What do you think?
Rate this book
Veritas
When the hallowed halls of academia become the stage for murder, newly appointed Dean Beth Ellis's search for the truth leads her to unexpected discoveries about her own heart. For Beth Ellis, Grafton College and its faculty and students are her home and family. But the president of the college rubs everyone the wrong way, the new English professor on campus isn't much more popular, and Beth has her hands full trying to keep the peace as various campus factions quarrel. Still, she didn't expect a tenure battle to end in murder. Sally Sullivan left the Chicago police homicide division and returned to her hometown where, as chief of police, she expected her greatest challenges to be dealing with car accidents and drunk drivers. But faced with a murder investigation with more motives than evidence and an inexperienced staff, Sally finds small-town policing isn't as simple as she thought. Neither are her growing feelings for Beth Ellis. As Sally and Beth's different worlds collide, their desire to solve the murder is complicated by their unexpected attraction. A second murder on campus places the survival of the college itself, their tenuous relationship, and even their lives in jeopardy.
225 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 11, 2016
3 1/2 Stars. Veritas, is a nice old fashion who-done-it mixed with a bit of romance. Murders surround a small community where the college is the life blood of the town. When one of their own colleagues is murdered, it's up to the new Chief of Police to find the murderer. Both main characters are likeable. I enjoyed being in the head-space of the two mains, the Chief, to investigate the murder and the Dean, to understand how the college is impacted. The writing was good, but the romance was just OK. It's what stopped me from giving this book a 4. The romance starts slow, then just kind of jumps to I love you... no middle.
The actual murder mystery was quite good. I did not guess the identity of the murder until so many clues were in front of me that a 5 year old would have known. So kudos to Laughlin on that. Also, the ending was great! I'd love to go into it more, but I won't risk spoiling it.
It's weird, but I realized, I have been putting off reading this book for almost 4 years. I use to love mystery/crime books. As a kid I had a collection of Nancy Drew hardcover books. Plus, looking back, I think I had a literary crush on Nancy (probably would have been my first clue). Also, I still remember being in 5th grade and reading my first Sue Grafton book thinking this is what a mystery is suppose to be. But somehow becoming an adult, I lost my love for mystery. It's just in the past few months that I've been reading some Carsen Taite, Gerri Hill, Sarah Dreher, etc., that I can't seem to get enough of crime/mystery/thriller/cop-drama. It's funny how ones literary taste can circle over their lifetime. I didn't mean to go on a rant, and I put this at the bottom of the review so people can ignore it. It's just hit me that it took so long to give this book a chance, and I'm glad I finally did.
The actual murder mystery was quite good. I did not guess the identity of the murder until so many clues were in front of me that a 5 year old would have known. So kudos to Laughlin on that. Also, the ending was great! I'd love to go into it more, but I won't risk spoiling it.
It's weird, but I realized, I have been putting off reading this book for almost 4 years. I use to love mystery/crime books. As a kid I had a collection of Nancy Drew hardcover books. Plus, looking back, I think I had a literary crush on Nancy (probably would have been my first clue). Also, I still remember being in 5th grade and reading my first Sue Grafton book thinking this is what a mystery is suppose to be. But somehow becoming an adult, I lost my love for mystery. It's just in the past few months that I've been reading some Carsen Taite, Gerri Hill, Sarah Dreher, etc., that I can't seem to get enough of crime/mystery/thriller/cop-drama. It's funny how ones literary taste can circle over their lifetime. I didn't mean to go on a rant, and I put this at the bottom of the review so people can ignore it. It's just hit me that it took so long to give this book a chance, and I'm glad I finally did.
November 18, 2024
I picked up this book because I was badly in need of my murder mystery fix, and it certainly delivered! The mystery of who the murderer was didn’t take me long to figure out, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. I was still beyond satisfied with how the story unfolded, especially from Sally’s point of view. The police investigation kept me riveted, and there was even one big moment that had me on the edge of my seat — which is one of the reasons why I love crime mystery books.
Anyway, what I really appreciated were the story arcs of the secondary characters. They added depth and complexity to the narrative, making it feel more layered and engaging. As much as I was invested in the murder mystery, I also found myself intrigued by how these side characters played into the bigger picture.
And then, one of the more surprising aspects of this book was the developing relationship between Sally and Beth. At first, I was pretty cynical about their seemingly sudden attraction to each other, especially in the first third of the story. But, as the plot progressed, my doubts slowly faded. By the end, I found myself rooting for them as a couple. The chemistry between them eventually felt genuine, and I could see how they worked well together, which to be honest I hadn’t expected at all.
All in all, this book had a great balance of murder mystery and romance, keeping me engaged throughout. My only tiny complaint is that I felt an epilogue would’ve been a nice addition, just to tie up the story a bit more, you know... Still, this was a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me!
Anyway, what I really appreciated were the story arcs of the secondary characters. They added depth and complexity to the narrative, making it feel more layered and engaging. As much as I was invested in the murder mystery, I also found myself intrigued by how these side characters played into the bigger picture.
And then, one of the more surprising aspects of this book was the developing relationship between Sally and Beth. At first, I was pretty cynical about their seemingly sudden attraction to each other, especially in the first third of the story. But, as the plot progressed, my doubts slowly faded. By the end, I found myself rooting for them as a couple. The chemistry between them eventually felt genuine, and I could see how they worked well together, which to be honest I hadn’t expected at all.
All in all, this book had a great balance of murder mystery and romance, keeping me engaged throughout. My only tiny complaint is that I felt an epilogue would’ve been a nice addition, just to tie up the story a bit more, you know... Still, this was a solid 4 out of 5 stars for me!
January 3, 2011
Originally posted here at Yaoi Radius.
You might be tricked into thinking that Veritas is a murder mystery that happens to have a lesbian subplot. Or that it's a lesbian romance that just happens to contain a murder subplot. Both assessments would be totally wrong - well, not totally wrong but certainly off the mark. In this one novel, author Anne Laughlin has successfully woven together both romance and mystery into one single work that becomes both genres without being overcome by one or the other. It is a tightrope act of genre balancing that makes the story only that more enriching and interesting. Fans of either genre will leave satisfied and will not feel stifled by the presence of the other genre - and it shows that one can have an enthralling story of murder and intrigue and also have an LGBT romance that isn't stuck-on or cloying.
There's also the fact that the characters are interesting. Sure, some of them are dreadfully annoying - oh hello there, Beth's boss - but not because of poor writing. I find myself drawn to Sally Sullivan's character the most: she's headstrong and outspoken and wonderfully brash in an endearing kind of way. All together, Laughlin was able to bring us a cast of characters with fears and loves and agendas that felt real and moved the story along naturally, not forced at all, which only made reading it more enjoyable than if she had just forced certain moments to happen.
Another point to its credit is that Veritas is wall-to-wall motion, full of murders and drama and scandal and romance and relationship troubles galore, but it is also very fun to read. Never does reading the book become a chore, and the action never drags its feet, only to add more pieces to the puzzle that is the storyline. Every pause in the action only serves to deliver another clue as to what's going on or give more insight into the characters' current mindset. It is a wonderful read and the only time I was ever truly disappointed was when I reached the end! If Veritas is a faithful measure of her skills as a storyteller, I am certainly looking forward to reading more of Anne Laughlin's works - and I think you will too.
You might be tricked into thinking that Veritas is a murder mystery that happens to have a lesbian subplot. Or that it's a lesbian romance that just happens to contain a murder subplot. Both assessments would be totally wrong - well, not totally wrong but certainly off the mark. In this one novel, author Anne Laughlin has successfully woven together both romance and mystery into one single work that becomes both genres without being overcome by one or the other. It is a tightrope act of genre balancing that makes the story only that more enriching and interesting. Fans of either genre will leave satisfied and will not feel stifled by the presence of the other genre - and it shows that one can have an enthralling story of murder and intrigue and also have an LGBT romance that isn't stuck-on or cloying.
There's also the fact that the characters are interesting. Sure, some of them are dreadfully annoying - oh hello there, Beth's boss - but not because of poor writing. I find myself drawn to Sally Sullivan's character the most: she's headstrong and outspoken and wonderfully brash in an endearing kind of way. All together, Laughlin was able to bring us a cast of characters with fears and loves and agendas that felt real and moved the story along naturally, not forced at all, which only made reading it more enjoyable than if she had just forced certain moments to happen.
Another point to its credit is that Veritas is wall-to-wall motion, full of murders and drama and scandal and romance and relationship troubles galore, but it is also very fun to read. Never does reading the book become a chore, and the action never drags its feet, only to add more pieces to the puzzle that is the storyline. Every pause in the action only serves to deliver another clue as to what's going on or give more insight into the characters' current mindset. It is a wonderful read and the only time I was ever truly disappointed was when I reached the end! If Veritas is a faithful measure of her skills as a storyteller, I am certainly looking forward to reading more of Anne Laughlin's works - and I think you will too.
July 11, 2015
I liked reading this book, it has a good crime-mystery story!
The romance went a bit quick for me, though. There wasn't much built-up or desire flowing from the pages. I missed that.
Good read, though!
The romance went a bit quick for me, though. There wasn't much built-up or desire flowing from the pages. I missed that.
Good read, though!
Read
June 18, 2020If you think about it, stand-alone novels are best suited for the lesbian mystery genre. The obvious reason is that most readers of lesbian mysteries are also readers of lesbian romances; in fact, they probably read far more romances than mysteries. In a series of mysteries featuring the same character, say Kate Halton in Helen Shacklady’s delightful Liz and Kate mysteries set in the UK, we only get one chance—in The Patterned Flute— to see Kate meet and fall in love with Liz Sharpe. In the second and third novels we see them together after they are a couple. Ditto with Kate Delafield who, after a couple of flings in her first two adventures, meets and woos Aimee Grant in The Beverly Malibu. In most of the following books, Aimee (and romance) are mostly just window dressing. In other words the romance—if not the sex—is pretty much gone by the second book in a series.
Because there is no follow-up (at least not yet) to Veritas, we can sit back and enjoy two people getting to know each other for the first time and even bite our figurative nails as we watch the mystery unravel. And what a pleasure it is! Beth Ellis and Sally Sullivan are intelligent, well-drawn characters just different enough to look like the makings of a good couple. When a little-liked professor is murdered at the small college where Beth has just been made a dean, the two are thrown together for the first time. And, of course, sparks fly.
I always enjoy academic mysteries and for the most part, this one is more enjoyable than most. It seems that the dead man was disliked by almost everyone except the college’s new president—a nonacademic appointed by a Board of Trustees from the business world. Why did the president hire the man? And why would he threaten to fire Beth unless she convinced the tenure committee to grant him tenure? It is a lively book with a lively host of lesbians, including the irrepressible Mel, a garage mechanic with a heart as large as her libido. With about 30 pages to go, I was ready to assign this book a rate (for me) 5-star rating.
But then things changed. In the last few chapters—after most readers would have assumed the book was over (except, of course for the fact that there were still a couple of chapters to go), Laughlin subtly, then completely, changed the tone of the novel. What was intelligent step-by-step storytelling suddenly leaps into violent action; what I treasured as a believable ending to a puzzling mystery suddenly twisted into the same old chestnut of having the crimes committed by someone that just happens to be completely (but secretly) insane.
Of all the books I have read in this genre—well over 100—this book reminds me most of T.I. Alvarado’s Wanted, which sprinkled off-tone and over-the-top violence into an otherwise very enjoyable novel. In Veritas, the tone changes only at the end. It isn’t just that I was disappointed at the ending; I was shocked by it too. The prose is as well crafted as the rest of the book, but the story completely changes. It is as if Laughlin lifted the ending from another book and tacked it onto one already finished. The first ending resorted to only a few mild implausibilities; the final ending contained so many contrivances that they ruined what could have been a very fine addition to the genre—one in which the romance—from the handshake to the bedroom—was really quite well done.
Note: I read the first Bold Strokes printing of this novel.
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.
Because there is no follow-up (at least not yet) to Veritas, we can sit back and enjoy two people getting to know each other for the first time and even bite our figurative nails as we watch the mystery unravel. And what a pleasure it is! Beth Ellis and Sally Sullivan are intelligent, well-drawn characters just different enough to look like the makings of a good couple. When a little-liked professor is murdered at the small college where Beth has just been made a dean, the two are thrown together for the first time. And, of course, sparks fly.
I always enjoy academic mysteries and for the most part, this one is more enjoyable than most. It seems that the dead man was disliked by almost everyone except the college’s new president—a nonacademic appointed by a Board of Trustees from the business world. Why did the president hire the man? And why would he threaten to fire Beth unless she convinced the tenure committee to grant him tenure? It is a lively book with a lively host of lesbians, including the irrepressible Mel, a garage mechanic with a heart as large as her libido. With about 30 pages to go, I was ready to assign this book a rate (for me) 5-star rating.
But then things changed. In the last few chapters—after most readers would have assumed the book was over (except, of course for the fact that there were still a couple of chapters to go), Laughlin subtly, then completely, changed the tone of the novel. What was intelligent step-by-step storytelling suddenly leaps into violent action; what I treasured as a believable ending to a puzzling mystery suddenly twisted into the same old chestnut of having the crimes committed by someone that just happens to be completely (but secretly) insane.
Of all the books I have read in this genre—well over 100—this book reminds me most of T.I. Alvarado’s Wanted, which sprinkled off-tone and over-the-top violence into an otherwise very enjoyable novel. In Veritas, the tone changes only at the end. It isn’t just that I was disappointed at the ending; I was shocked by it too. The prose is as well crafted as the rest of the book, but the story completely changes. It is as if Laughlin lifted the ending from another book and tacked it onto one already finished. The first ending resorted to only a few mild implausibilities; the final ending contained so many contrivances that they ruined what could have been a very fine addition to the genre—one in which the romance—from the handshake to the bedroom—was really quite well done.
Note: I read the first Bold Strokes printing of this novel.
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.
January 21, 2022
I really read through this book quickly because it was so poorly written. I felt like it was written for a high school assignment. I didn’t like any of the characters, they all felt shallow with few redeeming qualities.
February 14, 2025
3.5. Kind of dragged in the beginning but a good, simple lesbian mystery!
May 22, 2015
This is a hard book to review... Honestly. I'm not sure if it will be accurate to call the phrasings in the book to be bland, but it felt that way as I was reading. I liked both lead characters and the set-up of the mysteries are great for while I had a hunch as to who was really doing the killings, I was never entirely certain and I never saw the way things would escalate. I mean, wow, it ESCALATED. There are no explicit love scenes in the book, so I really was not expecting the scenes before the final show-down -- you know, the part when the villain has the damsel captured and is spilling the beans on his/her evil plans -- to be so dramatic. It really made me feel queasy and I've read my share of blood and gore in novels, but never had such a visceral reaction to it. I'm not sure why, but the language that I've previously deemed kind of bland and detached somehow enhanced the realism of that scene. I had to go back to read the passage twice more before it finally sank in that HE/SHE DID WHAT?! The tone of voice of the narrator didn't change, but the description of what is happening JUST SUDDENLY BECAME THAT EXPLICIT. I don't think I've read anything quite as jarring between the build-up and the climax. I'm not sure if this is a good technique or bad, but it certainly caught my attention. And while the ending is sweet, I was hoping for a more detailed description of the wrapping up of the case and the relationship between Beth and her mom and Beth and Sally.
October 2, 2013
This was a quick fun read. I'd never read anything by Laughlin but I'm very interested to read more now. She has a nice, comfortable writing style and a knack for loveable characters. I really liked the leads in this, especially Sally. Also the mystery was quite good and the bad guy caught me off gaurd to say the least. If I had any complaint it's the the romantic part of the book could have been better developed. Beth and Sally get together pretty quickly and some things happen off screen that I wish we could have seen.
Still it was fun and well written. I recommend it.
Still it was fun and well written. I recommend it.
May 6, 2013
3.75 stars
Though well written, the characters needed just a little more exposition for them to really shine. Otherwise, this is a well written mystery with a romantic subplot that stayed where it was supposed to. There are enough strings left dangling that this could turn into a series if the author wants to go that way, but enough are tied off that the story feels complete. All in all a good read.
Though well written, the characters needed just a little more exposition for them to really shine. Otherwise, this is a well written mystery with a romantic subplot that stayed where it was supposed to. There are enough strings left dangling that this could turn into a series if the author wants to go that way, but enough are tied off that the story feels complete. All in all a good read.
February 8, 2014
I liked the higher education setting. The tenure discussion along with the decision can be very intense but murder, in general, not. Both of the main characters were likeable. A follow-up with Beth as the college president and Sally solving crimes and Mae is a must.
January 19, 2015
Very good - see my review at http://reviews.c-spot.net/archives/38
April 18, 2011
Can you believe I've never read a lesbian mystery story before? This one certainly won't be my last! The prose is painful at times, but the story is fun and I enjoyed the romance.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews