Caught in the Net

A new dyke detective for the armchair mystery fan has arrived! Caught in the Net is a first novel from Jessica Thomas and introduces Alex Peres. Alex is a thirty-something dyke who lives (and grew up) in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Arguably, one of the country's most famous resort towns for gays and lesbians, Provincetown is "that strange and beautiful place, where the men are pretty and the women are tough." (p1) With its seasonal population tide of tourists Provincetown plays as much of a role in Caught in the Net as many of the characters and Thomas brings the town's New England quirkiness and its queer color to life for her readers. A thoughtful, self-sufficient, and independent woman, Alex Peres is a wry observer of nature (human and otherwise) who uses that skill to support herself. On the creative side her perceptive eye is expressed by her photography. She creates artistic impressions of the Cape and Provincetown area that are sold at local galleries. Alex's more analytical observation skills go into her work as a private detective. A job, which she explains, is filled with interesting but sometimes tedious work like following a wayward husband. Fargo, the detective's 90-pound, black lab is as much a star of Caught in the Net as Alex. The details of Alex and Fargo's relationship will bring smiles, chuckles, tail wags, and warm fuzzy feelings, especially to readers with a canine love. Indeed Fargo's companionship is primary to Alex who has had rather bad luck in the love department. That bad luck has held until a new woman appears in town. Janet Meacham, a beautiful, intelligent, young woman has moved to P'town to start a new chapter in her life. Alex finds herself quite taken with Janet and the attraction appears to be mutual. Alex thinks that this is a relationship that could build in a more positive direction. Meanwhile the severed human foot that Alex, or rather Fargo, found on the beach during a daily walk is the foundation (as it were) of a series of crimes in the area. Alex's brother, a local cop is looking for a young man who may have known the owner of the foot. This first novel from Thomas is filled with witty insights regarding human foibles with Alex personifying several endearing qualities. Of herself, Alex claims, "Frankly, I am not a great admirer of children as a species -- the younger ones smell funny and the older ones look as if they know something you don't-- but even I didn't want two young kids stumbling on this piece of flotsam or jetsam or whatever you called a lost/discarded body part". (p10) Or regarding her personal habits, "I sat behind the wheel and took a pack of cigarettes off the dashboard and lit one of the five I allow myself each day. I allow myself five. The other eight or ten I smoke are not allowed." (p11) Although an engaging character, Alex does not quite ring true as a typical Gen-Xer, which might annoy some readers. The mystery is a little thin with a plot that

Less than 1/4 of the way through the book, I knew exactly how the ending would go, but the story was so entertaining that I really didn't mind. Jessica Thomas does a great job with her characters! I can hardly wait to read her next one.

This is a great book with terrific descriptions of PTown. If you know Commercial Street, you can probably figure out some of the locations. This book is well written. I look forward to more books by Jessica Thomas.

I love lesbian mysteries and read them like popcorn, so it is always welcome to try out a new flavor and see what it's like. I hope Jessica Thomas writes a whole bunch more books about Alex Peres.Alex herself is an interesting woman. She pays the bills with routine business type investigations, and spends the rest of her time with her camera and her dog Fargo, documenting P-Town's beauty. Her gun's been in the safe so long it's probably rusty and she's more concerned with dating than danger.She might be humdrum, even, if Thomas didn't give Alex a wry, amusing, insightful personality and a way with a turn of phrase and a humorous remark that is up there with Scoppetone's Laurano. It's not a long, nor terribly involved book, and I figured things out about the same time Alex did -- but the red herrings did work. All in all, it was an unexpectedly fine bowl of popcorn, perfect for a rainy afternoon at home or a sunny beachside day in, well, Provincetown.

Provincetown, women, a black Lab, murder, and a devious plot -- what more could a reader want in a lesbian mystery! Although the best character in the book is Fargo, the lab, Alex Perez is the kind of woman you want to know better. This would be a good beach book for this summer.