When someone says ‘murder mystery’, the Agatha Christie, 1800-1900s English country houses tend to be the first thing that comes to mind. But a former criminal lesbian living in Detroit? Maybe not. But maybe it should be.
When Some Body Disappears follows Brett and Allie, a young couple who recently moved out of Detroit to escape Brett’s former life. After nearly running into her old boss on the ski slopes, the two find themselves at the centre of a murder when a man is shot dead in front of them, all for the body to disappear. After the body reappears in the office of her new job on Brett’s first day, the two attempt to figure out what’s really going on, with Brett’s past determined to re-emerge and spritely detectives breathing down her neck.
A lesbian detective story with the protagonist escaping her past life and using her skills to achieve incredible feats? Sign me up! When I say imagine Sherlock Holmes but as a lesbian badass I mean it! And this story is a lot of fun! We get so much exploration of Brett and Allie’s characters that you feel personally connected to the both of them, and the use of so many intersecting (and queer!) storylines is a great way of demonstrating not only the complexity of the case in question, but of the people involved. Like many murder mystery stories, I didn’t guess correctly who was responsible, but it lined up well, if slightly quickly, at the end, just in time for the final pages. As the third Brett Higgins mystery, I need to read the first two!
I didn’t think I’d need specifically more lesbian detective stories, but after reading this book, I definitely need more lesbian detective stories! When Some Body Disappears is a very entertaining read which is executed so well, I hope to read more from Szymanski soon.
Rating: ★★★★☆
When Some Body Disappears (ISBN: 1-56280-227-5) was published in 1998. A copy is available to borrow from the LGBTQ+ Lending Library in the LGBTQ+ Lounge
