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Kelly Haldon #1
[(The Unknown Mile)] [By (author) Jaime Clevenger] published on
On the surface, Kelly's world seems pretty normal. But the truth is, it's getting more and more complicated by the moment. Shannon has Kelly in a tightly wound sexual relationship. Then there's Gina, a rookie cop who just happens to be Shannon's best friend... and meanwhile, Kelly is lured by a private investigator into a world of mystery and intrigue from which she can't possibly escape... But does she even want to?The Unknown Mile plays romance and passion against the backdrop of espionage in the form of a mysterious death and a gay political action group.
- GenresLesbian
Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Jaime Clevenger
37 books321 followersJaime Clevenger lives with family in Colorado. Most days are spent working as a veterinarian. Writing is a side gig but also a true love. Hobbies include swimming, karate, dreaming about beach vacations, and convincing random strangers to share their life story. Bonus points are given if they include a good romance—whether or not there’s a happy ending.
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June 19, 2020The Unknown Mile is supposed to be a mystery, but it's not. In fact, it's not even a novel. Let me explain. Kelly Haldon is spending her college summer vacation teaching kids at a dojo in her home town of Ashton, California—not much more than a stone’s throw from San Francisco. At 21, Kelly is footloose and fancy free, so it is no surprise that she gets a crush on two women at the same time; Gina is a rookie cop and Shannon an enlisted soldier. Trouble is, the two are best friends.
The plot hangs on the military’s dislike of lesbians in the service. In fact, Shannon’s ex has been drummed out of the service with a dishonorable discharge. She is in the process of bringing a lawsuit against the military when she begins getting death threats. Meanwhile, Kelly is supplementing her teaching income by doing “deliveries” for the mysterious ex-FBI and current PI Rick Lehrman. It’s good money and easy work. Hopefully, it’s even legal.
And that’s it; that’s the whole book. The mystery—and the denouement of the rest of The Unknown Mile doesn’t come until the second installment, Call Shotgun. So in fact, The Unknown Mile is only half a novel. I suspect that the original manuscript was about 500 pages and Bella decided to cut it in half and make two books out of it. To be labeled a mystery—where Kelly actually is involved in solving a murder—both books have to be combined. Well, I’ve never seen this before, but maybe I can deal with it.
Truth is, I like Kelly and I also like Gina. The irrepressible Kelly reminds me somewhat of Bil Hardy in Joan Opyr’s Idaho Code. A number of scenes take place in the actual dojo—and from my perspective as a lay person, they are excellently done. Unfortunately, the author’s attempt to describe the game of softball (and baseball) is just as bad as the karate scenes are good. A man Kelly meets has a crush on “the lead pitcher” on the San Francisco Giants. What is a lead pitcher, pray tell? She describes a whole team of 7-year-old Little Leaguers, while Little League actually consists mostly of youngsters 9-12. One of the characters says that a team “gained three runs” in the last inning to win the game. Kelly thinks that if she played softball she would probably play left outfield (which would have actually been funny if she would have spelled it left-out field.) In other words almost everything she says about baseball or softball is inaccurate. Is this the author’s fault for not doing more research—or at least asking someone who knows more about the games? Of course it is, but luckily we have someone else available to lay at least part of the blame on.
Christi (Christine) Cassidy is listed as editor for The Unknown Mile Christi, a holdover from Naiad Press, which was purchased by Bella the year before, always seems to bear the brunt of my criticism for the various books in which she is listed as lead editor. For instance, here are a couple of too-formal constructions that a better editor might have noticed: “Kelly considered asking her out on a date,” instead of “Kelly considered asking her out.” Or “I was supposed to meet Laura tonight, but I called to cancel out plans,” instead of simply “I was supposed to meet Laura tonight, but I had to call and cancel.” Then there is the astonishing coincidence of encountering a stranger in a train station in another city who just happens to have a picture of Shannon’s ex in her briefcase—and it just happens to fall out of the briefcase so that Kelly can see it. Surely there were ways for Kelly to get this information in a less contrived way. Come on, if you’re not a real editor, don’t call yourself one. The Unknown Mile was Clevenger’s first novel and she deserved more help than you were able to give her. Although it’s always possible that the success of the rest of the book was due to her diligence.
I liked the book pretty much—especially the scenes in the dojo and the tensions about gays in the military. Still, I can’t give it more than say, a 3.4 because of the flaws and because it ends without ending. I would read the sequel—or should I say the other half of the story—if I could find one cheap enough, but that may not happen.
Note: I read what appears to be the first Bella printing of this novel.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
The plot hangs on the military’s dislike of lesbians in the service. In fact, Shannon’s ex has been drummed out of the service with a dishonorable discharge. She is in the process of bringing a lawsuit against the military when she begins getting death threats. Meanwhile, Kelly is supplementing her teaching income by doing “deliveries” for the mysterious ex-FBI and current PI Rick Lehrman. It’s good money and easy work. Hopefully, it’s even legal.
And that’s it; that’s the whole book. The mystery—and the denouement of the rest of The Unknown Mile doesn’t come until the second installment, Call Shotgun. So in fact, The Unknown Mile is only half a novel. I suspect that the original manuscript was about 500 pages and Bella decided to cut it in half and make two books out of it. To be labeled a mystery—where Kelly actually is involved in solving a murder—both books have to be combined. Well, I’ve never seen this before, but maybe I can deal with it.
Truth is, I like Kelly and I also like Gina. The irrepressible Kelly reminds me somewhat of Bil Hardy in Joan Opyr’s Idaho Code. A number of scenes take place in the actual dojo—and from my perspective as a lay person, they are excellently done. Unfortunately, the author’s attempt to describe the game of softball (and baseball) is just as bad as the karate scenes are good. A man Kelly meets has a crush on “the lead pitcher” on the San Francisco Giants. What is a lead pitcher, pray tell? She describes a whole team of 7-year-old Little Leaguers, while Little League actually consists mostly of youngsters 9-12. One of the characters says that a team “gained three runs” in the last inning to win the game. Kelly thinks that if she played softball she would probably play left outfield (which would have actually been funny if she would have spelled it left-out field.) In other words almost everything she says about baseball or softball is inaccurate. Is this the author’s fault for not doing more research—or at least asking someone who knows more about the games? Of course it is, but luckily we have someone else available to lay at least part of the blame on.
Christi (Christine) Cassidy is listed as editor for The Unknown Mile Christi, a holdover from Naiad Press, which was purchased by Bella the year before, always seems to bear the brunt of my criticism for the various books in which she is listed as lead editor. For instance, here are a couple of too-formal constructions that a better editor might have noticed: “Kelly considered asking her out on a date,” instead of “Kelly considered asking her out.” Or “I was supposed to meet Laura tonight, but I called to cancel out plans,” instead of simply “I was supposed to meet Laura tonight, but I had to call and cancel.” Then there is the astonishing coincidence of encountering a stranger in a train station in another city who just happens to have a picture of Shannon’s ex in her briefcase—and it just happens to fall out of the briefcase so that Kelly can see it. Surely there were ways for Kelly to get this information in a less contrived way. Come on, if you’re not a real editor, don’t call yourself one. The Unknown Mile was Clevenger’s first novel and she deserved more help than you were able to give her. Although it’s always possible that the success of the rest of the book was due to her diligence.
I liked the book pretty much—especially the scenes in the dojo and the tensions about gays in the military. Still, I can’t give it more than say, a 3.4 because of the flaws and because it ends without ending. I would read the sequel—or should I say the other half of the story—if I could find one cheap enough, but that may not happen.
Note: I read what appears to be the first Bella printing of this novel.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
September 7, 2011
#1 (of a two part series) follow Kelly Haldon on her search for extra cash to pay for school, mysterious new boss, an unsolved murder and finding the right girl all while trying to make good on her promise to paint her brother's house and making sure that all of this doesn't get in the way of her first (and most favorite) responsibility... the karate studio!
May 20, 2008
Lesbian murder mystery. That's all I need to say.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews