Deaths of Jocasta

Kudos to JM Redmann for writing another wonderful installment in the Micky Knight series. "The Deaths of Jocasta" is much more than the case Micky has been hired to investigate. Not only is the reader treated to a well-written mystery and realistic plot, but the dark past of Micky slowly unfolds throughout the book as she gives up alcohol and casual sex. Micky essentially fights her inner battle alone when her closest friends question her ability to remain sober and celibate. She doesn't know if they are friends or foes.Will Micky be able to figure who is behind the threatening letters and shocking deaths of women before she becomes a victim herself? Will Micky be able to become lovers with Cordelia without putting her foot in her mouth? Will Danny reconcile her hurt feelings towards Micky for their failed relationship after college? Read this book yourself to find the answers to these and other questions. You certainly won't regret it!

The thirty years old, Barnard educated and underemployed, out lesbian, private investigator, Micky Knight has accepted a job overseeing security for a very exclusive and "festive" annual party hosted by Emma Auerbach. Of an old money New Orleans family, Emma has been a friend and mentor to Mickey for years. Sober and celibate for over six weeks, Micky is beginning to face the demons from which the liquor and sex allowed her to hide for over a decade. Although determined to remain sober, Micky does hope the weekend party brings an end to her loneliness, especially when the good doctor, Cordelia James arrives. Micky lost her heart to Cordelia months ago, during the events of "Death by the Riverside." But Emma's annual gay-la ends abruptly when the body of a young woman is found in the woods on her estate and everyone returns to the city. At loose ends back in New Orleans, Micky goes to the library to check out some Dorothy Sayers books. "Some of her Lord Peter Wimsey books, not so much for detective ideas, but for dating tips." About which Micky concludes, "via Lord Peter, the method for making a woman fall in love with an offbeat detective was to save her from the gallows by proving her innocent. Somehow that didn't seem to have much bearing on Cordelia and myself." (p55). Of course, Lord Peter is right!Life is complicated for Micky and company. More bodies show up near Cordelia's clinic. When they turn out to be young women who were patients at the clinic, the police see Cordelia as the prime suspect. Cordelia decides to hire Micky to investigate. Meanwhile an uncharacteristically restless, NOPD Detective Sgt., Joanne, increasingly angered by these events, is spending more time with Micky. Joanne senses Micky has similar ghosts in her past. With the same tough, first-person voice of the first Micky Knight novel, Redmann directs the fast paced action of "Jocasta." Micky tracks down leads connecting the pasts of several characters with the current events. And the truth turns out to involve a dangerous combination of extremists --who justify murder in the name of life-- and people who crave old-fashioned, hateful revenge. Will Micky be able to take Lord Peter's advice? Redmann presents serious and painful issues without hiding the pain, becoming pedantic, or losing her sense of humor. Her characters are well rounded, interesting women who deal authentically with their problems. One of the most impressive examples of this is Redmann's handling of child sexual abuse. Accurate and realistic, the depictions of the abuse and its ramifications run a spectrum of forms, parental reactions, and consequences from Micky to Joanne to Cordelia. This thread actually evolves throughout the Micky Knight novels as Micky has the opportunity to grow and heal. This re-release of "Deaths of Jocasta" by Bella Books is a must for mystery lovers and in this reader's opinion, the covers of "Jocasta" and "Riverside" are the best Bella has produced to date.

Mickey Knight is fabulous. I loved "Riverside" - this is even better, if that is possible. And Redmann is the only writer I have come across who actually writes great lesbian sex.

Micky Knight is a tough, "hardboiled" lesbian private investigator who gets quite "bumped around" while trying to solve the difficult cases brought to or rather "dropped" on her. Although sometimes a bit hard to believe, the Micky Knight series is enjoyable and good enough to keep you awake reading until three in the morning.