Despite Herself

by Jessie Chandler

Bec Harrison flees Detroit for Minnesota after a bitter divorce, trading heartbreak for the icy shores of Lake Superior and a fresh start as a detective with the Duluth Police Department.

Theo Zaccardo owns The Mashed Spud, a popular Duluth LGBTQ bar where her no-strings lifestyle keeps her haunted past at bay. That is until a body appears in her dumpster—and her very own pizza cutter turns out to be the murder weapon.

When Bec is assigned the case, unexpected chemistry clouds the investigation and cracks appear in Theo’s carefully crafted world. The line between duty and attraction begins to blur. Can their unexpected attraction overcome painful pasts and long-buried secrets?

Genres: Lesbian

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2025

About the author

Jessie Chandler is the award-winning author of the Shay O'Hanlon Caper series, the Operation Series, and the Art Thief Series.

Chandler lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her wife and two mutts, Fozzy Bear and Ollie. In the fall and winter, Jessie writes, and spends her summers selling T-shirts and other assorted trinkets to unsuspecting conference and festival goers. You can visit her at www.jessiechandler.com

Reviews

[currentlyreadingbynat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite Herself was a solid read. The setup with the murder behind Theo’s bar caught my interest, but the story is much more about the slow-burn romance between Bec, a detective starting over in Duluth, and Theo, a bar owner who doesn’t usually do relationships.

I liked the way their connection unfolded through small, everyday moments — meals, family time, and local outings — and how those helped them start lowering their walls. Both characters had believable backstories, and their chemistry built nicely over time.

That said, the crime plot felt more like background noise than a central thread, and while the romance was sweet, it didn’t always grip me as much as I hoped. Still, it’s a gentle, low-drama sapphic romance that plenty of readers will enjoy.

Many thanks to Bella Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bec Harrison is a police detective who has left her job and her cheating ex in Detroit. She is leaving everything behind to start a new job as a detective with the Duluth, Minnesota, police department. She vows not to get involved in any other relationships. Theo Zaccardo is the owner of The Mashed Spud, a popular LGBTQ-friendly bar in Duluth. Bec and her fellow police colleagues go there one night to celebrate Bec's new job with the department and they have a great time. Bec imbibes in one too many BB's, a famous specialty drink at the bar, and ends up staying most of the early morning at the bar with the caring owner, who cares for her while she is vomiting. Later that same morning after Bec has left the bar, Theo finds a dead body in the trash dumpster behind her bar while taking out the trash. After Theo calls the police to report the crime, Bec and her colleagues show up to begin working on the case. There is immediate chemistry between the two women that could interfere with the investigation as well as Theo's life philosophy about only having one-night stands.

Although the story to written around the crime, this really isn't a police procedural story. The murder mystery takes up a far smaller portion of the book than does the relationship that slowly begins to develop between Bec and Theo. They begin to spend time together as friends after Bec clears Theo of any wrongdoing related to the murder. By spending time together, they first begin to learn about one another as people. Both women begin to enjoy life again via simple outings. One of the things that I loved about this book is the enjoyment that they both derived from meals together, a trip to a Haunted ship, a trip to a lighthouse off Lake Superior, and family game night with Theo's sister Tess. Through these simple activities, trust started to develop between Bec and Theo. Then they were slowly able to reveal past hurts and pains that impacted their current mindset about relationships. They were then able to deliberately and gently tear down the walls around both of their hearts. This was certainly a couple worth cheering on through their next phase of life. 4.25 stars

I received an ARC from Bella Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Fiona Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite Herself is a fast-paced police procedural full of banter and lots of feelings. It tells the story of Bec Harrison, a detective with the Duluth police department and Theo Zaccardo, the owner of the popular Duluth LTBTQ bar, The Mashed Spud. Bec has recently gone through a bitter divorce from her cheating ex and has fled to Duluth in search of a fresh start. After her relationship breakdown she is determined to remain single while she finds her feet again. Meanwhile, Theo's past also haunts her, and she is convinced that she is not relationship material. Instead, she is content to stick with her no-strings one-night-stand lifestyle.

However, after a drunken celebration of Bec's recent promotion with her new colleagues at Theo's bar, it seems the universe has a different plan. After a long night of Theo looking after Bec while she sobers up, the two are launched back into each other's orbit the following morning when one of the bar's clients is found murdered in the dumpster out the back of the bar and the murder weapon is found to be one of Theo's pizza cutters.

What follows is a fantastic story of overcoming past pain and learning to trust again, filled with lots of banter between the detectives investigating the case and the two MC's finding themselves spending more and more time together socially, particularly after it became clear that Theo was not the murderer. I loved the connection between the two women and was holding out with bated breath to find out how they could overcome their past hurts, in particular the suspense as to what Theo's long hidden secret was. The question was whether she could overcome her fear enough to confess the truth to Bec or whether she would just push Bec away instead.

I really really loved this story and could not put it down. The unexpected chemistry between the two women was electric and I was rooting for them from the get-go.

I am very grateful to Jessie Chandler and Bella Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca (Bec) Harrison is an experienced police detective who moves from away from her ex in Detroit to the small Duluth, MN police department. When her new squad takes her out drinking she meets Theo the owner of the Mashed Spud. The next day Theo discovers a body in the trash dumpster behind her bar when she takes out the trash. Theo isn’t really a suspect but Bec has to bring her in for questioning.

The crime is secondary to the budding friendship between Bec and Theo. Bec has sworn off ever having a relationship with a friend. But the two really enjoy each other's company. They go to dinner or outings like visiting a light house, but choose to not call them dates. They also enjoy game nights with Theo’s sister. Bec is aware of the work her squad is doing to catch the murderer. But her partner and the unit are more of a friend group for her. I enjoyed Bec's no nonsense way of speaking. It reminded me of Joe Friday on the old Dragnet.

It is easy to recommend this slow building romance. There are some dark things from their pasts that are shared that helped shape who they are now. Thank you to the author and Bella Books for the digital copy and I am leaving an honest review.

[This · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this.
It is kind of a police procedural with a lot of romantic sub plot - pace is good for both.
Bec has transferred in to the area police department from Detroit. She is out with colleagues and gets rather too drunk on the speciality drink of the bar and stays the night s she is rather ill. Theo (the bar tender) spends a lot of time that night looking after her. The next day a body is found and Bec comes back to investigate!
Both women have their baggage and neither want a relationship. Or do they?
I thought there was a lot of bar related info in there - which would have taken research. Then I realised the fact that I don't know that many things about bars and have stopped spending quite so much time in bars is more indicative of my life!

There is of course an epilogue.
This is set 1 year later and features a surprise birthday party (sorry to spoil the surprise).

I recommend this.

Thanks to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Henriette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A murder and lots of sass and witty banter
Something to look forward to when picking up a book by Jessie Chandler is the total sass and witty banter - not only in dialogue but in the head of characters too. „Despite Herself“ fully delivered. It was with delight and lots of amused chuckling that I read this book!
When detective Bec returns to Duluth after a nasty divorce she didn‘t expect the instant attraction to bar-owner Theo, she didn‘t expect to be totally sloshed and she certainly didn‘t expect that Theo would be implicated in a murder the very next day. After a good start into the investigation the focus switches on Bec and Theo who both have their very good reasons to avoid relationships. Alas, this pesky chemistry won‘t go away!
If you love a good romance, lots of fun and wit and a good sprinkle of murder investigation set in a smallish town with real and found family you‘ll enjoy „Despite Herself“.

I received an ARC. The review is left voluntarily.

[Lyn Denison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story has a fair opening which picks up when the body is found. The dialogue is realistic and the police procedures sound authentic. The writing style fits the book and it’s a good blend of mystery and romance. The POV was interesting in that one was in the first person and the other in the third person. I didn’t think I’d like it but it was seamlessly done. Well written, nice pacing and engaging characters.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written by a friend of mine. I heard her voice reading it to me as I read.

[Mary Seifert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine romance put on hold between two people, each with a history, and a mystery/crime that needs a resolution as well-Chandler rocks the boat and I couldn’t wait to see which way it tipped!