The Left Hand of Justice

by Jess Faraday

Starvation and disease haunt the streets of 1820s Paris, while supernatural terror stalks the night. The once-famous police force is a shambles, its elite Bureau of Supernatural Investigations disbanded. Only Detective Inspector Elise Corbeau remains, spared by a shadowy protector for a purpose not even she knows.

When charismatic cult leader Hermine Boucher is kidnapped, all fingers point to her ex-lover, inventor Maria Kalderash. But the further Inspector Corbeau investigates, the more suspects she turns up, until finally, the finger is pointing right back at the Paris Police.

Navigating a web of betrayal, hidden agendas, and shifting alliances, Corbeau must protect the innocent, bring the corrupt to justice, and escape the ever-growing list of people who want to see her at the bottom of the Seine. If she can do it, she just might save her job. And she may even find true love.

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Lesbian, Mystery, LGBT, Historical, Queer

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2013

About the author

Jess Faraday is the author of the award-winning Ira Adler historical mysteries, the standalone steampunk adventure The Left Hand of Justice and a number of historical adventures in short story and novella form.

Her novella, The Strange Case of the Big Sur Benefactor, won a Rainbow Award for Lesbian Historical. Fool's Gold won a Rainbow Award for Best Gay Historical, and was a runner-up for Best Gay Novel. Turnbull House was a runner-up for Best Gay Historical, and The Affair of the Porcelain Dog was both a Lambda Awards finalist, and won Honorable Mention for Best Novel of the Year from Speak Its Name.

She has edited several award-winning short story collections for Elm Books, including Death and a Cup of Tea (one of Foreword Review's top Indie mysteries of 2015), Undeath and the Detective (Finalist for a Silver Falchion Award for Best Multi-Author Anthology), and Fae Love, which won an Aspen Gold Reader's Choice Award.

You can read more about Jess and her books at http://www.jessfaraday.com

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars. The best way to describe this book would be a Victorian era, paranormal mystery, with steampunk elements. That's a bit of a mouth full. The premise of this sort of book appeals to me, as I enjoy anything different. Unfortunately, this book as a whole left me a bit wanting.
Faraday is obviously a talented writer, and with a great premise, this book could have been really excellent. I believe part of the problem was the length. At around 200 pages, the story ended abruptly, with questions unanswered. The main mystery was solved, but it appeared Faraday, was setting up the story for future books. But with it now 3 years gone by, It looks like it might not be happening.
I liked the main character, Inspector Elise. I also was interested in the Doctor Maria, but circumstances in the book, have her absent for almost half of it. She an intriguing character that you never get to know.
I also can not say that this books has romance. While a love interest is presented for Elise, again the end leaves you wondering what happened. I would have loved for this book to have about 200 more pages added to the end. To show what the characters did with their new circumstances and maybe another mystery with the two mains working to solve. Oh well, this book was close, just no cigar.
If you are looking for something different in the paranormal-mystery genera, this might be for you.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a neat book, but I wished I liked it more. Queer paranormal historicals are one of my most favourite things and the premise for this one is cool. Jess Faraday has written some really awesome stuff and I was looking forward to this one. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I read it over a couple of months because I kept wanting to read other things. I didn't really connect with the main character, unfortunately, which is a shame. Faraday's wonderful Ira Adler series worked for me so well because Ira Adler is a fantastic character who's now one of my most favourite. So while it's pretty cool to read about paranormal queer ladies in 1820's Paris, this could have been better.

[Eva Müller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well...this was The Affair of the Porcelain Dog but lesbian, with steampunk, in France and with an inexplicable Inspector Javert as side character. Which sounds like it would be very different but the bare bones are the same: lone wolf against the whole world and all odds. This time our lone wolf even gets a trophy girlfriend at the end, without any real development of their relationship during the book. They meet. She's hot. She gets abducted. MC saves her. Happy end for everybody.

I know there are people who are into that sort of thing, and I don't deny that it made for some nice train-reading it's like airplane reading but slightly cheaper but it was only interesting enough that I preferred finishing it to going through my e-reader library to search for something else.

[Tasula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second Faraday book I read (after The Affair of the Porcelain Dog, which I liked). This was a good, steampunkish mystery set in 1820s Paris. The heroine is an alchemist and disgraced police inspector working for a despicable police chief, but protected for unknown reasons by the Paris prefect. The era is one of religious zealotry and dire poverty for most citizens. The prefect asks the heroine to investigate the disappearance of a rich woman who started a clinic for the poor, and to confirm that the woman's former lover (a doctor who invents gadgets) was responsible.

[Jem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping historical mystery/thriller with elements of steampunk and paranormal. Set in 19th century Paris, the book follows the adventures of supernatural investigator Elise Corbeau, as she trawls the underbelly of the French city in search of 'demons'. The author managed to drag me back in time and entertain me with a fairly convoluted plot that was just a little bit out there. Less effective (for me) were the steampunk bits involving bionic body parts but I appreciated the author's efforts to make them work in that era. What exactly does the bionic eye look like anyway? hehe :) The image of Dennis Hopper in Waterworld and Arnold's Terminator kept popping into my mind and then its hard for me to imagine what Elise sees in Maria. :)

My romantic side is also complaining of the amount of time our leads were kept apart by the plot. Sequel, perhaps? :) P.S. The cover is gorgeous!

[Millari · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay, but just okay. As much as I wanted to care about the lead character, I have to say it was hard, and not because of any of her behavior, but I think it was because of the writing style. It just felt really workmanlike, very straightforward, with no nuances. You were never in doubt about how the character felt about anything that happened in the book, never left guessing, so I felt kind of disengaged from the story overall. The side character of Maria Kalderash had some potential, despite the fact that we knew much less about her, perhaps because we knew less about her, now that I think about. At least I had to have an internal conversation with myself about why she was doing what she was doing sometimes. Sophie was a bit of a caricature. Honestly, it was hard to stay focused on it. I was reading it for a book club and that is probably the only reason I felt motivated to finish it.

The plot had potential, about a woman with a dark past as essentially a snake-oil-charmer fraud who had been making lifethreatening alchemical substances for the rich, bored, and vain and is trying to make up for it and put that past behind her forever. But that backstory was not very well-developed and it was confusing to keep track of it. There were two very similar male authority figures who at times seemed both like the villians, but by the time the truth is revealed, the two men seem so similar, it's been almost difficult to tell the difference between them.

Basically, a lot of underdeveloped plots and characters, perhaps in part because the author (or maybe the publisher) was trying to keep the book pulpy short and snappy. But it did a decent story idea no justice.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book holds your attention throughout. The images of 1820 France are very clear and you can visualize the action like a movie as it occurs. The characters are complex as is the plot. It is not a book you can skim or you will miss some extremely inportant nugget of information that ties things togetner. There are twists and turns that keep it unpredictable and interesting. A real page turner! A really good read for anyone of any gender who enjoys a well written book.

[Trisha Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received from Goodreads.
It took me a little while to be fully sucked into the story, but once I was, the twists and turns kept me from putting the book down. It was a unique and absolutely great idea that was executed with great precision. A fantastic read.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this adventure/mystery. The steampunk/historical setting, characters, plot twists in this story is rarely found in lesfic. The writing is also well paced and engaging.

Romance was subtle, just enough not to distract from the action, and cleverly woven in to enhance character motivations.

Bravo. Five stars!

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the characters, the fact that there was some nuance between good and bad, the pacing, the setting and the inventions. It felt a bit unpolished on occasion but it's been a while since I read a book in a day. It was a pleasure.

[Francis Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspector Elise Corbeau is a reformed character, brought up on the streets of Paris where she made a living as an alchemist. She is an outcast from the police force - not only is she a woman, but her background in working with spirits has left her with dangerous enemies in the hierarchy.

This is a book rich in atmospheric and historical detail and there's much to admire about it. The story itself is well written and the characters are described well - the inventor, Maria Kalderash, makes an attractive and interesting love interest, for example.

The three main characters in the book are all lesbians struggling to survive within a largely hostile patriarchy, and violence and control of women is a recurring theme. I do, though, wonder whether women in 1820s Paris had as much freedom as they have in this alternative universe of alchemy, spiritual powers and steampunk gadgetry.

I struggled a little to get into this book, and it was the promise of a love story between Elise and Maria that I think finally hooked me. For most of the book, I was reading it thinking, 'Definitely 4-star, maybe even five,' but found the end too baffling and vague.

[Drianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked the worldbuilding and ideas, but the actual story was really kind of boring, and I so didn't care about the MC's relationship with her (ex-)gf. The final romance was also kind of meh, just thrown in, meh. But the ideas were cool!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

1820s supernatural lesbian urban fantasy. 'Nuff said, but it was good for what it does. I might have wished for better character development or worldbuilding, but it is adequate, and a refreshing change from the usually overpoweringly heteronormative genre UF is.

Reviewing for the Lesbrary.

[Lily Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating setting in early 19th century France with strong female characters. I love Jess Faraday's work and look forward to more of it!

[Karen Harvey-Griggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two Stars at absolute best! One star for the writing of it and one star for my reading of it.
My least favourite read this year.
Not my cup of tea at all.

[Akiva ꙮ]

Couldn't ever get into it, despite the description on the back, and it went back to the library. I don't think I'll get back to it.