From the Bookshelf of Mostly Sapphic…

Dust (Evan Reed Mysteries, #1)

Ann McMan

Start date: January 1, 2012

Finish date: January 31, 2012

Discussion: Book of the Month

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 56 topics — 2,668 comments total

Book of the Month

* Book of the Month Announcement
By Cheri , HMIC · 5 posts · 215 views

last updated Jan 06, 2017 04:41AM

* BotM Suggestions
By Cheri , HMIC · 66 posts · 153 views

last updated Nov 20, 2018 10:39AM

showing 2 of 2 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 14, 2022 Angie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, queer-ladies, sapphic-romance, lgbtq

Evan Reed is famous (and perhaps infamous) in Washington, D.C. because she is what's known as a "Dustbuster." That is, she performs in-depth background checks on political candidates to ensure there are no skeletons in closets a good PR team can't shake. And her latest job has her vetting a rising political star, current US senator and former Delaware governor, Andy Townsend, who has his sites set on the presidency. As she delves into Andy's present and past a couple complexities develop: she be Evan Reed is famous (and perhaps infamous) in Washington, D.C. because she is what's known as a "Dustbuster." That is, she performs in-depth background checks on political candidates to ensure there are no skeletons in closets a good PR team can't shake. And her latest job has her vetting a rising political star, current US senator and former Delaware governor, Andy Townsend, who has his sites set on the presidency. As she delves into Andy's present and past a couple complexities develop: she begins to fall in love with his estranged wife and she's fairly certain the senator is entangled in a murder. Needless to say, things get very complicated very quickly.

I didn't know anything about Dust when I delved in except that I like the way Ann McMan writes. And while I enjoy a good mystery and political thriller every now and then, it's not my go-to genre of choice. And I was pleasantly surprised with what I found in terms of angst and suspense, which is exactly what I was hoping for. And, well, Ann McMan just knows how to write.

The romance was a little weird. Not because the characters didn't have chemistry because they absolutely did, but there were feelings very quickly and none of that was earned. And while I never mind fade-to-black for sex scenes, I think McMan misses the whole "fade" process of the fade-to-black technique, so there was just something missing from their intimate moments, mainly intimacy. LOL.

There is an epilogue to this novel, but it seems to serve the purpose of setting up another novel (and this is another novel in the series after this), so be warned that if you're looking for closure or cute moments between the protagonists, you're not going to find it here. But, hey, there's another novel, so hopefully those moments come there.

One major red flag for me--as in really super angering--was this line early on the novel. And I really don't know what McMan was thinking when she wrote this:

She met his eyes. They were almost teal in color. She thought about Julia. God. Did all genetically perfect human beings have blue eyes?

This has white supremacy undertones and really pissed me off. It's a throwaway line in the novel and has no other impact on the story, but this is unacceptable.

...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2023 Jam rated it really liked it

Shelves: for-the-girls

I'm not found of political books, but once I got past the first hour of information the book was very good. I do love a good mystery and this one hit the mark. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Cab rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt, romance, e-books, intrigue

This was an excellent second novel from Ann McMan full of political intrigue and a variety of plot twists that keeps the reader guessing. Each of the characters have their own complexities with varying degrees of “badness” making it difficult to figure out who the good guys are in the story. There were several times when I thought I had a handle on who the “bad guy” was and then there would be a new twist that would point me in another direction.

There were also several characters I would like t ...more

Like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Snott rated it liked it

Shelves: lesbian-mystery-thrillers

Nice twists and turns in this political thriller. It was certainly as good as some of the big names in this genre. The lesbian romance is also well written and I appreciated the complexities of the relationship.
I like a good ruthless main character and hope the author writes more using her. Personally, I would have liked a bit more action however, I enjoyed the book. I think most people will enjoy it. If you happened to read the book elsewhere I hope you consider buying a copy to support the au ...more

Like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Cheri rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, mystery-thriller, kindle-lendable

I very much enjoyed this book! The mystery was well done and the humor was great. You can read my review at C-Spot Reviews: http://reviews.c-spot.net/archives/1739 ...more

Like · see review