The Rules

by S. Renée Bess

Blackmail, murder, missing persons, and concealed identities link lives that otherwise, would have remained unconnected.
London Phillips searches for affirmation and for Milagros Farrow, a revered lesbian author who seems to have vanished.
Lenah Miller arms herself against memories of her past as well as those who dismiss her because their backgrounds differ.
Rand Carson seeks to replace one lost interracial relationship with a second one.
Candace Dickerson executes a plot to enrich herself with other peoples' earnings.
The threads entwined around London's desire for connection with a kindred spirit, Lenah's wary skepticism, Rand's misguided ardor, and Candace's greed come undone when three fall victim to blackmail, one reappears from the ethers of the past, and another succumbs to murder.

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian, Contemporary

172 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2014

About the author

Renee Bess is a former high school teacher who has been writing for many years. After her story "At the Beauty Parlor" won first place in a short fiction writing contest, she began exploring the possibility of creating longer pieces of fiction. The result of her exploration was "Leave of Absence," published in 2005 by Borders Personal Publishing/Xlibris. Buoyed by the success of that first book, Renee wrote three others, "Breaking Jaie," "RE:Building Sasha," and "The Butterfly Moments," all published by Regal Crest Enterprises. Renee enjoys creating characters who lead her to stories about African American lesbians, their families and their communities. Her novels are filled with rich language and memorable imagery. They mix intrigue with romance while they explore complex human relationships. Although one of Renee's goals was to create literature
for an underserved audience, her books have cross-over appeal and they attract a wide variety of readers. Currently, Renee is working on a fifth novel.

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very different from your standard lesbian romance story. It is pretty dark, and takes on some serious issues. The plot was complex with quite a few significant secondary characters and lots of threads to follow. I am rounding up to 4-stars for the terrific writing. I will probably read this book again just for the writing.

[LVLMLeah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved this book. I'm still trying to figure out how to write a review of it, if I can. Or maybe this is my review? It's so deep and nuanced and maybe too hard for me to articulate everything I felt about it. It left me feeling like I had spent time with an old friend I hadn't seen for a long time, catching up on old times, which by the way is some of the theme of this story.

This story touches on so many different issues, but particularly issues around being an African American lesbian and the expectations of both the white and black community both culturally and on a personal level on being that. The way the characters experience their lives is expressed with a lot of insight into those issues.

It's also about the importance of shared experiences in making relationships work and also the comfort involved in that even if a relationship doesn't flourish.

That this story is about mature women was another huge plus. It's fairly rare to read about women who are at a stage in their lives when experience has taught them that they don't have to rush into anything and can be cautious in relating, but also that they still can have all those exciting and fearful feelings and emotions around new attractions.

Author Renee Bess excels at in-depth characterizations. Each of the characters in this story have distinct personalities and we get to see how each change slightly depending on who they are relating to. They are all connected even if they are unaware of how. And I particularly respect that all of the characters have flaws. Just when I'd think, oh I like this character and hope it works out for them, they do something kind of crappy. However, their vulnerabilities were shown as well, so it was easy to see their point of view even with negative traits at times.

I think this author's writing is getting better and better. Will definitely pick up another of her books.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story, however it makes more sense in the end. Once you get what is happening the book is over. I wish there was more story at the end to extend the ending conclusion.

[Stoppie · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the last third best.