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Idaho #1
Idaho Code: Where a Family Therapy Comes with a Shovel and an Alibi
Small-town Idaho, where everyone knows your business, is no place for a baby dyke to go looking for love. Especially when murder and homophobia are stalking the streets. For Wilhelmina “Bil” Hardy, trapped in the coils of her eccentric family and off-the-wall friends, neither the course of true love nor amateur sleuthing runs smooth. Mistaken identity, misunderstandings, and mysteries galore take Bil to places she’s never dreamed of visiting.
Idaho Code is a funny book about love, family, and the freedom you can find in a state that values individuality more than common sense.
Joan Opyr’s hobbies are politics, politics, and politics, though, for the sake of variation, she has been known occasionally to dance the polka.
Idaho Code is a funny book about love, family, and the freedom you can find in a state that values individuality more than common sense.
Joan Opyr’s hobbies are politics, politics, and politics, though, for the sake of variation, she has been known occasionally to dance the polka.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2006
9 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Joan Opyr
4 books13 followersJoan Opyr was born in Raleigh, North Carolina and now lives in Idaho with her partner and their two children. She is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where she earned a BA and an MA in English, and she is ABD for her PhD in Old English from The Ohio State University. Though Joan often writes about her adopted home of Idaho, she is a Tarheel through and through and hopes someday to return to the Old North State. In the meantime, she is a nursing student at Lewis-Clark State College because she believes that all writers should have a day job. Otherwise, how could they afford food and shelter?
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 15, 2020
I almost stopped reading this book at the beginning because it felt just too over the top and I couldn’t stand a couple of the characters. But the mystery soon settled down and became less slap sticky crazy with too much yelling. The characters developed, calmed down without losing their essence And the plot also developed into a solid mystery.
Why did I even pick this book up? This is the third year in a row I am including at least one book from every state (plus DC) in my reading. By “from” I mean the book needs to be set in the state, provide a strong sense of place for the state, or has an author that is connected to the state in a meaningful way. To jazz it up this year I challenged my self with finding books with a BIPOC Author and/or characters. My first preference was author, but for some states I could find nothing - absolutely nothing. That says a lot. If I could not find an author, I went for a substantial character in the book and/or theme that explores a BIPOC issue. If I was still coming up empty, I looked for a book representing another underrepresented group in literature, LBGTQ. And that brought me to this book. It is, unfortunately, categorized as lesbian fiction, and it does have lesbian and gay characters and a lesbian author, but the book would appeal to any cozy or light mystery fan unless they were homophobic.
I enjoyed the book and will add Opyr’s other books to my reading list.
PS - there are some nonfiction indigenous themed books set at least in part in Idaho, but I’ve read them already. Idaho - you need to diversify your literature (same to Vermont, New Hampshire - well all of New England actually, and most western states).
Why did I even pick this book up? This is the third year in a row I am including at least one book from every state (plus DC) in my reading. By “from” I mean the book needs to be set in the state, provide a strong sense of place for the state, or has an author that is connected to the state in a meaningful way. To jazz it up this year I challenged my self with finding books with a BIPOC Author and/or characters. My first preference was author, but for some states I could find nothing - absolutely nothing. That says a lot. If I could not find an author, I went for a substantial character in the book and/or theme that explores a BIPOC issue. If I was still coming up empty, I looked for a book representing another underrepresented group in literature, LBGTQ. And that brought me to this book. It is, unfortunately, categorized as lesbian fiction, and it does have lesbian and gay characters and a lesbian author, but the book would appeal to any cozy or light mystery fan unless they were homophobic.
I enjoyed the book and will add Opyr’s other books to my reading list.
PS - there are some nonfiction indigenous themed books set at least in part in Idaho, but I’ve read them already. Idaho - you need to diversify your literature (same to Vermont, New Hampshire - well all of New England actually, and most western states).
September 6, 2010
Blurb: Small-town Idaho, where everyone knows your business, is no place for a baby dyke to go looking for love. Especially when murder and homophobia are stalking the streets. For Wilhelmina “Bil” Hardy, trapped in the coils of her eccentric family and off-the-wall friends, neither the course of true love nor amateur sleuthing runs smooth. Mistaken identity, misunderstandings, and mysteries galore take Bil to places she’s never dreamed of visiting
I liked this. I feel like I've been hearing about it and her forever, so decided to check it out. It is funny. Not hardee har har, but chuckle, smile, enough to make my wife look over at me while I read. Her characters are a hoot and remind me of Rita Mae Brown at her best (Six of One). I wish there had been more of the setting. I've never read a book set in Idaho, so would like to have known more about it, beyond the stereotypes of the people. They kept traveling to and talking about Spokane so much that I had to stop and check that this was set in Idaho. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I didn't do very well at that. The mystery was pretty good--I had a couple of theories that turned out wrong. Might have been a bit too Perry Mason in the end. Seemed like more talking than action. But I don't read a lot of mysteries, so that might not be unusual. Not everyone can be Micky Knight. Besides, she's a pro and these were just college kids. So that read very true.
Yet another small town fairly bursting at the seams with homosexuals. Where are these towns!?
I liked this. I feel like I've been hearing about it and her forever, so decided to check it out. It is funny. Not hardee har har, but chuckle, smile, enough to make my wife look over at me while I read. Her characters are a hoot and remind me of Rita Mae Brown at her best (Six of One). I wish there had been more of the setting. I've never read a book set in Idaho, so would like to have known more about it, beyond the stereotypes of the people. They kept traveling to and talking about Spokane so much that I had to stop and check that this was set in Idaho. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I didn't do very well at that. The mystery was pretty good--I had a couple of theories that turned out wrong. Might have been a bit too Perry Mason in the end. Seemed like more talking than action. But I don't read a lot of mysteries, so that might not be unusual. Not everyone can be Micky Knight. Besides, she's a pro and these were just college kids. So that read very true.
Yet another small town fairly bursting at the seams with homosexuals. Where are these towns!?
September 27, 2009
Novel by Joan Opyr. I gave it a shot because I read/heard rave reviews from all over the place. I think that's actually a bad thing, because you come to a book with expectations that can almost never be fulfilled.
That was also the case for this one. Don't get me wrong, it's a good, solid book. Charming most of all, despite the seious subject matters it humorously discusses. The canvas Opyr paints for Cowslip, Idaho reminds me of Rita Mae Brown's Runnymede and the Hunsemeir sisters. The characters are equally quirky and some downright weird, but at the same time likeable. The mystery that is told in this book takes you deeper into the history of Cowslip and it is interwoven perfectly with the rest of the story.
The book had some lengths that didn't bring the story forward and the dialog in those parts wasn't funny/charming/whatever enough to make up for that.
There is a second novel in this universe that I'm sure I'll check out somewhere down the road.
That was also the case for this one. Don't get me wrong, it's a good, solid book. Charming most of all, despite the seious subject matters it humorously discusses. The canvas Opyr paints for Cowslip, Idaho reminds me of Rita Mae Brown's Runnymede and the Hunsemeir sisters. The characters are equally quirky and some downright weird, but at the same time likeable. The mystery that is told in this book takes you deeper into the history of Cowslip and it is interwoven perfectly with the rest of the story.
The book had some lengths that didn't bring the story forward and the dialog in those parts wasn't funny/charming/whatever enough to make up for that.
There is a second novel in this universe that I'm sure I'll check out somewhere down the road.
February 17, 2008
Life is funny and so are the characters in this book. They're just trying to get by, in their own quirky ways. Sometimes they aren't their own best friends.
Set in small college-town Idaho, you'll be rooting for the good guys and booing the bad'uns. I want to know more about these characters--where's the sequel??
Very good read! I'd like to read more by this author!
Set in small college-town Idaho, you'll be rooting for the good guys and booing the bad'uns. I want to know more about these characters--where's the sequel??
Very good read! I'd like to read more by this author!
July 27, 2007
Idaho Code was a like a "breath of fresh air" to read. Down-to-earth, honest and funny. This is an author that I will read again on the strength of her debut novel. I want to be a character in her novel! The characters are well drasn, well rounded and well liked. I am waiting eagerly for the sequel.
July 25, 2007
one of the funniest and most enjoyable books i've read in a very long time
August 21, 2007
Joan Opyr is funny. Very funny. This book is a gem. I highly recommend it.
February 2, 2020
There is a good book hiding inside of this one - a mystery about uncovering the secrets of your quirky hometown, with a background queer coming-of-age story about falling back in love with your first crush - but significant cuts needed to be made in order to let that book shine.
The problem with Idaho Code is that there are just too many damn subplots, and they take up way more space and time than the actual main plots. We don't get to dig into the depths of the mystery, because we're too busy on side-quests to a local play and explaining the protagonist's relationship to literally everybody in town. We don't get any time to watch her and Sylvie fall in love as adults, because we're busy having an ex spontaneously arrive in town. We don't get to explore the main story, because we're busy driving back and forth to Spokane twenty times. Whole subplots and secondary characters were ultimately completely irrelevant, but they took up so much space that the central story never got any space to breathe.
And that's dissapointing - because a cozy mystery with an f/f romance set in my home state was something I found really exciting. I just wish this particular novel had been able to live up to its potential.
The problem with Idaho Code is that there are just too many damn subplots, and they take up way more space and time than the actual main plots. We don't get to dig into the depths of the mystery, because we're too busy on side-quests to a local play and explaining the protagonist's relationship to literally everybody in town. We don't get any time to watch her and Sylvie fall in love as adults, because we're busy having an ex spontaneously arrive in town. We don't get to explore the main story, because we're busy driving back and forth to Spokane twenty times. Whole subplots and secondary characters were ultimately completely irrelevant, but they took up so much space that the central story never got any space to breathe.
And that's dissapointing - because a cozy mystery with an f/f romance set in my home state was something I found really exciting. I just wish this particular novel had been able to live up to its potential.
June 22, 2020
It was okay--parts were funny and I enjoyed some of the characters. I´ve read many books lately set in small towns where everyone knows everyone´s business. This is a fine plot device, but the problem is that small towns also mean fewer characters. This book seemed over-populated, even if some of the characters were temporary visitors involved in a social-political cause. The eventual unraveling of the plot involved some improbable elements. What bothered me most of all is the dysfunctional relationship between Sam and his girlfriend. No one in Sam´s family seemed to really care that she was hitting him. No one in town questioned or gossiped that a 22 yr old was dating a 15 yr old, but they questioned others' sexual orientation.
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June 18, 2020I admit it. I like amateur sleuths better than police detectives or private investigators, whose jobs seem to define them in similar ways. Amateur sleuths are less serious, maybe; less tough, have less on the line. I like bookstore owners, restaurateurs, newspaper editors, advertising copywriters. Even college students. And that’s exactly what Bil Hardy is in Joan Opyr’s delightful small town mystery set in Cowslip, Idaho.
At 22, Bil is the youngest protagonist in a lesbian mystery I have come across. The mystery is an odd one. A tramp dies in the local jail under mysterious circumstances. As it happens, Bil’s brother is the only other person in the cell with him at the time. Later, the dead man is identified as Burt Wood (abusive father of the gorgeous Sylvie), who disappeared with another man sixteen years earlier. To exonerate her brother, who is suspected of the crime, Bil starts looking into the circumstances of the death and the history of Burt Wood, but what she finds is not conducive to furthering her relationship with Sylvie.
There are five siblings in Bil’s family. She is a college student, Sam an ailing ne’er-do-well, Naomi a lawyer, Ruth a doctor, and Sarah a librarian. Bil, Sam, and Naomi are adopted. This is a very clever set up for a mystery series, giving Bil intimate access to information medical, legal, and otherwise without actually having to have a friend in the police department.
In a nutshell, Bil has quit college in Seattle to return to Cowslip because of a failed relationship. When the book begins, the town is buzzing about Proposition One, which would prohibit any town in Idaho from granting equal privileges to gay couples. In town for the vote are Bil’s best friend Tipper, and some of his transvestite cronies, as well as the Lesbian Avengers, of which group Bil’s ex is a member. Then there is Sylvie. As Bill says:
And it is a real novel, all 321 pages of it. Long enough to explore both Bil’s and Sylvie’s families in detail and long enough for the reader to have some real fun. The mystery itself is quite plausible and well done by most mystery standards. It is one of those mysteries, though, that—although Bil clearly looks into it—seems to solve itself without the protagonist’s intercedence.
I’m interested to find out how Opyr will continue the series, maybe having Bil look into her birth family. A goodly number of stars here, and much anticipation to read the sequel.
Note: I read the first printing of the first Bywater Books 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.
At 22, Bil is the youngest protagonist in a lesbian mystery I have come across. The mystery is an odd one. A tramp dies in the local jail under mysterious circumstances. As it happens, Bil’s brother is the only other person in the cell with him at the time. Later, the dead man is identified as Burt Wood (abusive father of the gorgeous Sylvie), who disappeared with another man sixteen years earlier. To exonerate her brother, who is suspected of the crime, Bil starts looking into the circumstances of the death and the history of Burt Wood, but what she finds is not conducive to furthering her relationship with Sylvie.
There are five siblings in Bil’s family. She is a college student, Sam an ailing ne’er-do-well, Naomi a lawyer, Ruth a doctor, and Sarah a librarian. Bil, Sam, and Naomi are adopted. This is a very clever set up for a mystery series, giving Bil intimate access to information medical, legal, and otherwise without actually having to have a friend in the police department.
In a nutshell, Bil has quit college in Seattle to return to Cowslip because of a failed relationship. When the book begins, the town is buzzing about Proposition One, which would prohibit any town in Idaho from granting equal privileges to gay couples. In town for the vote are Bil’s best friend Tipper, and some of his transvestite cronies, as well as the Lesbian Avengers, of which group Bil’s ex is a member. Then there is Sylvie. As Bill says:
“In elementary school, I’d secretly worshiped the water Sylvie Wood walked on. She was pretty and smart and I was tall and awkward. One day when we were in the first grade she reached out on the playground and ruffled my hair and lo, a baby dyke was born.”Descriptions like these make me like Bil—and the book—right away.
And it is a real novel, all 321 pages of it. Long enough to explore both Bil’s and Sylvie’s families in detail and long enough for the reader to have some real fun. The mystery itself is quite plausible and well done by most mystery standards. It is one of those mysteries, though, that—although Bil clearly looks into it—seems to solve itself without the protagonist’s intercedence.
I’m interested to find out how Opyr will continue the series, maybe having Bil look into her birth family. A goodly number of stars here, and much anticipation to read the sequel.
Note: I read the first printing of the first Bywater Books 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.
March 3, 2016
Can't really say why I liked this book, but I did. Maybe it's because it's set in Idaho and I felt a familiarity to the surroundings. It wasn't the most suspenseful or romantic book I've ever read (although there was a mysterious murder and some romance), but it was still a quick and enjoyable read.
September 14, 2011
Fun quick read. A decent lesbian mystery
May 22, 2009
Lambda Literary Award Finalist.
Idaho Code is a funny book about love, family, and the freedom you can find only in a state that values individuality more than common sense.
Idaho Code is a funny book about love, family, and the freedom you can find only in a state that values individuality more than common sense.
April 30, 2010
Not the best writing - clunky in a lot of places, pacing was off. Took me forever to finish because it just didn't grab me.
April 24, 2010
Very funny book
August 17, 2010
I laughed so hard all the way through this book. I highly recommend it but be prepared to have kleenex available, not for tears of sadness but tears from laughing so hard.
November 8, 2015
I enjoyed it, good story, interesting characters, well written and edited.
April 23, 2018
This is just one of my favorite little books. I've re-read it so many times... I know there's a sequel, but I still find myself wanting more story from all these characters from time to time.
July 15, 2016
lesbians and murder mystery in rural idaho this is my jam
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews