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Phoebe Rawlins Mysteries #1
The Charlton Affair
Phoebe Rawlins has everything she thought she wanted, a successful career, a lovely home and a stable marriage. Her perfect life starts to unravel with the appearance of a mysterious woman in her dreams. She finds herself dreaming about doing things she never imagined. In a string of disturbing events Phoebe discovers her dream woman is real, her husband is not what he seems and a vicious killer is on the loose, stalking her. Meanwhile, an erstwhile detective works hard to track down the killer. Police are also on the case, racing against the clock to find him. Phoebe's thwarted desire and journey of self-discovery are intertwined with her very survival in this tale of love and betrayal. Will the truth be discovered in time?
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2014
24 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Doherty
3 books16 followersMJ Doherty is a lawyer living and working in gorgeous sunny Brisbane, Australia. She has worked for police, ambulance and the state prosecution service, among many other organizations.
Passionate about child and animal welfare and preserving the unique environment of Australia, she is a great fan of Sea Shepherd, The Irwin family, Bravehearts and the World Parrot Trust among other wonderful organizations trying to make a difference.
The Charlton Affair is her first effort at creating lesbian fiction. Her next work - Order to Kill: A Vampire's Vengeance is a paranormal lesbian mystery novel. The sequel to The Charlton Affair, Bed of Thorns, is out now.
Passionate about child and animal welfare and preserving the unique environment of Australia, she is a great fan of Sea Shepherd, The Irwin family, Bravehearts and the World Parrot Trust among other wonderful organizations trying to make a difference.
The Charlton Affair is her first effort at creating lesbian fiction. Her next work - Order to Kill: A Vampire's Vengeance is a paranormal lesbian mystery novel. The sequel to The Charlton Affair, Bed of Thorns, is out now.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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March 24, 2018This is a police procedural and fairly intricate, dry reading. I find it difficult to rate a book which held my interest but only just, as I am now not really interested in reading police procedurals or about murder and crime. There was very little romance which, when it was there (in the first and last chapters), was handled in an unusual mystical/paranormal way. Perhaps if there were more of it I would have enjoyed the book more. But this is a book of exhaustive details and I remember a time when I was into that. I will have to think about my rating.
May 26, 2015
The author made this book available for free for a weekend, and because it was on my read list I picked up. Thank you for that.
It's a first time effort, and I'm afraid to say: it shows. The title claims it is a romantic crime novel, but I'll get to that later.
The mystery in itself is quite interesting, and while it was obvious who was behind it early, there were enough red herrings to throw the reader off a few times. It is, in fact quite a page-turner.
The setting is Brisbane, Australia and we're introduced to Phoebe, who is waking up from a quite erotic and puzzling dream she has for a while now. Although she is married, she dreams of a beautiful woman who she has never met before. Imagine the shock when she finally meets this mystery woman. Unbeknownst to Phoebe, that woman, Charlie Moss is the attorney for Phoebe's husband, who wants a divorce. But he has a secret and isn't to forthcoming with details regarding their nuptials. And then Phoebe gets attacked and the mystery takes off.
The big problem this book has, is the writing. The investigation is handled by both the police and Charlie's assistant, but they are not working together. There is a lot of headhopping in the chapters. The POV changes rapidly, sometimes up to six different characters at a time. I don't know about the rest of you, but I found that both tiring and annoying. When Amanda (Charlies assistant) discovers someting or does something, the POV changes to someone else.
The other thing that happens constantly is the use of what is called "dangling participles". Participles are verbs ending in –ing (present participle) or—except for irregular verbs—in –ed (past participle) and functioning as adjectives. Since they are verbs, they describe actions or state of beings, and since they function as adjectives, they modify nouns. (quoted from Jae's writing tips website).
An example is: Looking out the window, she fidgetted with the hem of her shirt. Sometimes this is OK, but a lot of times it leads to some very awkward phrasing. Examples from the book:
Entering her office, she sat her her desk and started eating as she read her next brief or my favorite:
Heading back to Charlie's car, she drove back up to gym and found a parking spot across the road
That last sentence doesn't make any sense at all. And there are dozens and dozens of these sentences.
Now back to the title. The actual romance, doesn't start until the very last chapter. Thing is, I understand what the author tried to do. There is a major conflict of interest here (after all, Charlie is the attorney of Phoebe's husband). But let's start with the dream Phoebe wakes up from on page one. Phoebe has never seen Charlie before, yet Phoebe finds out she's real. What are the odds of that? And while the first meeting ends in disaster (Phoebe actually faints), the second is a brief as the first, but much sparks fly and some hot kissing and a displacement of a bra occurs. That would have been fine, were it not for Phoebe's mental struggles with the fact she has the hots for a woman, so much so, she seeks councelling. Yet, at the first oppurtunity, she has no qualms undressing the woman of her dreams.
Phoebe and Charlie meet for a grand total of three times before the crime is solved. From what I can tell, that amounts to about 25 minutes of face-to-face contact in real time. And both women are that head over heels for eachother they can't even function properly anymore in their respective jobs.
In fact, Charlie has so little screentime, we don't even really get to know her. Most of the book deals with the investigation undertaken by Amanda and the assigned detectives. Contact with Charlie takes place by phone or texting or e-mail. And then when Phoebe gets in real trouble, Charlie starts dreaming too, and wouldn't ya know, she dreams of the exact circumstances Phoebe is in. WTF?
Were it not for a decent mystery and investigation (no matter how fragmented it is described) I don't think I would have finished it. The romance is non-existent and what there is of it, is not really believable. The investigation borders sometimes on the comical side, with the cops always a step behind and the squad leader (I'm sorry, I can't really recall the Australian name for it.) is as rude as hell with namecalling and cursing and what not. Is that an Australian motivation technique?
It's a first time effort, and I'm afraid to say: it shows. The title claims it is a romantic crime novel, but I'll get to that later.
The mystery in itself is quite interesting, and while it was obvious who was behind it early, there were enough red herrings to throw the reader off a few times. It is, in fact quite a page-turner.
The setting is Brisbane, Australia and we're introduced to Phoebe, who is waking up from a quite erotic and puzzling dream she has for a while now. Although she is married, she dreams of a beautiful woman who she has never met before. Imagine the shock when she finally meets this mystery woman. Unbeknownst to Phoebe, that woman, Charlie Moss is the attorney for Phoebe's husband, who wants a divorce. But he has a secret and isn't to forthcoming with details regarding their nuptials. And then Phoebe gets attacked and the mystery takes off.
The big problem this book has, is the writing. The investigation is handled by both the police and Charlie's assistant, but they are not working together. There is a lot of headhopping in the chapters. The POV changes rapidly, sometimes up to six different characters at a time. I don't know about the rest of you, but I found that both tiring and annoying. When Amanda (Charlies assistant) discovers someting or does something, the POV changes to someone else.
The other thing that happens constantly is the use of what is called "dangling participles". Participles are verbs ending in –ing (present participle) or—except for irregular verbs—in –ed (past participle) and functioning as adjectives. Since they are verbs, they describe actions or state of beings, and since they function as adjectives, they modify nouns. (quoted from Jae's writing tips website).
An example is: Looking out the window, she fidgetted with the hem of her shirt. Sometimes this is OK, but a lot of times it leads to some very awkward phrasing. Examples from the book:
Entering her office, she sat her her desk and started eating as she read her next brief or my favorite:
Heading back to Charlie's car, she drove back up to gym and found a parking spot across the road
That last sentence doesn't make any sense at all. And there are dozens and dozens of these sentences.
Now back to the title. The actual romance, doesn't start until the very last chapter. Thing is, I understand what the author tried to do. There is a major conflict of interest here (after all, Charlie is the attorney of Phoebe's husband). But let's start with the dream Phoebe wakes up from on page one. Phoebe has never seen Charlie before, yet Phoebe finds out she's real. What are the odds of that? And while the first meeting ends in disaster (Phoebe actually faints), the second is a brief as the first, but much sparks fly and some hot kissing and a displacement of a bra occurs. That would have been fine, were it not for Phoebe's mental struggles with the fact she has the hots for a woman, so much so, she seeks councelling. Yet, at the first oppurtunity, she has no qualms undressing the woman of her dreams.
Phoebe and Charlie meet for a grand total of three times before the crime is solved. From what I can tell, that amounts to about 25 minutes of face-to-face contact in real time. And both women are that head over heels for eachother they can't even function properly anymore in their respective jobs.
In fact, Charlie has so little screentime, we don't even really get to know her. Most of the book deals with the investigation undertaken by Amanda and the assigned detectives. Contact with Charlie takes place by phone or texting or e-mail. And then when Phoebe gets in real trouble, Charlie starts dreaming too, and wouldn't ya know, she dreams of the exact circumstances Phoebe is in. WTF?
Were it not for a decent mystery and investigation (no matter how fragmented it is described) I don't think I would have finished it. The romance is non-existent and what there is of it, is not really believable. The investigation borders sometimes on the comical side, with the cops always a step behind and the squad leader (I'm sorry, I can't really recall the Australian name for it.) is as rude as hell with namecalling and cursing and what not. Is that an Australian motivation technique?
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June 19, 2020The book’s front cover labels The Charlton Affair “A Romantic Crime Novel,” which is an accurate description. There are mysteries within it, but they are solved by most of the characters interacting together, rather than by a single sleuth.
There are a lot of things I like about this book. The writing is lively and for the most part, the story is interesting and engaging. What I like best, though, are the two main characters, Charlotte “Charlie” Moss, an attorney, and Phoebe Rawlins, an accountant. Charlie is a mostly-out lesbian while Phoebe is languishing in a loveless marriage. When the two meet, it is lust at first sight. Trouble is, only a day or two before this meeting, Phoebe’s husband Michael has hired Charlie as his barrister. Ironically, he is paying her to look into aspects of his plan to divorce Phoebe and marry his sexy Spanish senorita mistress. For Charlie to engage in an affair with Phoebe would be a conflict of interest that, if discovered, could ruin her career. Worse that that, she can’t even tell Phoebe why she refuses to see her as it may be seen as a factor in the, as-yet-secret, divorce case.
I personally like this lust-at-first-sight motif. Unbelievable, sure, but everyone wants to believe it can happen. I also like following Phoebe through her epiphany of realizing that she may be attracted to a woman after years of being married to a man. A similar story is found in Marian Foster’s lesbian mystery The Monarchs are Flying which, incidentally, is also about a lawyer who falls for a client’s wife—although in this case it is the lawyer who is straight.
There are slight elements of the paranormal here—as in Phoebe dreaming about Charlie before she meets her. Charlie herself has a dream about Phoebe’s whereabouts, but as long as these dreams don’t actually help solve the mystery in any way, I can ignore my disbelief. There are a couple other negatives. Michael’s relationship with his mistress is almost as unbelievable as the dreams. The woman is the ultimate hot-blooded, gold-digging, sex-bomb cliché. And once we begin to understand Michael (although he is probably the most weakly portrayed character) it is hard to see him becoming involved with such a woman. To each his or her own, I guess. I also thought that the denouement of the book took too long to resolve—way too long. Maybe a couple of flaws are good historical records of an author’s growth. Maybe. If there is a sequel, we can find out. In the meantime, this self-published book may not make many Top 10 lists, but it is better than a lot of books published by established presses and written by more popular authors.
I read the e-book version of this novel, a review copy of which was kindly provided by the author.
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.
There are a lot of things I like about this book. The writing is lively and for the most part, the story is interesting and engaging. What I like best, though, are the two main characters, Charlotte “Charlie” Moss, an attorney, and Phoebe Rawlins, an accountant. Charlie is a mostly-out lesbian while Phoebe is languishing in a loveless marriage. When the two meet, it is lust at first sight. Trouble is, only a day or two before this meeting, Phoebe’s husband Michael has hired Charlie as his barrister. Ironically, he is paying her to look into aspects of his plan to divorce Phoebe and marry his sexy Spanish senorita mistress. For Charlie to engage in an affair with Phoebe would be a conflict of interest that, if discovered, could ruin her career. Worse that that, she can’t even tell Phoebe why she refuses to see her as it may be seen as a factor in the, as-yet-secret, divorce case.
I personally like this lust-at-first-sight motif. Unbelievable, sure, but everyone wants to believe it can happen. I also like following Phoebe through her epiphany of realizing that she may be attracted to a woman after years of being married to a man. A similar story is found in Marian Foster’s lesbian mystery The Monarchs are Flying which, incidentally, is also about a lawyer who falls for a client’s wife—although in this case it is the lawyer who is straight.
There are slight elements of the paranormal here—as in Phoebe dreaming about Charlie before she meets her. Charlie herself has a dream about Phoebe’s whereabouts, but as long as these dreams don’t actually help solve the mystery in any way, I can ignore my disbelief. There are a couple other negatives. Michael’s relationship with his mistress is almost as unbelievable as the dreams. The woman is the ultimate hot-blooded, gold-digging, sex-bomb cliché. And once we begin to understand Michael (although he is probably the most weakly portrayed character) it is hard to see him becoming involved with such a woman. To each his or her own, I guess. I also thought that the denouement of the book took too long to resolve—way too long. Maybe a couple of flaws are good historical records of an author’s growth. Maybe. If there is a sequel, we can find out. In the meantime, this self-published book may not make many Top 10 lists, but it is better than a lot of books published by established presses and written by more popular authors.
I read the e-book version of this novel, a review copy of which was kindly provided by the author.
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.
May 18, 2018
Great writing and kept my attention. I'd call this mostly crime thriller drama, with maybe 5% romance.
I personally found the mysterious psychic like connection between Phoebe and Charlie more interesting than the criminal stuff. Unfortunately we got very little time with them at all. Come to think of it, it was like a bait and switch!! I was pulled in by the set-up of the romance between these two, then suddenly found myself in a crime novel with all new characters in the lead roles. hmph.
Still an interesting story.
I personally found the mysterious psychic like connection between Phoebe and Charlie more interesting than the criminal stuff. Unfortunately we got very little time with them at all. Come to think of it, it was like a bait and switch!! I was pulled in by the set-up of the romance between these two, then suddenly found myself in a crime novel with all new characters in the lead roles. hmph.
Still an interesting story.
October 17, 2018
This is a real thrill ride of a book. I enjoyed the author's writing style; the short narrative nuggets made for a quick and exciting read. I was prepared for quite so many points of view, but I adapted after a bit. A few editing issues prevent me from giving The Charlton Affair five stars. I look forward to reading the sequel.
February 11, 2017
I enjoyed the book very much. As it is the author's first, I'm very impressed with the complexity of the plot. The criminal aspect is very thought through and detailed and keeps you turning the pages. I couldn't put it down and read it in almost one session.
I do admit, that I would have liked to be witness to more of the Charlie - Phoebe story at the end or in the middle, but I'm not that disappointed, as it is normal for crime novels to treat the romance with a little less enthusiasm. Maybe it would have helped, if we had been treated to more of Charlie's thoughts on Phoebe to explain the instant and uncontrollable attraction. I mean the whole thing seemed uncharted ground not only for Phoebe, but also for Charlie.
The characters in the book are also well developed, you get to know quite a lot of people in the course of the novel and not just on a superficial level. I for one enjoyed Sally and the grumpy Marsh as much as the gay pair Roman and Mark and not to forget the inquisitive Amanda. I hear the author is writing on a sequel, so I for one hope to learn more about all of those people.
So on the whole, if you enjoy intricate crime with lots of twists and turns, told from many points of view, then go ahead and read the book. It will not disappoint you.
If you're looking for full-blown romance then this book is nothing for you.
I do admit, that I would have liked to be witness to more of the Charlie - Phoebe story at the end or in the middle, but I'm not that disappointed, as it is normal for crime novels to treat the romance with a little less enthusiasm. Maybe it would have helped, if we had been treated to more of Charlie's thoughts on Phoebe to explain the instant and uncontrollable attraction. I mean the whole thing seemed uncharted ground not only for Phoebe, but also for Charlie.
The characters in the book are also well developed, you get to know quite a lot of people in the course of the novel and not just on a superficial level. I for one enjoyed Sally and the grumpy Marsh as much as the gay pair Roman and Mark and not to forget the inquisitive Amanda. I hear the author is writing on a sequel, so I for one hope to learn more about all of those people.
So on the whole, if you enjoy intricate crime with lots of twists and turns, told from many points of view, then go ahead and read the book. It will not disappoint you.
If you're looking for full-blown romance then this book is nothing for you.
April 9, 2015
This was MJ Doherty's first book? AMAZING! I loved this book! It pulled me in from the first erotic dreams of the beginning on into the crimes and drama and suspense that continued to the end of the book.
Ms. Doherty built believable characters, so much so that I didn't want to leave them behind. I do hope there will be a sequel!
There is romance and love and relationships to live through and figure out. That is the lower drama. But the stuff that keeps a person turning pages is how to come out of this story alive. Gripping tale! What I found most interesting is how often the point of view changes. It isn't just the main characters, but some of the lesser characters can be part of the story telling. Well done! And it is done in such a way that the reader doesn't get lost trying to figure whose head she is in now.
I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you, Kindle Unlimited for letting me read it for free! I think I will buy it soon as it is that good a read!
Ms. Doherty built believable characters, so much so that I didn't want to leave them behind. I do hope there will be a sequel!
There is romance and love and relationships to live through and figure out. That is the lower drama. But the stuff that keeps a person turning pages is how to come out of this story alive. Gripping tale! What I found most interesting is how often the point of view changes. It isn't just the main characters, but some of the lesser characters can be part of the story telling. Well done! And it is done in such a way that the reader doesn't get lost trying to figure whose head she is in now.
I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you, Kindle Unlimited for letting me read it for free! I think I will buy it soon as it is that good a read!
September 13, 2015
I actually enjoyed most of this book. There were enough twists to keep me guessing, and for a debut attempt the story itself was ok.
It would have benefited from some serious editing, and the old adage of "show, don't tell" could certainly be applied to the writing. I did struggle with the character development, and found that the relationship between Phoebe and Charlie just wasn't believable- it lacked serious connection (a couple of erotic dreams and chance meetings where they speak 3 lines to each other and suddenly they are desperately in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together?). Overall, a good first up effort and I will look forward to future works.
It would have benefited from some serious editing, and the old adage of "show, don't tell" could certainly be applied to the writing. I did struggle with the character development, and found that the relationship between Phoebe and Charlie just wasn't believable- it lacked serious connection (a couple of erotic dreams and chance meetings where they speak 3 lines to each other and suddenly they are desperately in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together?). Overall, a good first up effort and I will look forward to future works.
December 19, 2015
This is a great thriller with strong characters and lots of action. I liked the Australian setting and the lesbian and gay relationships woven into the story. I usually pride myself on guessing 'who dunnit' fairly early on in books, but there were so many twists and turns in this one it really kept me on my toes. I hope there will be more books in this series. As the book progressed, I became very fond of several of the main characters and I'd really love to know what happens to them next.
August 13, 2015
I thoroughly this book. The story held my attention from the beginning. The character development and growth was believable. I found myself rooting for, booing, and commiserating with them, right through the entire book.
A continuation of Phoebe and Charlie's story would be nice.
A continuation of Phoebe and Charlie's story would be nice.
October 3, 2015
This is a great read. Fast-paced and full of action - a page turner. If you like crime and mystery, read this e-book.
January 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. The very start almost put me off but I’m glad I stayed with it as it drew me in very quickly. I find I get bored easily with what I call “filling” being words for the sake of making the book bigger but not richer. I found no “filling” in this book which was great, this was a true page turner. I loved the crime aspect and the part the different characters played. Thanks for writing it, looking forward to the next one.
August 11, 2019
Engaging, can't put down mystery
A well drawn out murder mystery. No spoilers here. Well worth the read can't wait to read the next book in the series!
A well drawn out murder mystery. No spoilers here. Well worth the read can't wait to read the next book in the series!
January 1, 2016
I should say that I'm not a mystery person and this book is heavy on the mystery and lighter on the romance. If you like mystery, you'll like it better than I did because it is a pretty good book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews