Day of the Dead by Andi Marquette

THE RAINBOW READER WELCOMES SPECIAL GUEST REVIEWER

LYNETTE MAE 


Golden Crown Literary Award & Lambda Literary Award Finalist

Author of Faithful Service, Silent Hearts, Tactical Pursuit & the upcoming, Rebound

Book: Day of the Dead

Author: Andi Marquette

Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises

Day of the Dead is the fourth installment of Andi Marquette’s New Mexico series, featuring memorable lead characters, Professor K.C. Fontero, and her buddy, Detective Chris Gutierrez. I first fell in love with these characters in Land of Entrapment, the series keystone, and they have become loyal, old friends who never disappoint. The series is set against the backdrop of the sweeping New Mexico landscape, rich with picturesque images and South of the Border influences that transport the reader effortlessly. Ms. Marquette is a master of scene, and I can almost taste the green chile and feel the arid climate around me.

I've spent a lot of time talking with other authors about “buddy novels”, and this series is an example of that genre at it’s very best. Each story features and alternates between K.C. or Chris as the lead, with the other character filling in the blanks through friendship and professional expertise. Add into the mix K.C.’s delightful, free-spirited partner, Sage, and Chris’s new love, the beautiful, whip-smart attorney, Dayna, and you have a solid ensemble cast.

I love strong, capable female characters—and readers out there, let me assure you that women rule these novels—the formula works.

This time around, Detective Chris Gutierrez has the lead and her hands are full. The story opens with Chris and her detective partner, Dale Harper, on the scene of a grisly murder. The murder scene shows signs of possible gang connections, and then there’s the killer’s unique calling card. The detective’s first task is to figure out whether the crime is the result of the victim’s gang or drug affiliations, or something deeper. Evidence soon indicates that the victim was involved in human trafficking across the Mexican border.

This isn’t a police procedural and I don’t think Ms. Marquette intends it to be. She doesn’t try to bog us down with needless jargon or use inaccurate depictions that can make law enforcement types cringe. That said, she incorporates her knowledge of the subject matter and careful research to tell a tight, interesting story. What this career cop enjoys about the story is the way she humanizes the detectives. Too often police characters are depicted as either super-human crime-fighters or bumbling idiots, and of course, neither cliché is accurate.

Chris and Harper make a fantastic odd couple in the good cop/bad cop tradition of police stories. On the surface, Harper is the textbook white male, ignorant to other ethnic origins and non-white cultures. Chris is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, and not just a female detective, but a lesbian. Their pairing makes them a great crime-fighting team, and more than that, it requires their characters to challenge their own internal belief systems. Their strength is the way they play off each other to solve cases as their banter entertains us along the way.

Chris follows the trail from Albuquerque to El Paso. But, fear makes folks tight-lipped in immigrant communities and Chris must use every professional and personal connection to gather information bit by bit. To make matters worse, an anti-immigrant blogger is hell bent on twisting the truth about the Albuquerque PD, painting them as soft on crime and even corrupt. Chris now fears he’ll seize on her personal relationship with Dayna to add a new layer of hate to his commentary. She’s being squeezed from all sides, trying to balance her duty as a cop with the gray areas of the underground immigrant world, while struggling to keep her family and friends from becoming collateral damage of the blogger.

Author, Andi Marquette

The storytelling in Day of the Dead is vintage Andi Marquette. Her understanding of the culture and sensitivity weave a careful tapestry of nuance throughout the book. What I most love as a cop of twenty years is the message so very often lost in this black and white, polarized world of ours. While murder is murder, and right and wrong are easy to distinguish, people touched by the events are humans with faults. Ms. Marquette is careful to approach the subject of immigration with a light touch, understanding that the gray areas are many and vast. Don’t worry, you’ll find no preaching here—just a well-told mystery that will keep you turning the page, while you catch up with the rich characters we’ve all grown to love.

Day of the Dead is another winner from talented author, Andi Marquette. I give it a solid thumbs up, so go out and grab a copy, and settle in for a great ride.

Click this hotlink to read an excerpt from Andi Marquette's Day of the Dead.

The Willing Suspension of Disbelief - TRR Reviews Marquette & Bigelow

Across the wide world of fiction, readers are often asked to believe a premise that they would never accept in the real world. This is especially true in genres such as Fantastika, science fiction, space opera, and paranormal, where things and events happen in the story that most people would not believe for a second if they were presented in a newspaper as fact.

Of course, one could make the argument that it holds true for a large portion of the lesbian erotica hitting the market these days.

In order to fully engage in and enjoy such stories, readers participate in a phenomenon known as "willing suspension of disbelief.” This is a semi-conscious decision in which we put aside our disbelief, and accept the premise as being real and plausible for the duration of the story.

Apt examples of the willing suspension of disbelief include menopausal werewolves, hot lesbian couples having simultaneous orgasms in a rainstorm under a double rainbow, and the fact that I’m forty-six and just bought my first pair of flip-flops.

The very concept of willing suspension of disbelief is a product of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1817 he published what has become one of the landmark examples of literary criticism with his Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions.

"In this idea originated the plan of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’, in which it was agreed, that my endeavours should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith." 

                                                                                 — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

And this is why the willing suspension of disbelief frames the premise for my review of the newest episode of a classic lesbian space opera and the launch of a fresh new Fantastika series—Andi Marquette’s The Edge of Rebellion and Susan Jane Bigelow’s The Daughter Star.

Book: The Edge of Rebellion

Author: Andi Marquette

Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Andi Marquette’s The Edge of Rebellion is book three in the feisty little Far Seek Chronicles. Trader Torri Rendego keeps her ear to the ground as she runs merchant routes, and the chatter tells her that a rebellion is simmering across the Coalition. Her former Academy bunkmate and inamorata, Commander Kai Tinsdale, receives orders to post to the Koto military base on the planet Hanzey. Kai hears the rumors of rebellion, but knows that one is unlikely on the virtually impassible jungle planet. Once there, her orders suddenly change, and she is tasked with training a battle squadron. Clearly something is going on, and Kai must use her wiles and wisdom to seek answers from those around her. But the fates conspire to bring Torri and her Far Seek shipmates to Hanzey, as they deliver an unexpected visitor. As Kai and Torri reconnect on a physical and emotional level, they begin to piece the puzzle together, and learn they are being used as pawns in a game of chess that could bring the Coalition to its collective knees.

Typical of the genre, The Edge of Rebellion is set in a far future space faring civilization, where the technology is ubiquitous and entirely secondary to the storyline. It has two dashing, epic heroines, the universe is huge, there are diverse, sprawling civilizations and fleets of space ships capable of interstellar travel, and there are political conflicts, rebel attacks, black markets, heinous crimes, and intrigue galore.

Since The Edge of Rebellion is the third book in the Far Seek Chronicles, readers have had ample opportunity to get familiar with the pasts and presents of Kai and Torri, the Far Seek and her crew, the Empire, and the Coalition. Still, it is refreshing to see Kai and Torri advancing their relationship with the caution that is expected of two women on different life missions, but sharing one like mind. As a reader, I found the setting and the construction of dialogue to be fascinating, adding depth and definition to both primary and secondary characters. Whether describing the planet, the BetaSuns, the Far Seek, or Major Vic’s office, there was always a visual reference to make the scenes come to life. Additionally, I truly appreciate the care taken by the author to create different languages (i.e., Empire and Coalition,) and then religiously write dialogue that follows the rules established for their use, while saving contemporary dialogue for intimate and familiar situations.

Andi Marquette offers up another satisfying slice of her space opera, Far Seek Chronicles, and The Edge of Rebellion unabashedly makes me feel like a kid again. It tells a compelling and exciting story of intrigue with solid characters, smart dialogue, best buddies, sexy women, and zooming space ships that whiz by shooting lasers that go “Pew! Pew! Pew!” A lot of readers will bypass books like this because they don’t take them seriously. But, here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a kid to feel like a kid, and books like this are all about having fun. Andi Marquette writes a grown up story with grown up themes, but she can still find a way to let her readers have fun and feel like kids. 

Book: The Daughter Star

Author: Susan Jane Bigelow

Publisher: Candlemark & Gleam

Freighter pilot Marta Grayline has a great life doing what she loves, a smoking hot military pilot girlfriend from a desirable sister planet, and an excuse to avoid her home planet, her sexist home country, and her overbearing parents. But it all begins to crumble when an illogical intrasystem war forces her employer to disband, and she is required to return to her home planet. Marta doesn’t belong in the world of her birth, and her parents do not support her profession or her choices.

Along with her youngest sister, Beth, Marta sneaks off and joins the Novan Emergency Fleet as a way to break free and return to her beloved space. However, Beth isn’t the same young woman she remembers. As Marta slowly begins to decipher the connection between her sister and the mysterious Abrax, she is forced to confront unexpected alien forces, overcome her internal doubts and fears, complete an ill-defined mission, and unravel centuries old lies, deceptions, and masterful illusions.

As a proprietress of Fantastika, Susan Jane Bigelow is unquestionably skilled at writing epic pieces full of mythic themes—The Daughter Star is a worthy example of her ability. She captures and maintains an honest sense of relationships, even as she writes characters who are nonconformists, and longing to have closer, deeper involvements.

The character of Marta is smart, sexy, interesting, and capable, but she is unable to truly appreciate and understand all that she has to offer. While her restrictive and uninspiring upbringing is partially to blame, so too is her overwhelming lack of self-confidence—an odd yet well-plotted personality trait for a highly capable pilot. Her relationship with her younger sister is multi-faceted, at times presenting mutual interest and engagement, and at others revealing self-absorption and non-confrontational tendencies—it is as if Marta cannot control the need to protect and shelter her younger sister any more than she can stop pushing away those that try to do the same for her.

While The Daughter Star starts out a bit slow, a necessary byproduct of character design and plot development, the pace accelerates into a speeding, taut story full of political, moral, intellectual, economic, environmental and societal metaphors relevant to myriad issues now facing mankind. Ms. Bigelow confronts a familiar dichotomy in the LGBT community by placing Marta, a lesbian who fears her family and home country knowing the truth, in a greater human and alien culture that accepts these relationships as part of societal norm. In essence, Marta has a foot in two disparate worlds, leaving her struggling to achieve and maintain a healthy balance.

Ultimately, The Daughter Star is an engaging story that leaves the reader much in the same position as Marta—unbalanced. While we get to know Marta, Beth, and the Abrax, we are never truly allowed to connect on an emotional level with any of them. Still, this is only the first book in a series, and it feels somehow intentional that we are not allowed to know more about the characters than they know about themselves. And, as a reviewer, I believe that readers who are patient and trust Ms. Bigelow to complete the journey she and her characters have started will be well rewarded when this series reaches its conclusion.

The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright

Book:  The Pyramid Waltz

Author:  Barbara Ann Wright

Publisher:  Bold Strokes Books

Every family has a dirty little secret…

When I was in college, I had a roommate who had been adopted by a wonderful older couple right after she was born. She had only a passing curiosity to learn who her birth parents were, and never spent a single minute looking for them. Of course, her world was rocked when, at the ripe old age of 20, she wandered into her parent’s kitchen on Christmas morning for a cup of coffee only to overhear an uncle exclaim over a platter of bear claws and cheese Danish that the couple who lived directly across the street for her entire life was her birth parents.

Awkward...

In my family, though, the secrets weren’t quite as dramatic—Great Uncle Paul was “queer as a three-dollar bill,” Aunt Tootsie was bald as a coot, and wore a wig (she wasn’t a natural blonde either), and my mother swears that Grandma could heal burns through touch, but that was uttered after a second glass of my dad’s “homemade” wine.

There were also hints and allegations that Cousin Stevie had a love child with his high school geography teacher, but if you ever met Cousin Stevie, you’d realize it was considerably more likely that he had a love child with his high school geography textbook.

Family secrets take center stage in Barbara Ann Wright’s debut novel, The Pyramid Waltz.  Princess Katya Nar Umbriel of Farraday is seen by most as a self-centered, uninspired playgirl. However, out of the public eye, she and a select group of specialists comprise the super secret Order of Vestra, a group tasked with running down traitors to the crown, protecting the monarchy from unseen dangers, and ensuring that no one in the Kingdom learns that the Royal Family are part Fiend.  Enter the smart and saucy Allusian courtier, Starbride, who has come to the Court to study Farradain law in order to help her people level the fair trade playing field.

The two women meet, and sparks fly as they jest and joust their way about the castle and the countryside. When a day on the town goes horribly awry, and Katya’s fiend is released by those seeking to overthrow the Royal Family, Starbride begins to learn the many secrets of the Umbriels. But love, umbrage, and a pushy attitude prevail, and Starbride finds a way to prove herself worthy of the Princess and the Order of Vestra. Everything is falling into place for the young lovers until traitors within the Royal Family unveil an insidious plan to unleash the supreme Fiend, Yanchasa the Mighty, and destroy the Umbriels and the kingdom once and for all.

To most modern fiction readers, romance rules the day.  However, fantasy stories involving magic, gods, heroes, adventures, monsters, and epic themes have existed in spoken forms since the very dawning of language. In fact, it can be argued that Homer's The Odyssey, which was composed near the end of the 8th century B.C., satisfies the very definition of the fantasy genre.  

Fair enough, what is this great definition of the fantasy genre?

Well, every great fantasy piece has a formula that is manipulated to create its one-of-a-kind whimsy, imagination, and spirit—the list includes things like supernatural creatures, magic, a unique setting and a distinctive language, a special weapon, a grandiose battle, a sweet love story, and a really nasty Big Bad.

And, how does The Pyramid Waltz stack up?

Barbara Ann Wright is a master when it comes to crafting a solid and entertaining fantasy novel. It’s hard to get more supernatural than rampaging bloodthirsty fiends with curly horns, oily black wings, razor like claws, and sharp, pointy teeth in the presence of lowly, whimpering humans—all of which creates a delicious dynamic between the real and surreal.

Supernatural: check.

Next, the metaphorical landscape of Farraday is littered with a plethora of good and evil "pyradistés," all manipulating their magic pyramids, disintegrating opponents, opening and closing minds, shooting fireballs, erasing memories, and blinding bad guys with flash bombs. Most notable in The Pyramid Waltz is that one of our heroines unknowingly, at least initially, possesses a very strong magical ability.

Magic: check.

The Farradain Kingdom, with its capitol of Marienne, is home to the Royal Palace, Pyradisté Academy, towers, turrets, and numerous chapterhouses with tolling bells and carved façades to their patron saints. Outside the city walls, Farraday is dotted with thriving towns, taverns, manors, homesteads, fields, forests, rivers, and rolling hills. In the "far away" lies the exotic land of Allusia, with its dark-skinned, horse-riding, trouser-wearing peoples. Allusia is home to the mountains where the pyramid crystal is mined by the pale-skinned Farradain outlanders. Ms. Wright takes modern day language and gently manipulates its vernacular, making it playful yet slightly antiquated. This linguistic construction heightens the reader’s ability to transport themselves into the fantasy world of The Pyramid Waltz.

Okay, setting and language: check.

Within the pages of this novel, no one single character wields the special weapon. This is because the weapon is in fact many weapons—the pyramids. Pyramids are used by pyradistés to sift through and erase memories, create light sources, to disintegrate people and things, to protect areas and people, to cause general mayhem, death, and destruction, and to protect the Royal Family by keeping their inner Fiends at bay. The pyradistés are both good and evil, and have very different skill sets. Starbride learns that she has the inherent gift to use pyramid magic, and becomes an apprentice to the King’s Pyradisté, allowing her to deepen her relationship with Princess Katya.

Special Weapon: check.

Without an epic battle in which the heroines are nearly defeated, ultimate victory would not be so sweet. Enter Yanchasa the Mighty, evil pyradistés, walking dead, bastard cousins with a grudge, traitorous in-laws, sucking chest wounds, and multi-speed swordplay, and you have one helluva royal smackdown.

Grandiose battle: check.

Since no fantasy novel is complete without a sweet and simple love story between two dissimilar characters, The Pyramid Waltz offers up love-a-plenty. Katya and Starbride are a heady mix of light and dark, royal and courtier, butch and soft femme, rapier-wielding rogue and law-studying magician. Their attraction is immediate, but the flirtation is slow and rich. They become lovers and confidents, yet misunderstand each other and make invalid assumptions. Their romance warms the cockles of the heart, and makes the reader want them to live happily ever after.

Sweet love story: check.

And lastly, the Big Bad Villain must be extraordinary and not easily defeated, and he or she cannot be revealed until the end of the story, in order to create the most impact. And, while The Pyramid Waltz’s Big Bad was telegraphed throughout the story, Ms. Wright threw in more than a handful of surprises to turbo-boost the shock-and-awe of the epic battle, and leave the reader as bruised and bloody as our heroines.

And, a really nasty Big Bad to tie it all together: checkmate.

The world of lesbian literature has a small handful of high-quality fantasy authors, and Barbara Ann Wright is well on her way to joining the likes of Jane Fletcher, Cate Culpepper, and Andi Marquette.  

The Pyramid Waltz is equal parts romance and adventure, with a hefty dose of wry humor and memorable sidekicks thrown in for good measure. Lovers of the fantasy and futuristic genre will likely adore this novel, and adventurous romance fans should find plenty to sink their teeth into. 

I’m giving it a hale and hearty 5.1 out of 6.0 on the Rainbow Scale.