Sleeping Bones

Kate Delafield #7

by Katherine V. Forrest

LAPD Detective Kate Delafield has a new, iron-willed female lieutenant--a tough new partner who may turn out to be a much-needed ally. She also has a dangerous new case.

A reclusive old man has been brutally slain at the La Brea Tar Pits. The unusual investigation could uncover the truth of humanity's ancient past, and at the same time expose the corruption and violence of the present. And everyone involved--from an alluring scientist with a dark secret to a treacherous CIA officer with his own agenda--is suspect.

With more at stake than just a pile of bones, Kate has to gather together the pieces of a timeless puzzle, and make sure they all fit--before a remorseless killer decides to make her a part of history . . .

Genres: Mystery, LGBT, Lesbian Fiction, Queer, Lesbian, Fiction, Crime

1 pages, Audio CD

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Katherine V. Forrest is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."

Reviews

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't endorse cheating but I have to say, that Peri and Kate was the best thing that happened in this book. Also, for some reason Kate has better chemistry with other women than Aime.

[Scriptmonkey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The seventh entry gets two stars not because I felt it was markedly worse than the previous entry, but because some of Forrest's tropes are becoming tiresome. The one that stands out the most is:

Characters with no development nor emotional connection to the reader get introduced, behave horribly off-page, and now Kate hates them.

Torie, Kate's former partner, after being only a telephone character in Book #5 that Kate appreciates, ghosts Kate for most of book #6 after (possibly) inadvertently shooting Kate causing Kate to no longer trust her. Now, despite apologizing at the very end of the book, in this book, she's become an incompetent detective who nearly screws up a murder case. This pattern is clearly repeating with Kate's heretofore unknown brother appearing at the end. Everything looks fine except (in-between this book and Book #8) once the brother finds out Kate is a lesbian he freaks out and I suspect and hope there is no coming back from that behavior.

Another one? Aimee being utterly annoying. In Book #5, a few chapters came from Aimee's point of view. However, that ceased with the past two books, and every appearance is Aimee complaining and nagging--and expecting preferential police treatment, demanding Kate abuse her police power.

So, it's not surprising that Kate makes out with another woman and narrowly avoids sleeping with her. Surely this will bring their relationship troubles to a head. Nope. She makes over-compensatory love to Aimee when she gets home, and Aimee is too dull to note the somewhat odd behavior. When Kate does abuse her police power (with the help of her new partner) to help a friend of Aimee, Aimee offers to return the favor. So, all Aimee cares about is getting what she wants. She nags and complains when everything isn't exactly as she wants and when she gets it, her brain shuts off. I really hope these two break up for good, so Kate's love-life can be interesting again.

Hey, what about the story? Well, it starts off with a chapter set during the Pleistocene epoch, 40,000 years ago--because a murder happens at La Brea Tar Pits in the present. Yes, the book has time for this. Later, Kate slips into a daydream as her fantasy lover/murder suspect gives a talk about her archaeological dig adventures. Naturally, this leads to the make-out session...

Kate berates herself for doing it in public (fair enough), but then gets upset and says, "She's a murder suspect! What are you doing!?" Um, Kate...in Books 1, 2, & 3--you did the same thing. You are living with--married to even--a woman you met the same way. Technically, they were more witnesses than suspects, but they hadn't been ruled out. In Book 1, it was the same day. In Book 3, it was Aimee, but it would also have been her aunt Paula if Kate had the chance.

As with earlier books, the "big issue" can't be resolved. In this case, it is because it is a real-life incident, the missing fossils of Peking Man. I suppose the Hiroshima connection was a nice little bow on it, but it felt like it was used so the author could lament the bombing itself rather than wrap up the story.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by far one of my favorite detective series, right up there with Sue Graftons PI Kinsey Millhone. I love how raw and honest Kate is and her love for her messed up city that proves time and time again that only a certain type of people are welcome. She is older in this book as always and the age is starting to really show. I cant wait to see where this series goes in the coming books.

[kris blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooked

From the first eloquent description in the prologue, I was hooked. Katherine V. Forrest delivered another intelligent weave of characters & consequences, practically demanding that I finish the book in 1 day. It was a true pleasure to acquiesce.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I keep trying with this series and I don’t know why. This was another formulaic and rather uneventful case in the series. Only thing of interest was Kate finding out and meeting her brother that she didn’t know existed. That was the highlight of this for me. Other than it was boring.

[Katelyn Friday · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up to 4. I feel like I probably should have started at the beginning of this series as I was a little confused on some of the details but overall a great mystery!

[Sandra Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is pending as I'm almost finished reading SLEEPING BONES, by Katherine V Forrest.

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Claire Bernd · Rating 3 out of 5]

So silly… i was definitely entertained but it felt cheap

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The La Brea Tar Pits were a deceptively beautiful place where animals would come to water and sustain their lives and end up dying agonizing deaths. After they drank their fill, they would find that they were ensnared in the gooey asbestos. Their cries of panic would attack predators who would then unwittingly become victims themselves.

Fast forward 40,000 years to LA today. Arguably, it is a more civilized place now; that is if your name isn't Herman Layton and you haven't just received an ice pick to the gut which has destroyed your innards. Layton was visiting the La Brea Museum, having an interest in paleontology for several reasons. First of all, his daughter, Peri, is a renowned paleo-anthropologist whose work with fossils is celebrated in the academic world. Secondly, when Herman was in the Marines over 50 years earlier, he and his unit were responsible for the transport of the incomparable Peking Man fossils, which were subsequently lost somewhere in China.

The Layton case is assigned to an experienced detective, Kate Delafield and her new partner of 3 weeks, Joe Cameron. Kate's two previous partners were duds, so she is wary of trusting Joe until he proves himself. He seems to have a lot of the right stuff, although he is somewhat green. He has quite an interest in paleontology which proves very helpful to the case. Both Kate and Joe guard their privacy. Kate is a lesbian who doesn't want to broadcast her sexual preferences for obvious reasons. Although she considers herself married to a wonderful woman named Aimee, this type of relationship isn't typically accepted in the macho world of law enforcement.

As Joe and Kate begin to investigate the case, a real downer is thrown into the mix. For some reason, the CIA is very interested in the incident. There's a lot of conflict between the 2 branches of law enforcement, with the arrogant CIA types trying to intimidate the locals. Fortunately, Kate's new police lieutenant, an African-American female named Carolina Walcott who Kate hasn't quite figured out yet, stands up to the CIA quite well. Unfortunately, Kate has to keep the CIA involvement secret from Joe.

There are a few back stories which add to the interest of the book. It turns out that Kate's mother had a child out of wedlock, a fact that she never disclosed to anyone until right before her death. Kate's older brother wants to meet her, and that has her emotions in a flurry. Secondly, one of Aimee and Kate's friends is being stalked by her jealous ex-husband. The incidents against her are becoming increasingly violent, and they fear for her life. When Kate takes Joe into her confidence and they work together to stop this man, it's a turning point in their partnership.

I found the book to be quite well written, very human, with dialog that was very realistic and conversational. My only problem with the book was understanding everything that happened with the Peking Man bones. I also found that the relationship between Aimee and Kate seemed idealized. I haven't read the previous books in the series, but it seems that the events in this book force Kate into situations she hasn't faced before. She has to test both her professional and personal principles, and she doesn't always come out smelling like a rose. I think that's what makes her appealing, the fact that her humanity ultimately comes ahead of the rules and that she is so conflicted about being more honest about her sexuality. The plot was satisfyingly complex, and I found that I wanted to spend more time with Joe and Kate and discover their secrets.

[Megan]

One thing that might be overlooked in Katherine V. Forrest’s fine mysteries about Police Detective Kate Delafield is her love for—and pride in—the city of Los Angeles. Through her eyes we experience faded remnants of the movie industry (The Beverly Malibu ), gay West Hollywood (Murder by Tradition, and other locations rich in history and character. In Sleeping Bones), she actually takes us into prehistoric LA and the La Breya Tar Pits, where dinosaurs once roamed the Miracle Mile.

As are the majority of Kate Delafield mysteries, Sleeping Bones is well crafted and peopled with relatively interesting characters. But like The Beverly Malibu, this book has historical significance as well, using not only the La Breya Tar Pits as the scene of a murder, but going into detail about the Peking Man fossils, which disappeared from China in 1941 and the Rape of Nanking in the second Sino-Japanese War. All of these fascinating historical subjects are woven into a modern murder story, which must be unraveled by Kate and her new partner Joe Cameron.

The mystery—the murder of an ex-soldier because of his involvement with priceless fossils—is better than average and the solution is actually believable. What is more interesting is Kate’s relationship not only with her new partner, but with the murdered man’s paleontologist daughter. I mentioned in an earlier review that in Amateur City, Kate has an affair with a woman who is already in a relationship. After reading dozens of other lesbian mysteries, this is still the only “cheating” I have read about. Well, in this one, Kate comes mighty close. It makes me wonder if a separate post about “extra-marital” affairs between lesbians in mysteries might be worthwhile.

And as an extra bonus, Kate learns that she has a full brother that she never knew about. In fact, even her father never knew about him. Odd? Sure, but Forrest explains it well enough to be not only believable, but almost inevitable during wartime 1942. Will the brother appear again? Only the next book will tell.

The bottom line is that, after reading the first 7 or the Kate Delafield mysteries, I have to conclude that Forrest is not only at the top of her field of lesbian mysteries, but very near the top of mysteries period. An incredible feat for a woman that virtually invented the genre. I am already anxious to get on to book number 8. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Final Rating: 4.2

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.

[W. Tinkanesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

[The Kate Delafield Mysteries: ‘Amateur City’, ‘Murder at the Nightwood Bar’, ‘The Beverly Malibu’, ‘Murder by Tradition’, ‘Liberty Square’, ‘Apparition Alley’, ‘Sleeping Bones’.]

I believe I’ve read each of the Kate Delafield mysteries at least once. Upon finding out that my local library now as a LGBT section, I picked up ‘Sleeping Bones’ to share my impressions with you. In this one Katherine V. Forrest decided to delve into palaeontology.
40,000 years ago, many animals found themselves caught in The La Brea tar pits. In 1937, the Peking Man fossils were discovered in Zhoukoudian, China. They subsequently disappeared in 1941 while in US Marines’ custody.
In the late 1990’s, tourists discover the dead body of an elderly man at the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles. The museum team digs every summer in The La Brea tar pits for more and more fossils. While the dead man is identified as Herman Layton, a fossil –still wrapped up in its 1941-original packaging-- is found in the dig area. Could it be one of the missing Peking Man fossils?
LAPD homicide detectives Kate Delafield and Joe Cameron have been called to the crime scene. Herman Layton has an ex-wife: the imposing Arlene Layton. They have a daughter: the very charismatic palaeontologist Peri Layton.
To complicate the matter, CIA agent Nicholas Whitby turns up in Caroline Walcott’s office (Kate’s superior), requiring utmost secrecy and all information regarding the case. Had Herman Layton kept this Peking Man fossil in a bank safety deposit box all those years?
While trying to solve this murder, Kate has to remember that no matter the mutual attraction, Peri Layton is a murder suspect; and Kate’s partner, Amy, would like her to do something to help their friend Marcy to get rid of her stalker ex.
What kept me reading the Kate Delafield Mysteries book after book is in ‘Sleeping Bones’, too. It’s Kate Delafield herself. She is a tough cop who abides by the law. She is a human being with a great sense of justice.
Forrest writes with sensitivity and a keen eye for details and reflections.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere along the way I just lost interest in this series. I skipped the first book but the few after that were just SO good. Each book tackled a different social issue by way of a murder mystery. It examined what it meant to be queer, challenged prejudice and promoted understanding. But this was just a rather dull murder mystery. The focus was on a guy who was murdered, who may have known the location of Peking man. The hugely significant Chinese archaeological find that was lost during the 2nd world war. The problem with the story was all descriptions of the find and it's disappearance had this terrible western bias. There was even implication by the CIA agents that the Chinese "peasants" would use the hominid's skull as Dragon bones. Even though Dragon bones, who seemed unaware that those types of bones were not hominid ones! There was just no sympathy or understanding given to the Chinese point of view. They existed merely as an inconvenience to the plot. While it was repeated many times that the "Chinese government" gave the bones to the US Marines to take out it was never stated which government that was!

But all that was kinda irrelevant as it actually had no real bearing on the case and was mostly a red herring thrown in. There was a bit of a side story where Kate met a brother she didn't know she had, which was rather emotionless. The only thing I did like was her new partner, who was actually much more likeable than Kate in this book. By far the best partner she's had.

I've been quite disappointed in the last two of this series so really not sure if I'll bother reading any more.

[Kathleen Hagen]

Sleeping Bones, a Kate Delafield novel, by Katherine V. Forrest, a-minus, borrowed from the National Library Service for the Blind.

Kate has a new partner. She’s not sure how they will work out together. In some ways he’s quick to act and she thinks he might get both of them into trouble. The case they are assigned takes place at the La Brea tar pits, and the body is found on the brink of the pit. It is a homicide. Dr. Layton is a professor and has spent his life trying to save ancient bones, particularly ones from China during WW II that the Japanese tried to destroy or claim. They find, with his body, a jaw bone from thousands of years ago. Kate meets Dr. Layton’s daughter, Peri, also an anthropologist who has taken on some of her father’s research. While we take the time to uncover the mystery in this case-somewhat obscure-Kate also deals with many personal issues here. She finds out she has family members she didn’t know about. And she has a new partner. Should she “come out” to either of them as a lesbian, and can she have honest relationships with either of them if she doesn’t? And what about a mutual friend of hers and Amy’s who is being stalked, despite protection orders, by a very abusive boy friend? Can she find some way to get him to lay off when there hasn’t been a crime committed yet? A very interesting book.

[Jenny Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery deals with anthropologists, the La Brea tar pit, and Peking Man. It's interesting, but my favorite thing about this novel is the detective Kate Delafield. She is just so butch.

As an LA cop in the 90s, her lesbian identity is a secret to be guarded. She deals with all kinds of secrets in this book, both personal and professional, and she moves through them all with a certain wary grace.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving it already. I'm in love with Kate, but this book was a little unfocused. Even though I've read the series I couldn't figure out why the author keeps referring to an old case Kate is dealing with and the screwup her old partner Torrie Holden committed. It really doesn't add to the story. Like I said, confusing. But the current case is very interesting and gripping, and Kate is as wonderful as always.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

#7 in the Kate Delafield Los Angeles police detective mysteries series. Kate and her new partner are assigned to investigate a murder at the La Brea Tar Pits. The mystery becomes anything but routine when the CIA becomes involved because the victim is involved with the disappearance of a major anthropological fine in China at the out break of WW II.

Kate is an interesting character and the story deals a lot with her personal life as well. Not overly complicated with a good mystery.

[Freyja Vanadis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated the way Kate crumbled to the CIA Agent Whitby, and to her own girlfriend Aimee, but that seems par for the course. Otherwise, this was a pretty good read. Ms. Forrest must've done some serious research on fossils and anthropology.

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice enough story. Kate has lost her umph!

[Cadie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot how much I enjoy mysteries. This was a fun, easy read.

[Andrea L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

we all know already that Forrest's work is classic and wonderful