Gay and Lesbian Mysteries

Woman of Mystery: An Anthology (2006)

This collection of 14 original stories has a mystery theme, but not all the stories fit the whodunit model. What is central is the use of lesbian characters -- including perps, victims, and investigators -- from new and established lesbian writers. Edited by Katherine V. Forrest, Author of the Kate Delafield mystery series.

George Baxt A Queer Kind of Umbrella (1995)

Pharoah Love, the sassy, gay, black NYPD detective goes undercover in Chinatown to stop a powerful crimelord involved in Asian slave trade, gambling, prostitution, and protection rackets. Other Pharaoh Love titles include A Queer Kind of Love (1994) and, A Queer Kind of Death (1966), the "first gay mystery."

Christopher Bram Gossip (1997)

Ralph breaks off an affair with Bill, a young Republican whose values clash with Ralph's own ideals and who is later found murdered, and as people talk, it becomes clear Ralph is under suspicion.

Baxter Clare Bleeding Out (2000)

A tough, gritty police procedural set in LA. Homicide detective (and closeted lesbian) 'Frank' Franco leads her team in pursuit of a serial killer who targets young girls.

Rick Copp The Actor's Guide to Greed (2005)

Determined to revive his career, former child star Jarrod Jarvis instead finds himself accused of murdering a proclaimed diva and stealing her Oscar, when he arrives in London to star in a new play with a colorful and catty cast of characters who have it out for him and each other.

John Peyton Cooke The Chimney Sweeper (1995)

An openly gay police officer -- and former hustler -- in Isthmus City, Wisconsin, Jesse James Colson begins to mend his dissolute, dangerous ways when the remains of a transvestite he killed surface and threaten to return his life to chaos. A brutally effective noir.

Michael Craft Bitch Slap (2004)

Journalist Mark Manning and his lover, Neil Waite, investigate when a proposed merger between the family newspaper, The Dumont Daily Register , and a local paper company leads to a fracas between society reporter Glee Savage and the other company's manager, who later turns up murdered.

Stephen Dobyns The Church of Dead Girls (1997)

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

Joan M Drury Silent Words (1996)

After her dying mother suggests that she rattle the family skeletons, Tyler Jones, a feminist lesbian writer, returns to the Minnesota shore of Lake Superior, where she discovers unknown and missing relatives, a family history of rape, illegitimacy, and imprisonment, and someone who will kill to keep the closet doors closed.

Katherine V Forrest Hancock Park (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 .

Alma Fritchley Chicken Shack (2000)

Letty Campbell is perhaps the only chicken farmer/sleuth in the business. Almost certainly she is mystery fiction's only vegetarian/lesbian/chicken farmer/sleuth. Happily, the plucky Yorkshire lass is in her usual engaging form in this, her fourth outing, where she struggles to deal with family problems and the possible loss of her farm.

Alicia Gaspar de Alba Desert Blood (2005)

Ivon Villa, a women's studies professor who travels to Mexico to arrange for an adoption of a baby for herself and her female lover, discovers the pregnant mother has been murdered, an apparent victim of a serial killer, and vows to find the person responsible for the killings.

Nicola Griffith Always (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.

Joseph Hansen Fadeout (1970)

Fadeout is the first of Joseph Hansen's twelve classic mysteries featuring rugged Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator who is contentedly gay. When entertainer Fox Olson's car plunges off a bridge in a storm, a death claim is filed, but where is Olson's body? As Brandstetter questions family, fans, and detractors, he grows certain Olson is still alive and that Dave must find him before the would-be killer does. Suspenseful and wry, shrewd and deeply felt, Fadeout remains as fresh today as when it startled readers more than thirty years ago. The last Brandstetter title is A Country of Old Men (1991).

Ellen Hart Night Vision (2006)

Years after fleeing a terrifying stalker, reclusive Hollywood actress Joanna Kasimir emerges from her seclusion to star in a Minneapolis production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but is forced to enlist the assistance of her friends, lesbian restaurateur and amateur sleuths Jane Lawless and Cordelia Thorn, when her old enemy returns to prey on his victim again.

Greg Herren Mardi Gras Mambo (2006)

Go-go dancer turned private investigator Scotty Bradley, along with his boyfriends Frank and Colin, arrives in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but Ecstasy, murder, and the Russian mob thwart his plans of decadence and debauchery.

Fred Hunter Capital Queers (1999)

Alex Reynolds and his lover Peter Livesay discover that a mysterious cult has killed friends of theirs over their friends' accidental possession of a stolen religious artifact. Now, Alex, Peter, and Alex's mother have inherited their friends' annoying dog Muffin as well as the unwanted and deadly attention of the killers.

Dean James Baked to Death (2005)

The engaging series sleuth Simon Kirby-Jones (Decorated to Death) happens to be a romance writer, British-village celebrity, and gay vampire of some moral fiber. He becomes immersed in medieval mayhem when a Renaissance Fair comes to town bringing with it Tristan Lovelace, the man who made him a vampire, and murder.

Joe R Lonsdale Bad Chili (1997)

While Hap Collins is beginning the relationship of his dreams, someone turns up murdered, and Hap and his buddy, Leonard Pine, must solve the crime, which involves a secret group named The Correctors and the Chili Cook-Off king of LaBorde, Texas.

Ranye Lordon Son of a Gun (2005)

When her godchild's father is murdered in the hallway of his apartment building, lesbian NYC private investigator Sydney Sloane investigates a threatening phone call received by the victim's wife from a man who claims to be the son she gave up for adoption many years earlier. By the author of East of Niece.

Val McDermid Booked for Murder (2000)

In order to clear her friend of suspicion, lesbian-feminist journalist Lindsay Gordon investigates the murder of a best-selling novelist. Apparently, the novelist's death followed a murder scenario in her as-yet-unpublished new book, so Lindsay winds up in the dog-eat-dog world of London publishing.

Lauren Maddison Death by Prophecy (2002)

Connor Hawthorne, gifted with second sight, and her partner, Laura Nez, find their trip along the California coast to visit missions sidetracked by a religious zealot making terrorist threats against a nuclear power plant and the murder of a priest.

Jean Marcy Mommy Deadest (2000)

While attempting to prove a friend's nephew innocent of killing the principal of an alternative school, Meg Darcy must contend with her own 11-year-old niece. The two start working together, but then another murder occurs, involving Meg's recuperating cop-girlfriend.

Claire McNab The Quokka Question (2005)

The keynote speaker's murder at a UCLA marsupial symposium propels Australian lesbian sleuth Kylie Kendall into murky academic and romantic waters.

Grant Michaels Dead as a Doornail (1998)

The murder of his look-alike renovation contractor is just the beginning as wealthy former hairdresser and Boston-based Stan Kraychik is told to leave town during the investigation and instead discovers a complicated web of secrets that ultimately leads back to himself.

Michael Nava Rag and Bone (2001)

While recovering from a heart attack, gay Mexican-American attorney Henry Rios comes to the aid of his long-lost niece, the illegitimate daughter of his estranged sister, who has confessed to the murder of her abusive husband, but during his investigation, Rios discovers that things are more complicated than he had thought.

Abigail Padgett The Last Blue Plate Special (2001)

Gay social psychologist Blue McCarron teams up once again with Roxie Bouchie, an African-American prison staff psychiatrist, to investigate the bizarre deaths of two female politicians, both of whom died of apparent cerebral hemorrahages, as they find themselves dealing with a mysterious killer who calls himself "The Sword of Heaven."

Dale Peck Now It's Time to Say Goodbye (1998)

Two gay men abandon New York City for a poor, racially polarized village in Kansas, where a cast of characters -- including a gay black prostitute, a hermitic white artist, and a budding scholar -- responds to a girl's kidnapping and rape.

Felice Picano The Lure (1979)

When a deferential sociology professor tries to help a stabbing victim, his actions tangle him in a web of violence and drugs in the seamy world of New York leather bars.

Neil S Plakcy Mahu Fire (2008)

Gay Honolulu police detective Kimo Kanapa'aka finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation involving a terrorist attack on the Hawai'i Marriage Project, a group fighting to legalize gay marriage. Add to the mix the arsons against gay-owned businesses and the arrival of an ultraconservative religious group, and the result is an emotionally charged sizzler of a mystery.

Bill Pronzini Nightcrawlers (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.

Lev Raphael Hot Rocks (2007)

When gay State University of Michigan English professor Nick Hoffman finds the corpse of a health club's head trainer in the steam room after a workout, he is determined to find the culprit, and he finds there is no shortage of suspects. Seventh in the Nick Hoffman series.

J M Redmann Lost Daughters (1999)

While helping a widowed mother find her daughter and a gay boy search for his biological mother, P.I. Mickey Knight is plunged into a world of evil when she discovers that the murder of two young women at her lover's clinic are connected to her cases and that she is slated to become the next victim.

Sandra Scoppettone Let's Face the Music and Die (1996)

Lesbian private investigator Lauren Laurano embarks on a case that takes her from the city streets to cyberspace in defense of a friend who stands accused of murdering her elderly aunt.

Elizabeth Sims Lucky Stiff (2004)

Lillian Byrd, ex-crime reporter, is called on by an old friend to investigate the decades-old disappearance of his mother, when Lillian realizes that the unsolved deaths of her own family are also involved.

Dinitia Smith The Illusionist (1997)

The peaceful upstate New York town of Sparta is changed forever by the arrival of Dean Lily, an enigmatic amateur magician, who plies his seductive skills on the local women and unleashes a destructive force hidden beneath the town's calm façade.

Mehmet Murat Somer The Prophet Murders translated by Kenneth Dakan (2008)

Something's gone seriously wrong in Istanbul -- a killer is on the loose, and transvestites are being murdered, the modus operandi becoming increasingly bizarre with each death. Our protagonist -- fellow transvestite, nightclub owner and glamour puss extraordinaire -- downs her lipstick and ups the ante in the search for the religious nut.

Richard Stevenson Death Vows (2008)

Gay PI Don Strachey is retained by one of a pair of rich retired lovers to investigate Barry Fields, the young spouse-to-be of their middle-aged friend Bill Moore. Then the client is murdered, Mob-style. Set in Massachusetts.

David Stukas Biceps of Death (2004)

When a buff weightlifter, whose sculpted pecs give much cause for fantasy, gives him a CD-ROM filled with images of prominent men in "compromising" positions to safeguard and is then murdered, Robert, along with Michael and Monette, enters a deadly world of sexual decadence to expose a killer.

Andrew Vachss Choice of Evil (1999)

Outlaw private investigator Burke becomes involved in an all-too-personal murder investigation after a deadly drive-by shooting at a gay rights rally leaves two people dead, including his girlfriend, but now someone is out to even the score as a killer known as "Homo Erectus" begins to stalk gay bashers throughout the city.

May Wilbon One Last Kiss (2009)

P.I. Cassandra Slick, who gave up the cop life at the request of her girlfriend, agrees to help her former precinct captain clear the name of a homophobic colleague who has been accused of murdering a beautiful black prostitute.

Barbara Wilson The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists (2000)(pseudonym of Barbara Sjoholm)

Lesbian sleuth Cassandra Reilly journeys to Venice to uncover the true reason why her best friend, bassoonist Nicky Gibbons, has been accused of stealing a Venetian family's priceless heirloom. By the author of Trouble in Transylvania .

John Morgan Wilson Spider Season (2008)

Publishing a memoir to set the record straight about the events that cost him his career, disgraced journalist Benjamin Justice hopes that his book will finally reveal the truth and allow him to make a living as a writer, only to discover that his memoir has unleashed long-forgotten, long-hidden ghosts from his past that could destroy everything and everyone he holds dear.

Mary Wings She Came to the Castro (1997)

Amidst San Francisco's annual Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Emma Victor pursues the blackmailer of a mayoral candidate, but before she can close in, the culprit turns up dead, and Emma is soon running for her life.

R D Zimmerman Innuendo (1999)

Gay TV journalist Todd Mills' plans to interview a reclusive movie star are interrupted by the murder of a boy he knows from the local center for gay youths, and his subsequent inquiry turns up evidence that his own lover, homicide detective Steve Rawlins, may have known the boy intimately.

Chuck Zito A Habit for Death (2006)

Each year the nuns of rural St. Gilbert's College hire a city slicker to help with their summer theater festival, but when Nicky D'Amico trades the heat of New York City for rural Pennsylvania, he finds he has a lot to handle -- a truly awful musical and murdered cast members. With a suspenseful plot, lovable characters and laugh-out-loud humor.

Mark Richard Zubro Schooled in Murder (2008)

Tired of the bickering and pettiness of the faculty meetings at Grover Cleveland High School, teacher Tom Mason sneaks out for a short break, only to return to stumble upon the corpse of one of his colleagues, finds himself the prime suspect in the killing, and enlists the aid of Scott Carpenter, his partner-for-life, to uncover the true murderer. Zubro also writes a series featuring Paul Turner, a gay Chicago Police Detective with two teenage sons and a propensity for high profile murder cases. The latest Paul Turner mystery is Hook, Line and Homicide (2007).

5/09

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