She Came by the Book

Rating:
Summary: A gala opening of a San Francisco gay archives turns deadly.
Review: Emma Victor, a lesbian PI living in San Francisco (whereelse?), finds herself investigating a mysterious homicide.She herself is attacked: does the death have anything to do with the sealed papers she is guarding? Papers from an assassinated supervisor which are so dis-y and dishy that his will forbids their being opened for 60 years? Except for the novelty of a lesbian PI -- which is not so novel any more -- there's not much to recommend this book. It's a dull read (no sex, little violence) with an implausible climax.

Rating:
Summary: the title is the best part
Review: I don't even know why I bothered to finish this book. The author seems to believe that short, terse sentences infuse the main character (a real bore of a heroine) with some sort of Chandleresque pithiness. Alas, she just comes across as rather obtuse and annoyingly abrupt. I like the thought of a lesbian P.I., and you can't get a better setting than San Francisco, but this slight and slightly ridiculous mystery was a waste of my time.