Tell Me What You Like: An Alison Kaine Mystery

I have been enjoying this series because the books work on many levels. They are all good mysteries with excellent characters. But Allen also looks at the various social divisions within the lesbian community and how these divisions have real boundaries around them. Of course, Allen's characters try to break down some of these barriers, but these barriers sometimes get in the way of the murder investigation, making these social divisions very real.

To be truthful, I was reluctant to buy this book because of the S & M aspect of it but Kate Allen makes it funny! Allison Kaine is a cop whose vacation was ruined because some friends bowed out on her. Ever the optimist, Allison is determined to have a miserable week and goes off to sulk at a park where she meets Stacy, the goalie for a lesbian soccer team. The two of them hit it off and find that they both like to quilt. What Allison finds out rather quickly is what Stacy does for a living - she is a dominatrix giving women their S & M fantasies for a price. Allison is a bit confused by all of this and tries to find out what she can about it. Stacy is upset when she finds out Allison is not into leather - she is tired, as she says of giving lessons in S & M 101. However, their attraction to each other is undeniable. Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, several lesbians have been murdered, all of whom were clients of Stacy. Allison doesn't want to think Stacy is involved but her cop's mind can't let go of the possibility. Kate Allen is witty and funny and doesn't just have a go at S & M but also new age lesbians and back to nature lesbians and with all the people involved and everything going on, it still manages to make sense in the end. A good read and the ending is very exciting.

This book sizzled with enticement. It couldn't get to the part I really wanted between Stacy and Alison, but it was well worth the wait. Character development and actual ground work for the major plot were excellent. Kate brings you right on the set. The waiting is what makes a book good. Couldn't lay it down!

The first Alison Kaine novel and first novel written by Kate Allen that I read. I orginally gave this as a birthday present but then 'retrieved' it to read myself. Unfortunately I never returned it and this is now a book that I have read at least 5 times! That is what makes it such good detective fiction - when you know who has done it and why, yet it still makes for great reading. The reason for this is that the characters are credible, funny and I would like them to be my friends as well. Every lesbian knows an Alison, a Michelle, a Janka and would like to know a Stacey! The gay and lesbian community is well described, as is Denver.Murder, quilting, two-stepping, football and an excellent story - what more could you ask for in a dyke detective novel? Let's have lots more!

Have you read any of Kate Allen's books yet? You haven't? I envy you. You have yet to have the amazing pleasure of immersing yourself in her words, plot and characters for the first time. Now, do yourself a favor and get her work! Why? Because of all the authors I have read in my life this is one who can make me laugh, make me angry, make me horny and make me think all in the space of a single page. It isn't a roller-coaster or other wilde ride. It is more like spending one of the best weekends you have ever had in your most favorite place on earth. I'm not a mystery reader by habit, but I'll do without lunch for a week at work in order to get my hands on another Kate Allen book. This is her first work, and as such has a few rough edges to her words that I've seen smooth out over the course of her four books (the fourth I am reading now). While some might feel cheated by other authors who write "series" works, don't assume these are like that at all. Each one stands on its own two feet and tells its own tale, not depending upon you to have read the books in order, or to ever read the other books. Ms. Allen's characters are like the best friends we all wish we could claim in our lives. Not all totally wonderful people, but they are well drawn out, living, thinking women with a depth you seldom see in first person tales. Their faults and foibles are the imperfections woven into authentic persian rugs. There to be seen because they are the work of human hands. Tired of "mystery" writers who cheat the reader's attempts at deduction by witholding evidence? Not Kate Allen. Nor do you feel that her protagonist, Allison Kane, is a dolt for not getting who the killer is on page 30. The tale is told in a natural progression that has you on the edge of your seat in more ways than one. Sexy, funny, witty, wry, insightful and exciting, Kate Allen has become one of my favorite authors, no matter the genre