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Tyler Jones #1
The Other Side of Silence
Introducing sleuth Tyler Jones, newspaper columnist and feminist lesbian activist. Each morning she walks her dog in the park, a quiet ramble until the roaming dog discovers the dead body of a man who once threatened Tyler's life.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
75 people want to read
About the author
Joan M. Drury
5 books7 followersJoan M. Drury is an American writer and former publisher of the lesbian feminist press Spinsters Ink. She has served as an editorial reader and advisor for the lesbian literary magazine Sinister Wisdom. Drury lives in Grand Marais, MN, where she is the owner of the independent bookstore Drury Lane Books.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 29, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I love so much about Tyler Jones is not just the fact that she is an out lesbian, but that it isn’t the entire point of the book. It’s just one facet of her.
So we have well written interesting mystery story with a leading character who is a lesbian and it’s not a romance!
And while I didn’t love the ending I still give the book a solid 4/5 stars.
What I love so much about Tyler Jones is not just the fact that she is an out lesbian, but that it isn’t the entire point of the book. It’s just one facet of her.
So we have well written interesting mystery story with a leading character who is a lesbian and it’s not a romance!
And while I didn’t love the ending I still give the book a solid 4/5 stars.
January 18, 2024
Additional review coming but one star.
Author fails to provide an actual believable mystery story. Bought this book for myself and also bought a copy for a friend.
Both of us highly disappointed.
Liked
1. Main character has a lot of empathy for other women and integrity.
2. Good sense of place in terms of San Francisco. One of my favorite cities in America. Excellent representation of the city.
3. Inner dialogue of the main character is at points interesting.
Did not like:
1. 1528 books in on Goodreads, another easy 500 I haven’t posted here. 99 percent of the other fiction I have read has better plotting.
2 Author uses seven words when one will do. This book ultimately is a 20 page Novella condensed into a 220 page novel.
3. Minor character development is lacking. There are interesting minor characters but often little happens to them/with them in terms of character arc.
4. Author wants to tell us about main character rather than have her do interesting things.
5. While main character is interesting she is a little too stoic and uninvolved in her own story.
I wanted to love this. I really did.
Like too many books this needed more beta readers and better editing.
But one star because the author failed in their basic contract with the reader.
Resolution/ending also weak.
Author fails to provide an actual believable mystery story. Bought this book for myself and also bought a copy for a friend.
Both of us highly disappointed.
Liked
1. Main character has a lot of empathy for other women and integrity.
2. Good sense of place in terms of San Francisco. One of my favorite cities in America. Excellent representation of the city.
3. Inner dialogue of the main character is at points interesting.
Did not like:
1. 1528 books in on Goodreads, another easy 500 I haven’t posted here. 99 percent of the other fiction I have read has better plotting.
2 Author uses seven words when one will do. This book ultimately is a 20 page Novella condensed into a 220 page novel.
3. Minor character development is lacking. There are interesting minor characters but often little happens to them/with them in terms of character arc.
4. Author wants to tell us about main character rather than have her do interesting things.
5. While main character is interesting she is a little too stoic and uninvolved in her own story.
I wanted to love this. I really did.
Like too many books this needed more beta readers and better editing.
But one star because the author failed in their basic contract with the reader.
Resolution/ending also weak.
Read
June 18, 2020Tyler Jones is not the most social person in the world, so when she wins the Pulitzer Prize for journalism for a feature story about spousal abuse committed by members of the police force, she goes into semi-retirement, writing her newspaper columns from home. Because of her urgent concern about violence against women, she also spends time at a crisis center. But although her research and counseling brings her into contact with many forms of violence, her own life is rather uninteresting and predictable. That is until she finds a dead body in the park while out walking her dog.
The characterization of Tyler is very subtle, and we often have to rely on small clues to get a true picture of her. We know that she broke up with her last lover ten years before and that she is more comfortable working at home than at an office. This may be explained by the fact that she describes herself as “hefty,” “robust,” and “fat.” Not in the way a fashion model might think she has to lose a pound or two, but because Tyler is truly overweight. Yet she mentions this only in passing—never dwells on her weight issues. We also know that she is a recovering alcoholic who is often badly in need of a drink. The fact that Drury gives us no backstory on any of this is an omission that might be rectified in the two subsequent books about Tyler Jones.
Here’s another thing we know about Tyler but have no real backstory on: she has little use for men (except for her contact at the newspaper) and blames them for much of the violence that goes on in the world—especially against women. As she says, “I am, with reason, suspicious about men—especially when it comes to violence.” In fact, Tyler makes her living writing about the subject. She produces a weekly column for her newspaper and is writing a book-length oral history. And hey, Tyler is a writer who actually writes. We are not just told about a column, we get to read it, too. Likewise chapters of her book, which are convincing and heartfelt.
So does this mean that men won’t like this book? Umm. Many won’t, but that’s their loss. The history of feminism and the ongoing violence against women is a subject that everyone should take a serious interest in. The fact is, The Other Side of Silence is one of the most well-crafted mysteries I have ever read. It just continues to develop until the very unusual (but maybe not totally unexpected) ending. The fact that Tyler (and Drury) have an important agenda is all the better.
The plot has to do with Tyler finding the body of a man in the park next to her house. The man happens to be a spouse abuser who once attacked Tyler physically when he found out that she was using her apartment as a safe house for his wife. Who would kill such a man? Everyone? Maybe it was Tyler herself—the police certainly think so. And of course to prove her innocence, Tyler has to uncover the perpetrator herself. Unlike many books with this motif, however, Tyler’s experience and skill as a reporter gives her the tools she needs to actually investigate in a believable manner.
I read most of the books I review in random order, so it is more than surprising when I read two in a row that have many of the same motifs. And what is even more surprising is that this happens more often than not. The book I read previously, Relationships Can Be Murder, by Jane DiLucchio, has much in common with this one. For one thing, the detective’s best friends (their Companions, as it were) are similar. As I’ve noted above, their reasons to investigate are also similar—to prove that they themselves are innocent. Another similarity is that—and I don’t think I’ve seen this anywhere else—a potential romance between the protagonist and the detective investigating the case—goes absolutely nowhere. Weird.
But many of the shortcomings of Relationships Can Be Murder are not present here. Oh, there’s a glitch or two, but they are so subtle it would be hard to prove they even exist. I’m willing to let them go and to give this novel a solid 4 stars and a desire to know more about Tyler Jones. In fact, I have just ordered the next book in the series. I’ll let you know.
Note: I read the first Spinster’s Ink printing of this book.
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 characterization of Tyler is very subtle, and we often have to rely on small clues to get a true picture of her. We know that she broke up with her last lover ten years before and that she is more comfortable working at home than at an office. This may be explained by the fact that she describes herself as “hefty,” “robust,” and “fat.” Not in the way a fashion model might think she has to lose a pound or two, but because Tyler is truly overweight. Yet she mentions this only in passing—never dwells on her weight issues. We also know that she is a recovering alcoholic who is often badly in need of a drink. The fact that Drury gives us no backstory on any of this is an omission that might be rectified in the two subsequent books about Tyler Jones.
Here’s another thing we know about Tyler but have no real backstory on: she has little use for men (except for her contact at the newspaper) and blames them for much of the violence that goes on in the world—especially against women. As she says, “I am, with reason, suspicious about men—especially when it comes to violence.” In fact, Tyler makes her living writing about the subject. She produces a weekly column for her newspaper and is writing a book-length oral history. And hey, Tyler is a writer who actually writes. We are not just told about a column, we get to read it, too. Likewise chapters of her book, which are convincing and heartfelt.
So does this mean that men won’t like this book? Umm. Many won’t, but that’s their loss. The history of feminism and the ongoing violence against women is a subject that everyone should take a serious interest in. The fact is, The Other Side of Silence is one of the most well-crafted mysteries I have ever read. It just continues to develop until the very unusual (but maybe not totally unexpected) ending. The fact that Tyler (and Drury) have an important agenda is all the better.
The plot has to do with Tyler finding the body of a man in the park next to her house. The man happens to be a spouse abuser who once attacked Tyler physically when he found out that she was using her apartment as a safe house for his wife. Who would kill such a man? Everyone? Maybe it was Tyler herself—the police certainly think so. And of course to prove her innocence, Tyler has to uncover the perpetrator herself. Unlike many books with this motif, however, Tyler’s experience and skill as a reporter gives her the tools she needs to actually investigate in a believable manner.
I read most of the books I review in random order, so it is more than surprising when I read two in a row that have many of the same motifs. And what is even more surprising is that this happens more often than not. The book I read previously, Relationships Can Be Murder, by Jane DiLucchio, has much in common with this one. For one thing, the detective’s best friends (their Companions, as it were) are similar. As I’ve noted above, their reasons to investigate are also similar—to prove that they themselves are innocent. Another similarity is that—and I don’t think I’ve seen this anywhere else—a potential romance between the protagonist and the detective investigating the case—goes absolutely nowhere. Weird.
But many of the shortcomings of Relationships Can Be Murder are not present here. Oh, there’s a glitch or two, but they are so subtle it would be hard to prove they even exist. I’m willing to let them go and to give this novel a solid 4 stars and a desire to know more about Tyler Jones. In fact, I have just ordered the next book in the series. I’ll let you know.
Note: I read the first Spinster’s Ink printing of this book.
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.
March 26, 2017
After reading the final paragraph and pondering what felt like an abrupt end, I wasn't sure whether the book would be considered genre fiction (mystery) or just fiction-with-a-social-message. I had been operating under the expectation that the murder discovered in the opening chapter, the one that drives the plot forward for over 200 pages, would be explained and another whodunnit would be solved. Instead it seems the author's idea was to replace a crucial explanation scene at the end with one that would again drive home her social message about violence against women.
Were lesbians of the early 90s (when this book was written) not acutely aware of violence against women, so this book would have been enlightening? Along with some dated references about technology ("[I] hooked up my modem to their modem") and a distinct lack of smartphones/Google that would have eliminated some legwork in this book, I felt like maybe there was something larger I was missing because I was reading the book a couple of decades after its publishing. I was confused at the end expecting a clear explanation of the murder instead of a drop-off ending.
Early in the book, a blind homeless person is specifically described as having more "vision" than sighted people, setting her up for relevation of key information later on. Instead, this character drops off with just a third-person mention in a later scene. Missed opportunity!
Normally I'm not a fiction reader, but this was a really quick read. I started the book on a direct flight from Portland (OR) to Chicago and it was compelling enough I was 100 pages in when the plane landed. Over the next few days I read the rest. I picked the book from a Little Free Library in SW Portland, sucked in due to the description of the dog (Aggie) on the first page, who obviously wasn't going to be a throwaway character.
Were lesbians of the early 90s (when this book was written) not acutely aware of violence against women, so this book would have been enlightening? Along with some dated references about technology ("[I] hooked up my modem to their modem") and a distinct lack of smartphones/Google that would have eliminated some legwork in this book, I felt like maybe there was something larger I was missing because I was reading the book a couple of decades after its publishing. I was confused at the end expecting a clear explanation of the murder instead of a drop-off ending.
Early in the book, a blind homeless person is specifically described as having more "vision" than sighted people, setting her up for relevation of key information later on. Instead, this character drops off with just a third-person mention in a later scene. Missed opportunity!
Normally I'm not a fiction reader, but this was a really quick read. I started the book on a direct flight from Portland (OR) to Chicago and it was compelling enough I was 100 pages in when the plane landed. Over the next few days I read the rest. I picked the book from a Little Free Library in SW Portland, sucked in due to the description of the dog (Aggie) on the first page, who obviously wasn't going to be a throwaway character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2016
Murder mysteries are not really my style, but I picked this up for the promise of a lesbian feminist protagonist. Plus, the blurb spilled the fact that the murder victim was a man, sealing the deal. (Last thing I need is to spend my free time reading gruesome stories of murdered women.) And The Other Side of Silence ending up being just what I was looking for: a fast-paced story, suspenseful but not so scary I couldn't read it at home by myself, woven with a healthy, lesbian feminist consciousness. Set in San Francisco of the early '90s, the book offered a glimpse into the lesbian cultural and political scene of the time (and I appreciate the critical eye the main characters turned to the growing s&m scene). Interspersed with women's personal stories of abuse, the novel offered a resounding rejection of male violence. As far as mysteries go, the final reveal felt a little incomplete, but was nevertheless satisfying.
October 21, 2008
Lesbian feminist mystery set in San Francisco. Boldly mixes individual tales of domestic violence with a murder mystery. Well done.
October 29, 2011
If you are every in Grand Marais, MN visit Joan's bookstore on the East Bay of Lake Superior.
April 4, 2013
early 90s feminist lesbian mystery...it doesn't get better than this!
December 6, 2012
This was a Half Price Book clearance shelf find. It sounded interesting, and it is, but the ending was terrible. They never really say who actually committed the crime. It's all speculation and there is no "wrap up" or anything. It's hard to explain but I was really disappointed. This one goes in the "donate" bag.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2015
I can't remember if I read this book in June or July of this year (2015) and can't remember much about it except it is a mystery with female characters. I wanted so much to like it because it is Joan Drury of Drury Lane and the Drury Lane Bookstore in Grand Marais but not being able to remember much pretty much says it all.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews