Mrs. Porter's Letter

Nyla Wade #1

by Vicki P. McConnell

Book by McConnell, Vicki P.

Genres: Lesbian

210 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1982

Reviews

[Megan]

Mrs Porter’s Letter is the first novel of a series that features a sleuth identified as being lesbian. In the next thirty years, it would be followed by hundreds of other series featuring lesbian sleuths. However, although many of these writers were influenced by Eve Zaremba and Katherine V. Forrest—two other very early pioneers oft the genre—no one seems to have paid much attention to McConnell. Either no one was influenced by the book, or no one bothered to read it. What a mistake, because it is decidedly and mysteriously different from almost everything that came later.

The book is a modern Gothic search for several historical characters, although it has a very noir subplot involving the murder of a prostitute. Most important, though, it is Nyla Wade's search for her own intellectual and sexual identity. This is very rare in a genre dominated by out-and-out dykes, closeted (like Kate Delafield) or not (like Lindsay Gordon). Nyla, at least throughout most of Mrs. Porter’s Letter, is neither.

Nyla is one of the few protagonists in the lesbian mystery genre who has been married to a man. But Nyla is divorced now and living on her own, getting back into her first love--writing--both for a living and as a creative outlet. To this end, she buys an antique desk, which turns out to contain the spirit and essence--not to mention some love letters--of its previous owner.

Nyla is an intriguing and very likable character with more moxie that I had expected. McConnell, her creator, is adept at showing us her many sides, including very real fears about a single woman living alone in a city that may be dangerous to her. McConnell also draws Audrey Louise, with her flummox of a husband and three complaining children, with a sympathetic pen. Although Nyla has strong feminist leanings, as does her still-married best friend Audrey Louise, it doesn't seem as if she has even given the slightest thought to the idea of same-sex relationships.

Slipshod editing in places is to be expected in early Naiad Press books (another subject of a possible blog post), but these rarely detract from the enjoyment of reading. A good--or even a decent and sympathetic--editor, could have guided McConnell through the complex plot and suggested ways in which it would actually seem cohesive and believable. As it is, the reader gets the idea that McConnell began the novel with no real idea how to end it.

With this and other problems, it can't be ranked among the very best in the genre, but it may be one of the most important. I have already ordered the next two books in the Nyla Wade series and am very much looking forward to reading them. Sadly, all of McConnell’s books seem to be out of print and unavailable in e-book, so I had to order them used. This needs to be corrected.

Note: I read a Naiad Press 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.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this advertised at the back of the Valerie Taylor book as another novel by the same publishers. It was quite nostalgic to think that in the 80s this was how queer women would be able to find queer books, checking the list and then ordering them directly from the company. I did the 2014 equivalent and found what I could on Amazon. This copy cost me 1p and when it arrived it was signed!

The book wasn't perfect but I did really enjoy it. The pacing was a little strange, there wasn't much of a "mystery" and the "lesbian" part didn't really reveal itself till half way through the novel. I did wonder how the main character got to almost 30 before seeing a woman she fancied. But it was still an engaging story and a nice view into the recent past. There were a lot of references to women's issues and sexism. It was great to read what sort of battles women were going through at that time, what prejudice they were facing. I will definitely be getting the next mystery in this series.

[Layla Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

About halfway through this book, I already had plans for my review here. I had planned to say things like "but what's the mystery?" and "it's awfully slow."

While it is slow in the middle, the ending definitely makes up for the rest. It picks up pace, and some scenes even had me worried for the MC.

As far as the mystery, I will say it's more of a "chasing down clues to find out more about something, but the MC doesn't know what that something is she's searching for." But the reader knows the whole time. We know she is a (spolier?) Lesbian, not only from all the clues but also from the title of the book. It was entertaining, though, reading and waiting for Nyla to realize it. And I never would have picked up this book if it DIDN'T say "A Lesbian Mystery."

The book is written beautifully. The words are very poetic but not overly flowery. I had trouble with the font it's written in, though.

I guess my only complaint about this book is, like I said before, it's awfully slow for about 60% of the book, but then it picks up drastically. And it's all worth it. I'm glad I read it.

[K K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this novel. I knew part of the mystery halfway through the book, but I wanted to know the specifics. I liked the characters and gives insight into the experience of the women at that time.