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Robin Miller Mystery #3
Under My Skin
Private detective Robin Miller has retreated to a cabin in the Poconos to escape the pressures of her work and the recurring, increasingly graphic memories of a childhood trauma. A fight between Noreen and ex-lover Helen signals the first interruption to Robin's refuge in peaceful Telham Village. The next event is a suspicious death.
Robin, dragged into an ever-widening homicide investigation, finds further complication when K.T. Bellflower returns to her life. K.T., passionate and exciting, is the woman who awakens in Robin dreams of a love she long ago renounced. Robin's homicide investigation leads her down dark trails of suspicion in this once peaceful community.
One of those trails leads Robin to her closest friend and plunges her into battle with her own innermost demons. Her heart and very life on the line, Robin faces the ultimate challenge and everything is at risk.
Under My Skin is the third book in the dynamic, Lambda Literary Award Winning series.
Robin, dragged into an ever-widening homicide investigation, finds further complication when K.T. Bellflower returns to her life. K.T., passionate and exciting, is the woman who awakens in Robin dreams of a love she long ago renounced. Robin's homicide investigation leads her down dark trails of suspicion in this once peaceful community.
One of those trails leads Robin to her closest friend and plunges her into battle with her own innermost demons. Her heart and very life on the line, Robin faces the ultimate challenge and everything is at risk.
Under My Skin is the third book in the dynamic, Lambda Literary Award Winning series.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
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34 people want to read
About the author
Jaye Maiman
9 books11 followersJaye Maiman is the author of the Lambda Literary Award Winning mystery series featuring lesbian travel writer and romance novelist Robin Miller.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 22, 2021
The investigative plot is nice.
And with that out of the way let me tell you something. I've read hundred of fanfiction since I was kid. Hundreds. At first you don't know sh*t, you read whatever, and you find these stories where the heroine goes on a date with her love interest. The heroine orders a drink, let's say blue vs pink drink, she's undecided so the love interest advises her to try the blue one. And five f*cking seconds after she sipped at it, she's seething mad and causing a huge drama at the love interest because she changed her mind, she wanted the pink one instead. The love interest takes her hand or some sh*t and the heroine is suddenly mapping out the wedding reception in her mind.
This is pre-pubescent writing and you put up with it when you're very young and don't know better. Right?
So why the hell did Robin's characterization pass the editing stage in this novel? Why is she having mood swings that are more abrupt than a borderline syndrome person? Why is she like this and in therapy but not under medication? The poor woman clearly needs mood stabilizers, one second she's aroused or blissful, the next she's seething or breaking down. Write me something to gap over, give me more of her internal reasoning, make transitions smoother. Or go realistic and put her under medication because as things stand in this novel, it feels like I'm back reading pre-pubescent protagonists.
I also "love" the fact that in every novel in the series so far one or more lesbian characters have cheated on their significant others during a committed monogamous relationship. It's not a lesbian detective novel without infidelity after all.
And with that out of the way let me tell you something. I've read hundred of fanfiction since I was kid. Hundreds. At first you don't know sh*t, you read whatever, and you find these stories where the heroine goes on a date with her love interest. The heroine orders a drink, let's say blue vs pink drink, she's undecided so the love interest advises her to try the blue one. And five f*cking seconds after she sipped at it, she's seething mad and causing a huge drama at the love interest because she changed her mind, she wanted the pink one instead. The love interest takes her hand or some sh*t and the heroine is suddenly mapping out the wedding reception in her mind.
This is pre-pubescent writing and you put up with it when you're very young and don't know better. Right?
So why the hell did Robin's characterization pass the editing stage in this novel? Why is she having mood swings that are more abrupt than a borderline syndrome person? Why is she like this and in therapy but not under medication? The poor woman clearly needs mood stabilizers, one second she's aroused or blissful, the next she's seething or breaking down. Write me something to gap over, give me more of her internal reasoning, make transitions smoother. Or go realistic and put her under medication because as things stand in this novel, it feels like I'm back reading pre-pubescent protagonists.
I also "love" the fact that in every novel in the series so far one or more lesbian characters have cheated on their significant others during a committed monogamous relationship. It's not a lesbian detective novel without infidelity after all.
November 21, 2012
Based on the first two books of Maiman's Robin Miller mysteries, I would have to say this is probably my second favorite series in this genre, after Redmann's Micky Knight. As much as I really liked the first two books, though, was a little disappointed with Under My Skin. Although the writing itself was just as good, and the mystery interesting and well-crafted, things kind of bog down, especially in the first half of the book. Things do pick up in the second half, and, admittedly, there is plenty of suspense by the time we get to the end, yet it's a little like the first Star Trek movie; you know: Are they ever gonna start the friggin' ship???
Then, I can't help but feel -- am I really saying this? -- that there are too many sex scenes. I certainly don't object to sex scenes, even when they're explicit, but, after a while, there's a "been there, done that, we got it, just gimme the damned tee shirt and let me move on" feeling. Yeah, I get that this is a romance as well as a mystery, and I agree with Katherine V. Forrest that sex can be a great means of character development, and the sex here doesn't really feel gratuitous; still, it seems, after a while, that the sex scenes are just another interruption in the flow of the story.
The next issue's maybe a little touchy. Yes, Robin's childhood trauma is horrific. Absolutely. Yet, she's been in therapy for a really long time, I think, and, at some point, doesn't her lover, KT, have to say, "Honey, I dunno who your pshrink is, but you need to try somebody else." Robin appears to have regressed emotionally from the first two books in the series, considerably so, and with no explanation. While the incident in her childhood is an important part of her character, I can't help feeling that it's overly dwelt on, here. That, of course, also affects the pacing of the book, and, the overemphasis makes Robin's, admittedly justifiable, distress ring not quite so true as in the earlier volumes.
So, while the mystery itself makes the book well worth reading, romantic and emotional issues seem almost an intrusion, here, whereas, in the first two books, they were integral parts of the story. Nonetheless, definitely recommended. Maybe the fact that I liked the first too books so much led to my disappointment.
Incidentally, I loved the 14-year old girl we're introduced to in this book, and hope we see more of her in the future of the series. I really liked the way, after Robin's initial aversion to the maternal instincts the girl brings out in her, the two manage to bond. What they name the baby is a nice touch, too.
Then, I can't help but feel -- am I really saying this? -- that there are too many sex scenes. I certainly don't object to sex scenes, even when they're explicit, but, after a while, there's a "been there, done that, we got it, just gimme the damned tee shirt and let me move on" feeling. Yeah, I get that this is a romance as well as a mystery, and I agree with Katherine V. Forrest that sex can be a great means of character development, and the sex here doesn't really feel gratuitous; still, it seems, after a while, that the sex scenes are just another interruption in the flow of the story.
The next issue's maybe a little touchy. Yes, Robin's childhood trauma is horrific. Absolutely. Yet, she's been in therapy for a really long time, I think, and, at some point, doesn't her lover, KT, have to say, "Honey, I dunno who your pshrink is, but you need to try somebody else." Robin appears to have regressed emotionally from the first two books in the series, considerably so, and with no explanation. While the incident in her childhood is an important part of her character, I can't help feeling that it's overly dwelt on, here. That, of course, also affects the pacing of the book, and, the overemphasis makes Robin's, admittedly justifiable, distress ring not quite so true as in the earlier volumes.
So, while the mystery itself makes the book well worth reading, romantic and emotional issues seem almost an intrusion, here, whereas, in the first two books, they were integral parts of the story. Nonetheless, definitely recommended. Maybe the fact that I liked the first too books so much led to my disappointment.
Incidentally, I loved the 14-year old girl we're introduced to in this book, and hope we see more of her in the future of the series. I really liked the way, after Robin's initial aversion to the maternal instincts the girl brings out in her, the two manage to bond. What they name the baby is a nice touch, too.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews