The Red Files in Lesbian Mysteries

Sep 01, 2015 Jem rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, opposites-attract, fun-fun-read, mystery-intrigue, favorite-2015-reads, angst-fests, unrequited

Investigative reporters are a relatively rare breed in lesfic. Getting two of them together in one book and having them actually chase after a story the old-fashioned way is even rarer. That alone should be a good reason to snag this book.

But is it any good? Let's see.

Brash, ambitious and a with a good ear for the news, Lauren King got from writing about butter cows in Iowa to celebrity parties in L.A., but unfortunately, no further. On the other hand, Catherine Ayers career went in the other d Investigative reporters are a relatively rare breed in lesfic. Getting two of them together in one book and having them actually chase after a story the old-fashioned way is even rarer. That alone should be a good reason to snag this book.

But is it any good? Let's see.

Brash, ambitious and a with a good ear for the news, Lauren King got from writing about butter cows in Iowa to celebrity parties in L.A., but unfortunately, no further. On the other hand, Catherine Ayers career went in the other direction, from celebrated bureau chief of a news desk in Washington DC to lowly gossip columnist. Lauren had hoped her hard work, earnestness and interest in 'real' news would impress Ayers and net her a mentor and ally, but Ayers is cold, dismissive and downright vicious. An unusual development at a corporate launching pricked Lauren's news sense enough to raise an alarm. But Ayers smells it too and proposes a collaboration. Can Lauren stand going after the story with the Caustic Queen at her side 24/7 ? Can she even be trusted with not stealing the story for herself, knowing Ayers is itching for THE exclusive scoop to get her back in the game.

The author has a good ear for witty dialogue, and a keen eye for situation comedy. Her skits are laugh out loud and often ROFL-funny. But as the chase for the story begins to unearth dirty secrets and people start disappearing, the mood changes appropriately to one of urgency and danger. At first the mystery will seem silly and contrived (so much so that I was already prejudging the book as a lightweight romp) but nothing is as it seems, as our intrepid duo eventually find out. Twists and turns guarantee the reader's attention till the very end.(view spoiler) I also liked how the author imbued such cliche supporting characters (gay bff, hacker pals, powerful supporter) with enough personality and stuff to do to make them stand out. Best of all, I liked how the romance (or almost lack of it) went. Ayers has had a lifetime building up her glacial front, and I was afraid the author would take the easy way out by having Lauren thaw her in one hot road trip. Its not that there isn't romance (its scorching hot when it flares, btw), just that the MCs don't let it get in the way of the all-important 'story'. When that's settled, a huge, huge payoff await the patient romantic (loved the angst!). A pack of tissues will come in handy. :)

This book joins a very rare club in my f/f reading history: Only two other books have ever hurt my tummy (from laughing) and my heart (from breaking) alternately in the same book: The Blind Side of Love and Mina Borsalino Flips Out. This is the third.

5 stars

P.S. Huh, I can't believe the author is Ozzie! Could have sworn she's Iowan, lol. Good job with the Americanisms!

ARC received from Netgalley
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Jan 23, 2018 Lia A rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Lee Winter never cease to amaze me. Now this becomes my new favorite of her book. Wonder why I didn't read this one sooner. ...more

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Dec 31, 2015 Lexxi Kitty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbt, age-gap-significant, age-030s, reviewed, romance, lesbian-fiction, age-difference, mystery, setting-state-california, setting-city-los-angeles

Well, let me see what I can put together for this book here. Slightly harder now, since I’m about 50% into the second book I’ve started since ending ‘The Red Files’.

Somewhat needless to say, considering this is the first book by this author, but I feel vaguely that I need to note that this is the first book I’ve read by this author.

I had somewhat randomly decided to read this book here, not as random as pure chance – I mean, it was one of the 22 or so books that had been picked to be read Februa ...more

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Jan 26, 2016 Megan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lesbian-mystery

I have trouble actually explaining why one voice is better than another. I might love it or hate it or anything in between. And, of course, the voice of a novel is the first thing that any reader notices, even if it is only subconsciously. Suffice it to say that there is just something about the voice in The Red Files that grabs me. It is as if my perception and her voice are magnets that attract. Contrast that with a voice like, say, the voice in Terri Breneman’s Anticipation, where one of the I have trouble actually explaining why one voice is better than another. I might love it or hate it or anything in between. And, of course, the voice of a novel is the first thing that any reader notices, even if it is only subconsciously. Suffice it to say that there is just something about the voice in The Red Files that grabs me. It is as if my perception and her voice are magnets that attract. Contrast that with a voice like, say, the voice in Terri Breneman’s Anticipation, where one of the magnets is reversed and I kept having to force myself to stay with it. So, okay, The Red Files has a delightful voice. What about the story?

It all starts when lowly entertainment reporter Lauren King attends a fete for a new financial organization called SmartPay, which was just been hired to take over the payroll duties of California’s state workers. At this party, however,Lauren spots a number of women that look out of place—women that turn out to be prostitutes bussed in from Carson City, Nevada, home of SmartPay. She also finds out that their trip—which oddly included no sexual objectives—was paid through an account listed to a branch of the Nevada legislature.

Curious about why the Nevada government would call unsavory attention to itself at such an important event, Lauren decides to look into the deal a little more closely. Unfortunately, her arch-nemesis on the newspaper—acerbic gossip columnist Catherine Ayers—has also noticed the out-of-place guests and cajoles Lauren into a partnership. Their quest takes them to a bus company, a sleazy liquor store, a bordello, and finally into a muddy ditch—followed most of the way by mysterious thugs in black suits. And somehow in the midst of all this, the two rivals start looking at each other with new eyes.

In a twist away from the usual lesbian mystery model, half of the novel goes by before we get even the slightest whiff that either Lauren or Catherine might be attracted to their own sex. Out of over 200 books I have read in this genre, only Iza Moreau’s The News in Small Towns is similar in this regard. And in an incredible coincidence, the action in both books begin with an ill protagonist being awakened from a troubled sleep by a phone call having to do with goats.

But two other authors also come to mind. Lauren and Catherine’s budding, biting, and snarky relationship is similar to the one between Kate and Liz in Helen Shacklady’s fine trilogy of Lesbian Mysteries. But it is also—not only because of their ongoing spats but because both protagonists are newspaper reporters—more than reminiscent of Robin Brandeis’s excellent 2002 novel, She Scoops to Conquer. It says something that each of these novels—none of which are books Winter is likely to have even heard of—are on my Top 20 list. Add to this Catherine’s backstory, which includes a reporting scandal similar to Mikael Blomkvist’s in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and you have quite an interesting frame around which to hang a novel.

I generally have some caveats about even the best novels, but aside from a couple of typos that I have communicated privately to the publisher, I can find no fault in The Red Files. Lee Winter, as an experienced journalist, has her writing chops down pat, but this novel is more than just good writing. It is good imagination, excellent dialogue, intense feeling, and more than a little excitement on the way to a rousing and believable finish. Her limited third-person narrative from Lauren’s viewpoint is textbook perfect.

It’s curious that Aussie writer Winter sets the book in the U. S. rather than down under. Maybe she was going for the American market. Maybe, though, she just wanted to write the story in the best way possible. I found absolutely nothing that would lead me to believe that Winter was not a native Californian. Bravo for that, and for everything else.The Red Files is a book that should have been a national best seller in the U.S. and Australia. That it is not attests to the lingering presence of homophobia in our society—one of the maladies that this group exists to counteract. No matter whether this book is 4.6, 4.8, or what--it still rounds off to a 5. Well done.

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. ...more

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Jun 03, 2018 Carolyn McBride rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lesbian-fiction

I am so glad I ignored the cover and listened instead to a recommendation. I could understand the cover not matching the content exactly, but the cover looks cartoonish, which might reflect badly on the story within. But the story is, after a wee bit of a slow start, gripping. Before you know it, you're trying to figure out the mystery right along with Catherine and Lauren. I did like the slow burn, the trading of barbs, the witty comebacks....all of that shows you who the characters are. Heh, s ...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Michelle rated it really liked it

Thoroughly entertaining with fun well developed characters. The story draws you in and you want to keep reading until your eyelids droop and you really need to sleep, so start the book during the day so as not to interfere with your sleep otherwise it will be a late night as this book is worth completion in one go.

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Jan 25, 2021 Stef Rozitis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, australian-writer, 2011-2020, crime-and-mystery, 5-star, lgbt-character-s, lesbian-mysteries, lesbian, set-usa, journalist

Catherine Ayers is intelligent, smart-mouthed, opinionated, brave, scornful, emotionally unavailable and tries to hide the fact she is kind.

I am too blinded by lust to review this book with even a semblance of objectivity. I suspect even if it were not so I would find some things to like about this book (the swipe at Keynesian economics was pretty fun). I wish I was more like Lauren.

I am a bit sad that heroines in these books always have perfect bodies. Never any wrinkles, acne, greying hair or ...more

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Sep 01, 2015 Frank Van Meer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-mystery

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Apr 14, 2020 Jan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lesbian-romance, darker-themes, favorites, politics, quarrel-quarries, age-gap, trust-in-me, defrosting-ice-queen, well-written, interesting-characters

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