from the Ladies’ Pond in London’s Hampstead Heath to the medieval city of Bruges to the seacoast of Devon. With Nicky’s help, Cassandra must unravel a story of desire, lies, and love that stretches back decades to decades to the rabble-rousing years of queer liberation and feminist publishing.’
Just the right mixture of mystery, intrigue and humor, this novel is liltingly written – a complete pleasure to follow the shenanigans of Cassandra Reilly once again. Recommended.
Washington state author Barbara Wilson is best known for her highly awarded mysteries – the Pam Nilsen series and the Cassandra Reilly Series, of which LOVE DES TWICE is the sixth installment. Her awards include the Lambda Literary awards, the British Crime Writers’ award, and the Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer award. Writing as Barbara Sjoholm her credits include travelogues, a memoir, other non-fiction works, and serving as translator of Norwegian and Danish works. She is the co-founder of Seal Press in Seattle
Having established the inimitable lesbian protagonist Cassandra Reilly through the prior five novels, jetting along with the good humored lead assures a satisfying journey as this novel opens: ‘On my own I would never have decided, especially on a filthy wet afternoon in early February, to take the train to Southeast London and to dash through the rain to a college lecture hall to hear a topic like “Stella Terwicker and the Medieval Mystery.” A month or so before, at a holiday party, I’d run into Avery Armstrong, a literary agent, and we’d agreed that it had been far too long since we’d lunched and caught up properly….’ And the mystery opens!
Barbara shares the plot summary on the back of her book: ‘Cassandra Reilly, the Irish-American translator and amateur sleuth, shares a flat in London with her long-time friend, retired bassoonist Nicky Gibbons. Their lives are disrupted when Cassandra attends a lecture on the beguines, laywomen who lived in sisterhood in thirteenth-century Belgium. The beguines were the subject of a popular historical mystery series by Stella Terwicker who died ten years before, but whose literary estate is still creating problems for those who knew her, including her biographer. Cassandra is soon pulled into investigating a possibly suspicious death, a task that takes her from the Ladies’ Pond in London’s Hampstead Heath to the medieval city of Bruges to the seacoast of Devon. With Nicky’s help, Cassandra must unravel a story of desire, lies, and love that stretches back decades to decades to the rabble-rousing years of queer liberation and feminist publishing.’
Just the right mixture of mystery, intrigue and humor, this novel is liltingly written – a complete pleasure to follow the shenanigans of Cassandra Reilly once again. Recommended.
July 30, 2022
Cassandra Reilly is back. The first 4 volumes in the series were published between 1990 and 1997. For those new to Cassandra, Wilson created a protagonist who completely believable. Cassandra is an expat who lives Europe and earns her living as a translator. She specializes in Spanish to English works. She rooms with her good friend, Nicki, a professional bassoonist. This is not a slapped together formula. No harried young professional who has mother issues. No lurking policeman who is the antagonist, in short, not another boring cozy.
Instead we are treated to some history of the early days in feminist publishing. The death of Vonn Henley, a well known activist heavily involved in a feminist publishing collective from the 1980's troubles Cassandra. It is all too convenient. Was the drowning accidental? Or was she eliminated before she could create a nasty scandal in the publishing world It seems, the biographer of a highly popular historical mystery series has left out some key points regarding her subject's life.
The fictitious series, is one this reader wishes were real. Set in Burges in a medieval beguinage, the amateur sleuth solves crimes set in this women's community. Wilson takes the time to offer an insightful look into this world, opening the door to a little known part of life in the Middle Ages.
Wilson's elegant prose and strong characters bring the reader joyfully to a new look at Cassandra. Unlike many books that pick up after a hiatus, Cassandra has aged. Most of the cast are now in there late 60's. But these are not doty old ladies nodding in the sun. They are passionate vibrant people, one readers will enjoy meeting again, or for the first time.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Instead we are treated to some history of the early days in feminist publishing. The death of Vonn Henley, a well known activist heavily involved in a feminist publishing collective from the 1980's troubles Cassandra. It is all too convenient. Was the drowning accidental? Or was she eliminated before she could create a nasty scandal in the publishing world It seems, the biographer of a highly popular historical mystery series has left out some key points regarding her subject's life.
The fictitious series, is one this reader wishes were real. Set in Burges in a medieval beguinage, the amateur sleuth solves crimes set in this women's community. Wilson takes the time to offer an insightful look into this world, opening the door to a little known part of life in the Middle Ages.
Wilson's elegant prose and strong characters bring the reader joyfully to a new look at Cassandra. Unlike many books that pick up after a hiatus, Cassandra has aged. Most of the cast are now in there late 60's. But these are not doty old ladies nodding in the sun. They are passionate vibrant people, one readers will enjoy meeting again, or for the first time.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
August 21, 2024
I have read all of the Cassandra Reilly novels and love Barbara Wilson's writing. For several years I had the opportunity to attend a writers' retreat that she created along with Judith Barrington and Ruth Gundle. I appreciated the memory lane trip to early feminist book publishing. I was involved in the women in print movement because I owned a feminist bookstore and taught Women's Studies. I was around to witness the development of feminist presses, authors and booksellers. It was an exciting historical movement, although stressful at times. Cassandra is a world traveling translator who becomes involved in solving the mystery of the death of a colleague who was responsible for creating a publishing collective about forty years ago. The drowning is determined to be either accidental or suicide but Cassandra believes the woman was murdered and sets out to interview everyone who knew her. We also learn some of the true history of the beguines, a group of religious women who chose to live together for independence and self-determination. Although they were not affiliated with a formal church. they dedicated themselves to healing and caring for others.
June 17, 2022
This was my first time reading this Author, and I was captivated from page one. The simplicity with with she executes her story is just brilliant.
Cassandra is and alluring character, she is Lovable and she also very funny. The story progresses well without ever getting dull. As Cassandra begins investigating the suspicious death of Vonn, a new mystery brews one that's even more complicated. Cassandra dies well to dig through as she tries to solve the case. I loved everything about it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Cassandra is and alluring character, she is Lovable and she also very funny. The story progresses well without ever getting dull. As Cassandra begins investigating the suspicious death of Vonn, a new mystery brews one that's even more complicated. Cassandra dies well to dig through as she tries to solve the case. I loved everything about it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 21, 2023
Took this home from the New Book shelf at my library because of the Medieval reference, a period I enjoy reading about. This book did not appeal to me, and I actually found it to be annoying.
Library Loan
Library Loan
July 24, 2023
Another interesting, multi-layered, character-driven mystery, following the 2021 series restart, Not the Real Jupiter. A great read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews