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Cassidy James Mysteries #1
1st Impressions
Rookie PI Cassidy James is hired to find a murdered man's killer in a quiet Oregon lakeside resort -- but the town's sexist police sergeant doesn't care to have an uppity lesbian gumshoe on the case. He's keen to arrest the victim's beautiful niece, who has Cassidy head over heels in love -- and in danger. This series, with its tough, tender, appealing heroine and realistic love scenes, is a fresh and welcome alternative to "straight" mystery fiction.
198 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
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116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 26, 2019
Enjoyable read!
A likable female detective,the storyline is very intriguing at times and included a little romance. Recommended series!
A likable female detective,the storyline is very intriguing at times and included a little romance. Recommended series!
November 5, 2016
And I was thinking that I couldn't find more great series.
This one is awesome, couldn't stop reading! Each case is more interesting than the last one.
This one is awesome, couldn't stop reading! Each case is more interesting than the last one.
April 23, 2024
The first in a series I was really hopeful about and love the authentic voice KC gives the main characters, but after about 40% I found it less interesting as crime followed crime.
September 30, 2007
OK mystery, definately saved by great sex scenes.
July 5, 2022
3 stars
A decent murder-mystery. Not as great as some others I've read lately, but still well executed. I liked the MC, she was fun.
Some of the stuff in the novel was a bit outdated, especially in terms of perception of gay people, but it was written/does take place in the 90's, so it's time appropriate.
It's also quite short, almost novella length. Haven't decided yet whether it's a plus or not.
A decent murder-mystery. Not as great as some others I've read lately, but still well executed. I liked the MC, she was fun.
Some of the stuff in the novel was a bit outdated, especially in terms of perception of gay people, but it was written/does take place in the 90's, so it's time appropriate.
It's also quite short, almost novella length. Haven't decided yet whether it's a plus or not.
May 10, 2021
An author can slit a throat, crush a skull, poison an entire parish, and I'm good, these things happen and mystery novels would be hard put to replace them. But, sever a penis and you've got my full attention. And, when the central character is a lesbian ... well, let's just say I had my suspicions :) *
"First Impressions" introduces Cass James and the lakeside town of Cedar Hills, Oregon. She's moved after the death of her soulmate and, despite being financially secure, has drifted into P.I. work.
She's hired by the beautiful Erica Trinidad, the prime suspect after her uncle is found dead and missing his manhood in the local lake. As luck would have it Erica is also female friendly - it's only a matter of time!
The book is a slow burn to an explosive ending, with a mix of romance, a lot of plodding investigative work, and a cast of eccentric characters.
Cass is a likeable character, brash and outgoing but also easily hurt as she tries to re-ignite her passion for life and one woman in particular.
Overall it is a good read. 3.5 Stars.
* It wasn't Cass, but I wouldn't put it past her!
"First Impressions" introduces Cass James and the lakeside town of Cedar Hills, Oregon. She's moved after the death of her soulmate and, despite being financially secure, has drifted into P.I. work.
She's hired by the beautiful Erica Trinidad, the prime suspect after her uncle is found dead and missing his manhood in the local lake. As luck would have it Erica is also female friendly - it's only a matter of time!
The book is a slow burn to an explosive ending, with a mix of romance, a lot of plodding investigative work, and a cast of eccentric characters.
Cass is a likeable character, brash and outgoing but also easily hurt as she tries to re-ignite her passion for life and one woman in particular.
Overall it is a good read. 3.5 Stars.
* It wasn't Cass, but I wouldn't put it past her!
May 15, 2018
Excellent!
I loved 1st Impressions. Cassidy James is a great character. The mystery was fun to follow. I will look for a follow up to this book.
I loved 1st Impressions. Cassidy James is a great character. The mystery was fun to follow. I will look for a follow up to this book.
February 24, 2020
4 stars for so precisely meeting my expectations :)
July 12, 2022
A nicely written mystery. Hopefully the rest of the series is as good.
December 16, 2025
It's a fun book. Kinda straight forward, let's say light, but that was exactly I wanted.
Read
June 18, 2020Cassidy James, numbed by the death of her lover, sells all her possessions in California and moves to the Oregon coast. Just for kicks, she goes through the process of becoming a Private Investigator, but once she actually gets her license, doubts that she will ever take on any clients. That’s what she thinks. Luckily, her friend Martha, a police officer, recommends her to a babelicious client whose unsavory uncle has just been offed by person or persons unknown. Cassidy takes the case. Did you think she wouldn't?
In the small town where she lives, everybody, of course, knows everybody. It also seems that everybody hated the murdered man for one reason or another. Then another crime occurs, and another. Can they be related? Kudos for creating a different kind of criminal in this one, although the motives seem to be a bit (or more) lacking. Still, it takes all kinds of criminals to make a world.
This is an easy read with interesting characters, a book to take to the beach and bring home to put on your shelf. You may not want to read it again, but at least you have it. Cass is kind of a brash fledgling PI. She hands out her business card to all and sundry and makes it a point to visit every possible suspect. A couple of times, though, her investigation proceeds in an improbable way. When she wants to interview a young man, she goes to his high school football stadium to find him even though it is summer and it is raining. She also “just happens to see” one of the other suspects knocking around his kid sister.
It’s not a bad mystery by any means, and the climactic dénouement is worth the wait, however unlikely the events. The criminals get theirs and the PI gets to keep the girl. I guess that’s what it’s all about. What brings a book out of the "not bad" category, however, is missing from this one. The writing is okay, no problems. The mystery is also fine, no problems other than the improbabilities and most mysteries have these. It is that extra feeling—like in Gina Dartt’s Nova Scotia mysteries, the literacy—such as in Elizabeth Woodcraft’s books, or the subject—pick most of the Katherine V. Forrest books, that is missing here.
To be fair, many readers are scared off by this something extra that makes an okay book into a good one. Don’t be. Don’t give five stars to something that deserves only three. It is our job as readers, and—with the advent of e-book and Print-on-Demand publishing—editors, to set a high standard for lesbian mysteries. I will give this one a 3, but not higher. Will I read the second in the series? I will if I get my hands on it, and I guess that might be recommendation enough.
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.
In the small town where she lives, everybody, of course, knows everybody. It also seems that everybody hated the murdered man for one reason or another. Then another crime occurs, and another. Can they be related? Kudos for creating a different kind of criminal in this one, although the motives seem to be a bit (or more) lacking. Still, it takes all kinds of criminals to make a world.
This is an easy read with interesting characters, a book to take to the beach and bring home to put on your shelf. You may not want to read it again, but at least you have it. Cass is kind of a brash fledgling PI. She hands out her business card to all and sundry and makes it a point to visit every possible suspect. A couple of times, though, her investigation proceeds in an improbable way. When she wants to interview a young man, she goes to his high school football stadium to find him even though it is summer and it is raining. She also “just happens to see” one of the other suspects knocking around his kid sister.
It’s not a bad mystery by any means, and the climactic dénouement is worth the wait, however unlikely the events. The criminals get theirs and the PI gets to keep the girl. I guess that’s what it’s all about. What brings a book out of the "not bad" category, however, is missing from this one. The writing is okay, no problems. The mystery is also fine, no problems other than the improbabilities and most mysteries have these. It is that extra feeling—like in Gina Dartt’s Nova Scotia mysteries, the literacy—such as in Elizabeth Woodcraft’s books, or the subject—pick most of the Katherine V. Forrest books, that is missing here.
To be fair, many readers are scared off by this something extra that makes an okay book into a good one. Don’t be. Don’t give five stars to something that deserves only three. It is our job as readers, and—with the advent of e-book and Print-on-Demand publishing—editors, to set a high standard for lesbian mysteries. I will give this one a 3, but not higher. Will I read the second in the series? I will if I get my hands on it, and I guess that might be recommendation enough.
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.
March 13, 2019
Cass James moved to the small lake town of Cedar Hills, Oregon after her partner died. Not needing to work, she finds herself learning the private detective ropes after her best friend suggested it. Erica Trinidad stopped by her uncle’s lake house on her way to Canada. That night however, her uncle was murdered and abandoned in the lake. Erica ends up hiring Cass to help solve the murder for which she has now become the prime suspect. Things get more complicated as Cass unravels the story and finds herself in the thick of it.
This is a fun story that grabs your attention with the very first sentence. The setting is this little town of a few hundred where crime is not common. However, it seems any of the residents are capable of murder overnight. It was fun to “come along” with Cass for the interviews and have a guess at who was involved in the crimes. That said, there was no major plot twist, which may disappoint serious mystery/thriller readers alike. The story could have also benefited from more action scenes early on instead of saving most of it until later in the book.
I actually did not realize this book was published during my freshman college year, 1996, until I finished it. There was mention of poor cellphone reception in the town but I assumed it was just due to the location. Now I see how it was simply because cellphone networks were not well established then. It was interesting to see how Cass had to call from a pay phone and check her home answering machine! That’s a blast from the past.
This is the first of eight books in the series. The mystery is the book’s main focus and romance is the side story, but feels more like the foundation for more to come. And I will be reading to see what happens with the leads and the rest of these likable characters.
3.5 stars
This is a fun story that grabs your attention with the very first sentence. The setting is this little town of a few hundred where crime is not common. However, it seems any of the residents are capable of murder overnight. It was fun to “come along” with Cass for the interviews and have a guess at who was involved in the crimes. That said, there was no major plot twist, which may disappoint serious mystery/thriller readers alike. The story could have also benefited from more action scenes early on instead of saving most of it until later in the book.
I actually did not realize this book was published during my freshman college year, 1996, until I finished it. There was mention of poor cellphone reception in the town but I assumed it was just due to the location. Now I see how it was simply because cellphone networks were not well established then. It was interesting to see how Cass had to call from a pay phone and check her home answering machine! That’s a blast from the past.
This is the first of eight books in the series. The mystery is the book’s main focus and romance is the side story, but feels more like the foundation for more to come. And I will be reading to see what happens with the leads and the rest of these likable characters.
3.5 stars
June 26, 2022
As far as the lesbian detective sub-genre goes, this store has everything. Queer lead devastated by the loss of her partner, fun cop (acab) lesbian bestie, and a sexy mystery woman. What more could you want?
Probably something that has less Nazi’s in it.
The whole “strange string of murders in town” I could get behind, but out of the blue it becomes a novel about persecution and the hatred white supremacy breeds. I was super caught off guard and if we’re being honest, I don’t think it was done very well. BUT if you like the first there are 8 more in the series so!!!
Probably something that has less Nazi’s in it.
The whole “strange string of murders in town” I could get behind, but out of the blue it becomes a novel about persecution and the hatred white supremacy breeds. I was super caught off guard and if we’re being honest, I don’t think it was done very well. BUT if you like the first there are 8 more in the series so!!!
June 27, 2014
The theme of series of crimes happening in this Cedar Hills, Oregon city was a good plot and the way of seeking information was disturbing in it insert of the love life made it seemed more like a lark with the private investigator instead of the actual murders and it development of the crime.
April 16, 2009
Cassidy James begins career in PI business - solves murder of locals and finds love - average - some scenes are too clichéd. Wasn't too impressed.
January 22, 2012
I liked it very much. You can read my review at http://reviews.c-spot.net/archives/47
July 15, 2015
Interesting. Not a bad first book. Typical LezFic in most ways, but the characterizations are very good.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews