Blank (Media) Slate

After finishing “Double Negative” by David Carkeet, a good off-beat mystery, I wondered about other books for comparison when recommending it to people. It definitely has a hard-edged, acerbically humorous “flavor” that is hard to describe. I often like to frame books in context with others, trying to convey something of a “if you like that, you might like this” kind of thing. This case is a bit more difficult, though, and I’ve tried to come up with an apt comparison.

The nearest thematic neighbor to it I have in my own library would be “The Woman Who Knew Too Much” by Bett Reece Johnson. While that’s a relatively easy connection for me as they’re sitting near each other on my shelf, they’re generally placed across the room from each other in your favorite big bookstore. In fact, when looking for it in Borders as well as Barnes & Nobel, you’ll find it in the Gay/Lesbian Literature sections, an aisle not generally frequented by the mainstream mystery reader.

I was initially turned onto Johnson’s book while browsing a small bookstore in New Mexico. She was a featured local author, and from the jacket cover it seemed like it’d be worth a try. The blurb sketched the main character as a renegade espionage agent, Cordelia Morgan, who was tired of the game and left her unnamed employers to strike out on her own. The plot is about how she helps solve a local murder mystery.

The story turned out to be well written, and filled with interesting, earthy characters. As I’ll often do with books I’ve enjoyed, I looked for copies to give as gifts to friends. It was a surprise, then, when I’d query the bookstore staff and found where it was shelved. Apparently, they’d been told by the corporate office where it belongs, and it wasn’t with the other mysteries.

The book’s classification is the real mystery here. As far as I can tell, there’s one character who we learn (in flash-back) was a feminist, and may possibly have been a lesbian. Knowing where I pulled it from the shelf, I suppose I could infer some ambiguous sexuality in the main character, but it’s by no means overt (and I’d have to squint when reading between the lines to find it). At the end of the day, the only clue I’ve been able to uncover is that fact that the publisher, Cleis Press, puts out a number of (by and about) lesbian books. My guess, then, is that Johnson is missing out on a much wider potential audience being categorized outside the genre of the story itself.

In short: These are two fun, slightly offbeat murder mysteries I recommend. You’ll probably be able to find “Double Negative” easily enough, but you might need to wander into the Gay/Lesbian section for “The Woman Who Knew Too Much.”

Other Books I Recommend: