Gay and Lesbian Mysteries

Always, by Nicola Griffith (2007)

The steely shell of Nicola Griffith's seemingly indomitable lesbian protagonist Aud Torvingen appears to be cracking. The six-foot-tall fury (who proved in The Blue Place and Stay that she can kill you as easily as look at you) is shaken by the shocking consequences of the self-defense class she's been teaching, and her investigation of what seems to be run-of-the-mill real-estate fraud is turning out to be more than she bargained for.

Blind Eye, by John Morgan Wilson (2003)

Disgraced and stripped of his Pulitzer Prize for having invented sources, HIV-positive journalist Benjamin Justice, struggling to put his life back together, is asked for help in identifying the hit-and-run killer of a columnist, a case involving a decades-old child murder, a controversial cardinal, and elements from his own past.

Booked for Murder, by Val McDermid (2000)

Why would anyone want to kill bestselling author Penny Varnavides? In an effort to clear her friend Meredith's name, Lindsay delves beneath the glittering facade of the high-powered world of London publishing in search of a murderer. While hobnobbing with industry notables, Lindsay encounters an unsavory mix of soured relationships, desperate power plays, and seething rivalries.

The Church of Dead Girls, by Stephen Dobyns (1997)

Murder and the disappearances of three young girls tear apart a small town in upstate NY; narrated by a closeted gay teacher.

The Cruel Ever After, by Ellen Hart (2010)

The intrepid Jane Lawless tackles a personally complicated case when her ex-husband returns to Minneapolis and wakes up next to the dead body of an art collector.

Cyanide Wells, by Marcia Muller (2003)

Learning that his wife, who has been missing for fourteen years, is alive and letting people believe he is responsible for her disappearance, Matthew journeys to California to clear his name, but when she goes missing again under mysterious circumstances, he teams up with her lesbian lover to find her.

The Fisher Boy, by Stephen Anable (2008)

Boston comic Mark Winslow arrives with his troupe of improv actors ready to break into the Provincetown club circuit. A public fight makes him the prime suspect in the grisly butchering of a Boston blueblood. Mark believes his choice is simple: find the killer or be charged with the crime.

Hancock Park, by Katherine V. Forrest (2004)

Lesbian LAPD detective Kate Delafield and her partner, Joe Cameron, head for the exclusive, wealthy neighborhood of Hancock Park to investigate the execution-style murder of Victoria Talbot, the cultured, refined mother of three, a crime in which the victim's ex-husband becomes an all-too-convenient suspect. By the Lambda Award-winning author of Curious Wine.

His Name Is John, by Dorien Gray (2008)

Elliott Smith wakes up in the hospital with a head injury, and an invisible companion. At first, he's convinced "John" is just a figment of a damaged brain, but when he's fully recovered John is still around; and desperate to discover his identity. Reluctantly, Elliott agrees to help, and discovers that the Chicago police have a murdered John Doe on their hands who died in the emergency room at the same time Elliott was there.

Keeping Secrets, by Penny Mickelbury (1994)

Mickelbury's debut offers a pair of lesbian sleuths--an Italian cop and a black reporter--who spend work time tracking down a serial killer and play time pursuing each other. Although there is a disappointing inevitability to the identity of the killer, the tale has a winning zest.

Nightcrawlers, by Bill Pronzini (2005)

Unaware of possible links between a series of gay hate crimes and the kidnapping of a young girl, investigators "Nameless," Jake, and Tamara tackle difficult cases when Jake pursues leads related to an attack on his son's partner and Tamara witnesses something suspicious during a stakeout.

6/2012

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