Tag: #series #LGBTQ

Feature Post and Book Review: Fault Line by H.N. Hirsch

Book Description

Bob Abramson’s first encounter with murder occurred four years previously, in 1985, when his roommate, the scion of an old Boston family, was murdered and the case was investigated by the victim’s Harvard professor, Marcus George. As the investigation developed, Bob and Marcus, naturally, fell in love.

Now, Bob has completed law school and landed a job as an Assistant District Attorney in San Diego, and Marcus has accepted a new position at UC San Diego. As they settle in to their new home, they’re thrust into the investigation and its political ramification, and they find that a gay subculture roils much of southern California’s placidly straight surface.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125477842-fault-line?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=May09m0GOK&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

FAULT LINE (A Bob & Marcus Mystery Book #2) by H.N. Hirsch is a murder mystery that is intricately plotted with many motives and suspects, political pitfalls, and a realistic look back at the gay scene and subculture in 1980’s California. Professor Marcus George, who has accepted a position at UCSD, and Bob Abramson, who has been newly hired to the San Diego DA’s office, have relocated to the West Coast and end up once again embroiled in a murder mystery. This book in the series can easily be read as a standalone.

Bob Abramson has graduated law school and as he studies for his bar exam, he is also working for the San Diego DA’s office and asked to assist on a politically charged investigation into the violent death of the husband of the mayor of San Diego. While Bob is excited to be working in the DA’s office, he soon discovers he may not be able to trust the supposed “good guys”. The political pitfalls are many and add in the whispered questions about the victim’s sexuality and Bob is quickly discovering that sunny California has plenty of secrets in the shadows and is questioning his and Marcus’s move.

I found myself immersed in this murder mystery and could not put it down. Bob and Marcus are a wonderful couple still finding their way as a committed gay couple in the 1980s. While Marcus is settled in his profession, Bob is now having second thoughts, even as he for now follows his family’s tradition of practicing law. The atmospheric descriptions of the gay subculture in the 1980’s is well written and realistic. All the secondary characters, family, friends, and suspects are fully developed and believable.

The mystery plot is more police procedural than amateur sleuth style with the detectives having to have Bob and/or the Asst. DA present during all interviews due to the sensitive political nature of the murder. There are plenty of red herrings and twists that kept me guessing to the end.

I highly recommend this LGBTQ murder mystery, and I am looking forward to following more of Bob and Marcus’s adventures in the future.

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About the Author

H N Hirsch was born in Chicago and attended the University of Michigan. He then received a PhD from Princeton in Politics, and taught political science for 40 years at Harvard, the University of California-San Diego, Macalester College, and Oberlin College, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty and is now the Erwin N Griswold Professor of Politics Emeritus.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.hnhirsch.info/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harry.hirsch.50999

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/fault-line-by-h-n-hirsch

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fault-Line-H-N-Hirsch-ebook/dp/B0CDCMMJT8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Y0D4X0TBCJ0M&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yIMfpd7tGP4S5h

Feature Post and Book Review: Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Book Description

Viv’s career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam’s Ravens isn’t going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it.

What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn’t possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn’t all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65213543-bookshops-bonedust?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TSlV6IQiaS&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST (Legends & Lattes Book #0) by Travis Baldree is an enchanting and delightful cozy fantasy prequel to Legends & Lattes. This story is a wonderful blend of Viv’s journey of personal self-discovery, humor, and fantasy action/adventure plot. This is not my usual type of read, but I found I could not put it down.

Viv is a mercenary orc on her first big hunt with Rackham’s Ravens to take down a powerful necromancer. When she is wounded in battle, she is left behind to recuperate in the small seaside town of Murk. Having always focused on her battle skills, Viv is at a loss on how to fill her recovery time.

She discovers a run-down bookshop with a foul-mouthed book-loving owner who introduces her to a love of reading and a journey of discovery between the covers of each new book. Even as she makes new friends, a darkness threatens that could endanger everyone she is coming to care for.

I love this group of strong female characters. While they are orcs, gnomes, and other fantasy characters, at times while I was engrossed in the story, I would forget they were not human. This is primarily Viv’s story. She is a mercenary orc on her first big hunt, but when she is injured, she is left to recuperate in a small seaside town. She discovers the joy of reading, her first romantic relationship, and her first real friendships all while a threat of evil threatens. Mr. Baldree’s writing brings Viv and the entire cast of characters to life beautifully. The suspense elements of the story are perfectly paced and kept me turning the pages. This book is a perfect mix of self-discovery, friendship, humor, suspense and action/adventure. FYI: This story does have a female orc and female gnome romantic relationship which is why it is classified as an LGBTQ read.

I highly recommend this wonderful cozy fantasy and I am looking forward to reading more stories by this author.

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About the Author

Travis is a #1 New York Times Bestselling author, a Locus, Nebula, and Hugo finalist, and a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight, Rebel Galaxy, and Fate. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his very patient family and their small, nervous dog.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.travisbaldree.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travis.baldree

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisBaldree

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/bookshops-and-bonedust-by-travis-baldree

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: Molten Death by Leslie Karst

Book Description

A glimpse of a quickly melting corpse at the foot of a volcano has amateur sleuth and food enthusiast Valerie Corbin shocked. But how can she investigate a murder, when there’s no evidence the victim ever existed?

Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai’i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer.

Early one morning, the couple and their friend – tattooed local boy, Isaac – set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg – a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava.

Valerie’s convinced a murder has been committed – but as she’s the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who’s going to believe her?

Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock . . .

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199549081-molten-death?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=LsOPCpfjl9&rank=1

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Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

MOLTEN DEATH (An Orchid Island Mystery Book #1) by Leslie Karst is an entertaining cozy mystery featuring a retired lesbian foodie protagonist set on the lush, big island of Hawaii with beautiful descriptions of island locations and delicious island fare. This is a delightful new amateur sleuth who happens upon a murder in paradise written by a new to me author who has me hooked.

Valerie Corbin and her wife, Kristen have come to Hawaii for a vacation to hopefully reconnect and mentally heal after Valerie’s car accident in which she watched her brother die. They are staying with Kristen’s Island native friend, Isaac. When they go to watch the sunrise and walk on a lava field, Valerie falls behind and sees a boot in the distance that she goes to investigate and discovers it is in a lava flow and attached to a leg that is quickly disappearing.

Valerie is convinced a murder has been committed, but she has no proof now that the lava has done its job of destroying the evidence. Even though no one believes her, she is determined to discover who is missing and get justice for them.

I enjoyed Valerie and her sense of determination even when it gets her in trouble. While she investigates, the reader gets to follow her to many beautifully written scenic destinations on the island and gets to read descriptions of tropical and local island cuisine. I also liked that the Valerie and her wife were mature characters. Isaac is the perfect bridge between the white women and Hawaiian native culture, history (both past and present), and cuisine. The plot is unique with the lava destroying any evidence and causing everyone to question whether Valerie saw the leg and boot even as she questions the suspects. A good ending with everything tied up in the end and Valerie and Kristen considering a permanent move to the big island.

Overall a delightful cozy mystery that also delivers on beautiful geography, culture, and cuisine.

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About the Author

Originally from Southern California, Leslie Karst moved north to attend UC Santa Cruz (home of the Fighting Banana Slugs), and after graduation, parlayed her degree in English literature into employment waiting tables and singing in a new wave rock and roll band. Exciting though this life was, she eventually decided she was ready for a “real” job, and ended up at Stanford Law School.

For the next twenty years Leslie worked as the research and appellate attorney for Santa Cruz’s largest civil law firm. During this time, she discovered a passion for food and cooking, and so once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in Culinary Arts.

Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, singing alto in the local community chorus, gardening, cycling, and of course writing. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix, Ziggy, split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai’i.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesliekarst/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/leslie-karst