She Came in Drag

A trash TV show offers medical researcher Dr. Rita Huelga several hundred thousand dollars donated to her favorite charity if she will appear and admit that rock superstar Audra Leon was once her lover. Though she would prefer to ignore the Johnny Lever show, a third high school classmate Bevin Crosswell pushes her into going on TV. While the country awaits Rita confession from Beverly Hills, all the mycologist wants to do is go to the Dominican Republic to study the recently discovered forty-million year old mushroom. However, she goes through with the show, which is done in poor taste with Rita going ballistic and beating up Johnny. After her appearance, death threats begin to arrive. The Lever folks as a show of good will and not ignoring the Jones case hire private Investigator Emma Victor to protect the scientist. Rita objects, but finds herself attracted to her bodyguard and agrees to the plan. Death strikes, but victim turns out to be a romantic rival of Rita's. The woman violently dies from the poison given her. Emma begins to investigate the murder in order to prove her client's innocence and to insure her safety. The latest Emma Victor mystery, SHE COMES IN DRAG, is a well-written tale that provides readers with a compelling look at the lesbian lifestyle. The who-done-it is entertaining and San Francisco is always fun, but the characters and their interrelationships make the novel. Rita is a very complex protagonist and Emma remains a mix of compassion and steel. Mary Wings talent soars high with this terrific tale.Harriet Klausner