Nicola Griffith
The Blue Place (1998)
Author: Nicola Griffith
Genre/Subgenre: Mystery (Ex-police Detective)/Suspense (Hard-Boiled)/Thriller/Lesbian-themed
Plot Summary:
At age 31, Aud Torvingen has left her post as a Lieutenant for the Atlanta Police Department due to her inability to abide by the rules. She has also inherited a large sum of money since her father’s recent death. Aud’s dreams are often haunted by the people she has killed or watched die and she takes long walks at night when she cannot sleep. She is taking one of her walks on a rainy evening in April and rounding a corner when she almost collides with the beautiful Julia Lyons-Bennet. Delicate Julia, who stands at five feet seven, makes eye contact with six foot Aud and quickly moves on. Moments later, a house down the street explodes in flames and burns to the ground. Jim Lusk, an art historian and appraiser, lived in this house. His life was lost in the fire along with a suspected forgery of a Friedrich painting. Julia, a successful art broker, was supposed to be meeting with Jim when the house exploded, but she was late. Aud is hired by Julia to find out who committed this crime. Aud embarks on a journey with very few clues except for the fact that the police found seven kilos of cocaine in Jim’s brick garage that survived the fire. The police want to chalk the crime up to drugs, but Julia is unwilling to accept this decision. Aud soon realizes that Julia’s life is at stake. Not only is Aud attempting to solve this senseless crime and prevent another, but unknowingly, she is also embarking on a journey of self-exploration and love with the amazing Ms. Lyons-Bennet.
Geographical Setting: Atlanta, Georgia and Norway
Time Period: Present day (1998)
Series: First in the Aud Torvingen series
Appeal Characteristics:
This hard-boiled novel is narrated in the first person by a lesbian sleuth. It is the first of the Aud Torvingen series and is primarily character driven. There is in-depth psychological description of characters as well as in-depth descriptions of Aud's various hobbies: karate, kung fu, woodworking, and mountain climbing. There is also strong secondary character development. The relationship that grows between Aud and Julia is what eventually drives the novel and is what compelled me to keep turning the page. Sometimes, the actual crime is overshadowed by the intense love affair that unfolds between Aud and Julia. The pace of the novel is even-keeled throughout until the last several chapters when it becomes fast-paced and suspenseful. Superb descriptions of Atlanta, Georgia, and Norway are included. The text is quite literary, sometimes bordering on the poetic.
Read-alikes: Griffith's second Aud Torvingen novel, Stay, should not be missed. (An aside: Griffith is also known for her Science Fiction/Fantasy novels, Ammonite and Slow River.) One might try the Sunny Childs series by Ruth Birmingham (this is Walter Sorrells pen name), specifically Fulton County Blues and Blue Plate Special. Birmingham's novels are also set in Atlanta and involve a straight female private investigator. If you specifically want to read about lesbian sleuths, then Katherine V. Forrest may be another interesting read, specifically the Kate Delafield series, starting with Amateur City. Other authors to consider are Ellen Hart (Jane Lawless Mysteries), starting with A Killing Cure and Claire McNab's (Kylie Kendall Mysteries), The Quokka Question. If you are interested in reading about an apparently straight woman swinging the other way then try Hunter's Way by Gerri Hill.
Red Flags: Graphic violence, lesbian relationship, and sexual scenes between women.
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