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Death Wears Yellow Garters
Jay Venkatesan’s life was going pretty great. She had Nicole—her perfect new girlfriend—and her anxiety was mostly under control. But when Nicole’s grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances at his 70th birthday party, Jay is thrown into a tailspin. Her eccentric Aunt Mimi is determined to solve the mystery no matter what she thinks about it, and the police are eyeing Nicole as one of their prime suspects. No matter how often Jay insists that real life isn’t like one of her aunt’s crime novels, she finds herself dragged along for the ride as the mystery unravels and the shocking truth comes to light.
166 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2016
6 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Rae D. Magdon
28 books281 followersRae D. Magdon is an author of queer lesbian fiction. Her stories celebrate lesbian, bisexual, queer, and trans women falling in love, and she cares deeply about including characters of color in her work. In addition to publishing novels about all kinds of women and their adventures, she has an extensive fanfiction collection available for free online.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 30, 2018
Death Wears Yellow Garters has plenty going for it. Jay and Nicole are newly in love and the first night Jay gets to meet Nicole’s family there is a tragic murder that puts everybody present under suspicion. Enter Jay’s colorful aunt Mimi (she of the brightly colored handbags and shoes) to put the whole Fox family ill at ease with her in-your-face method of amateur sleuthing. With this real Agatha Christie style whodunnit plot there is plenty to keep us guessing until the big reveal.
f/f explicit
Themes: Mimi’s little terror poodle Tinkerbel is the star of the story, aunt Mimi’s amateur sleuthing made me feel as uncomfortable as it did Jay, you doubt your own girlfriend? Shame on you! The plot looked very familiar, very Christie (who poisoned over 100 of her victims in her books), it did not blow me away but was entertaining enough.
3.8 stars
f/f explicit
Themes: Mimi’s little terror poodle Tinkerbel is the star of the story, aunt Mimi’s amateur sleuthing made me feel as uncomfortable as it did Jay, you doubt your own girlfriend? Shame on you! The plot looked very familiar, very Christie (who poisoned over 100 of her victims in her books), it did not blow me away but was entertaining enough.
3.8 stars
April 6, 2018
I don't know why, but this has taken a long time to read. I enjoyed it well enough but my attention kept wandering. Jay discovers that her girlfriend of two months is from a really wealthy, well-known family when she is invited to join the family dinner. At the dinner Nicole's grandfather dies and everybody is questioned by the police. Jay's aunt Mimi decides this is the perfect opportunity to do some amateur sleuthing. Aunt Mimi is a funny character with an inability to respect personal boundaries.
On the whole it is a fun read.
On the whole it is a fun read.
February 20, 2017
'Death Wears Yellow Garters' is part murder mystery and part romance where we see the developing relationship between Jay and Nicole. When Nicole's grandfather dies under suspicious circumstances Jay's quirky, meddling aunt leads the murder investigation with Jay reluctantly getting into the fray herself. She wants to discover the true murderer to 1) help Nicole feel better and 2) to quell her anxiety about the possible murderer being Nicole.
The murder mystery aspect is fairly vanilla in that there's one murder and no gore. And there's an old fashioned somewhat homage feel to Agatha Christie. It's not a gripping edge-of-your-seat drama but the story is well written and interesting enough to keep the pages turning. The romance portion doesn't feel out of place and gets plenty of its own attention. Jay and Nicole have good chemistry and, since this is a Magdon novel, the book includes explicit erotica.
I found the story struck a good balance between both the mystery and the romance.
Jay is an interesting, unconventional lead having Indian ethnicity and an anxiety disorder. And there's a good amount of comic relief brought in by the aunt. There is hint that this may be a series. If so, I'd happily read it.
Overall, it's a solid satisfactory read.
The murder mystery aspect is fairly vanilla in that there's one murder and no gore. And there's an old fashioned somewhat homage feel to Agatha Christie. It's not a gripping edge-of-your-seat drama but the story is well written and interesting enough to keep the pages turning. The romance portion doesn't feel out of place and gets plenty of its own attention. Jay and Nicole have good chemistry and, since this is a Magdon novel, the book includes explicit erotica.
I found the story struck a good balance between both the mystery and the romance.
Jay is an interesting, unconventional lead having Indian ethnicity and an anxiety disorder. And there's a good amount of comic relief brought in by the aunt. There is hint that this may be a series. If so, I'd happily read it.
Overall, it's a solid satisfactory read.
May 30, 2016
I rarely read mysteries, especially murder mysteries. I made an exception this time because I like Rae Magdon's writing and when she said it was an Agatha Christie style mystery with lesbians and one of them is a person of colour? I was sold and this book didn't disappoint. It's a lot of fun and I recommend it.
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/death...
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/death...
February 20, 2016
I don't read much mystery stuff, but if it's by Rae, I'll read it. When I found out she had a new book, I obviously had to try it out. She doesn't disappoint! There's a murder, mystery, romance, and a crazy aunt. Oh, and lesbians, of course. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in any of the listed things. It's also more vanilla compared to Rae's other work, so it's a good place to start if you've never read her before.
July 29, 2018
I appreciate how the romance was done. How often do you see a story start with the main couple already in a relationship? But because they were only together for two months, it was nice to see Jay and Nicole in the stage where 'I really like you, but we're not sure about using the l word yet, or if we should actually do it.'
They also had to learn to help each other through each other's problems which shows that they really do care about each other. Jay deals with an anxiety disorder, and Nicole is dealing with her grandfather's death and a lot of drama in her family. You see them work through those issues, and it's all the more heartwarming to see them happy together. Even though it's a Murder Mystery, because it's a sapphic author, you know that these two are going to end up ok.
Speaking of the mystery, I also think it was pretty well done. Now, without spoilers, I feel like it was obvious who the murderer was from the beginning, but the way the mystery was tied up was interesting. I'm not an expert when it comes to murder mysteries, I've read maybe a few Agatha Christies and a lot of Nancy Drew while also playing the games, but to me what makes a good mystery is like every story, the journey not the destination. It's like with every story.
The motive seemed obvious at first, but then when you learn more about the complicated family, and the drama, you get a new perspective on all the suspects, and might even find a completely different motive. Until it makes perfect sense at the end. And that's why I found the mystery satisfying.
If I had to have one complaint about the book, I feel like the dialogue was awkward at times. For example, some characters will practically state how much time has passed, and spell out their exposition.
But other than that it was an enjoyable mystery with interesting characters especially Jay's eccentric mystery novel-obsessed aunt. If you want a wlw friendly murder mystery, check this out.
They also had to learn to help each other through each other's problems which shows that they really do care about each other. Jay deals with an anxiety disorder, and Nicole is dealing with her grandfather's death and a lot of drama in her family. You see them work through those issues, and it's all the more heartwarming to see them happy together. Even though it's a Murder Mystery, because it's a sapphic author, you know that these two are going to end up ok.
Speaking of the mystery, I also think it was pretty well done. Now, without spoilers, I feel like it was obvious who the murderer was from the beginning, but the way the mystery was tied up was interesting. I'm not an expert when it comes to murder mysteries, I've read maybe a few Agatha Christies and a lot of Nancy Drew while also playing the games, but to me what makes a good mystery is like every story, the journey not the destination. It's like with every story.
The motive seemed obvious at first, but then when you learn more about the complicated family, and the drama, you get a new perspective on all the suspects, and might even find a completely different motive. Until it makes perfect sense at the end. And that's why I found the mystery satisfying.
If I had to have one complaint about the book, I feel like the dialogue was awkward at times. For example, some characters will practically state how much time has passed, and spell out their exposition.
But other than that it was an enjoyable mystery with interesting characters especially Jay's eccentric mystery novel-obsessed aunt. If you want a wlw friendly murder mystery, check this out.
June 19, 2020
When Jay’s girlfriend Nicole’s grandfather dies at his 70th birthday party, Jay’s aunt Mimi—a crime novel aficionado—is determined to find the killer. Jay is forced to go along with her just to keep her out of trouble. But soon, she gets enmeshed in the investigation, too . . .
In short, the book is a fairly lighthearted mystery with some elements of Agatha Christie. Aunt Mimi, with her ubiquitous matching shoes and purse, is a fairly common comic relief character, whose antics get her and Jay in all sorts of trouble with the suspects and the police alike. Her attempts at interrogating said suspects strain credulity, but as this is a humorous mystery, we can forgive at least most of this.
Jay has an anxiety syndrome that makes her pretty much of a loner—except maybe when she is on the softball field (which we hear about but never see). Her relationship with Nicole is important to her; so much so that she has not made a sexual move on Nicole even though they have been seeing each other for several months. Her condition is not helped when she learns that Nicole belongs to one of the wealthiest families in the area. Things are topped off on the anxiety scale when Jay not only witnesses the death of Nicole’s grandfather at a family dinner. But it gets way out of hand when Jay’s quirky aunt Mimi hears about the crime and wants to get involved in its solution.
I need to note here that Jay is not the first lesbian PI with an anxiety disorder. Liz Bugg’s Calli Barnow also suffers from that malady. In fact, Calli is hooked on Xantax, which allows her a semblance of normality when she is having to concentrate on a case.
Jay is described as a clerk for a major bookstore chain, although we never see her actually at work. In fact, we really don’t see much of her at all outside of her disability. She seems to be just a modern version of Stoner McTavish with major anxiety issues. Which isn’t good, by the way. As it is, the reader—as we do in the eponymous Stoner McTavish—wonders what Nicole sees in the odd and fairly uninteresting Jay.
But there are a lot of what-could-have-beens in this book. First of all, if we could only see Jay in her real elements—the softball field or the bookstore—it would give the author a couple of fine chances to show a more confident and talented Jay. The biggewst failing of Death Wears Yellow Garters, however is in the fact that Jay—whose family emmigraed to the U.S. from Southern India—exhibits few if any remnants of her heritage aside from a few British pronunciations that we hear about but never actually see. In fact, Jay is never really described at all, although one has to assume that she would be dark complected at the very least. It would have been a wonderful chance for Magdon to make Jay more of an individual with a more interesting backstorey. Is there an LGBTQ community in India, for instance? What traditions does Jay still uphond and believe in? What does she like to eat (other than “rice cakes” thae her aunt serves to her)? In other words, how does Jay’s heritage make her different from Nicole or from any other character in the book? My rating is based not only on what is in the book, but what is not.
The mystery itself is a fairly traditional parlor whodunit. Someone in Nicloe’s family is a murderer. But who? And as such, it is no worse than some others I could name. Although Jay’s aunt Mimi is purportedly the sleuth, Jay actually solves the crime an instant before Mimi does. The solution leaves a few questions unanswered, but who’s noticing?
Magnon writes books in several genres. If you read and enjoy Death Wears Yellow Garters, maybe you can sample some of the others.
Final Rating: 3
Note: I read the ebook version of this novel that was available in May, 2020
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.
In short, the book is a fairly lighthearted mystery with some elements of Agatha Christie. Aunt Mimi, with her ubiquitous matching shoes and purse, is a fairly common comic relief character, whose antics get her and Jay in all sorts of trouble with the suspects and the police alike. Her attempts at interrogating said suspects strain credulity, but as this is a humorous mystery, we can forgive at least most of this.
Jay has an anxiety syndrome that makes her pretty much of a loner—except maybe when she is on the softball field (which we hear about but never see). Her relationship with Nicole is important to her; so much so that she has not made a sexual move on Nicole even though they have been seeing each other for several months. Her condition is not helped when she learns that Nicole belongs to one of the wealthiest families in the area. Things are topped off on the anxiety scale when Jay not only witnesses the death of Nicole’s grandfather at a family dinner. But it gets way out of hand when Jay’s quirky aunt Mimi hears about the crime and wants to get involved in its solution.
I need to note here that Jay is not the first lesbian PI with an anxiety disorder. Liz Bugg’s Calli Barnow also suffers from that malady. In fact, Calli is hooked on Xantax, which allows her a semblance of normality when she is having to concentrate on a case.
Jay is described as a clerk for a major bookstore chain, although we never see her actually at work. In fact, we really don’t see much of her at all outside of her disability. She seems to be just a modern version of Stoner McTavish with major anxiety issues. Which isn’t good, by the way. As it is, the reader—as we do in the eponymous Stoner McTavish—wonders what Nicole sees in the odd and fairly uninteresting Jay.
But there are a lot of what-could-have-beens in this book. First of all, if we could only see Jay in her real elements—the softball field or the bookstore—it would give the author a couple of fine chances to show a more confident and talented Jay. The biggewst failing of Death Wears Yellow Garters, however is in the fact that Jay—whose family emmigraed to the U.S. from Southern India—exhibits few if any remnants of her heritage aside from a few British pronunciations that we hear about but never actually see. In fact, Jay is never really described at all, although one has to assume that she would be dark complected at the very least. It would have been a wonderful chance for Magdon to make Jay more of an individual with a more interesting backstorey. Is there an LGBTQ community in India, for instance? What traditions does Jay still uphond and believe in? What does she like to eat (other than “rice cakes” thae her aunt serves to her)? In other words, how does Jay’s heritage make her different from Nicole or from any other character in the book? My rating is based not only on what is in the book, but what is not.
The mystery itself is a fairly traditional parlor whodunit. Someone in Nicloe’s family is a murderer. But who? And as such, it is no worse than some others I could name. Although Jay’s aunt Mimi is purportedly the sleuth, Jay actually solves the crime an instant before Mimi does. The solution leaves a few questions unanswered, but who’s noticing?
Magnon writes books in several genres. If you read and enjoy Death Wears Yellow Garters, maybe you can sample some of the others.
Final Rating: 3
Note: I read the ebook version of this novel that was available in May, 2020
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.
April 10, 2025
4.5 stars. Magdon has become on of my favorite authors. I always have such a good time whenever I pick up one of her stories. This was a great mystery with a sexy romance between Jay and Nicole. As an anxiety riddled person with intrusive thoughts I felt the main character Jay so much. She’s super relatable to me and I completely understood whenever she would jump to conclusions over something that felt trivial and freak out. Nicole was perfect for her. She’s very extroverted and take charge and I thought they meshed really well together despite being so different. I loved the romance between them and when the sex scenes were smoking hot.
The plot of who killed Nicole’s grandfather was great and a lot of fun. A lot of family drama which I’m always a fan of and I absolutely loved Jay’s crime obsessed aunt Mimi. She was hilarious and such a character. You couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t Miss Marple. LMAO. I loved her.
This was so much. There were some heavy moments in it but for the most part it’s light and fun and sexy. Would definitely read it again.
The plot of who killed Nicole’s grandfather was great and a lot of fun. A lot of family drama which I’m always a fan of and I absolutely loved Jay’s crime obsessed aunt Mimi. She was hilarious and such a character. You couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t Miss Marple. LMAO. I loved her.
This was so much. There were some heavy moments in it but for the most part it’s light and fun and sexy. Would definitely read it again.
August 11, 2018
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I must admit that I’m very skeptical whenever I am reading a book from an author that I am not familiar with but this story sucked me in from the first page. I got so caught up in Jay and Nicole’s budding relationship and I had a few laugh out loud moments over Aunt Mimi’s bizarre investigation techniques. If you enjoy mysteries that will captivate you and make you have a good chuckle, then this is definitely the story for you!
August 11, 2022
This is a humorous, cozy romantic murder mystery. And as a big fan of Agatha Christie's whodunit plots, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this; finished it one sitting 😋
November 16, 2017
Since discovering her fanfiction years ago, I've been a massive Magdon fan. Not only is she a fantastic person, but her novels are really well written and just fantastic overall. Death Wears Yellow Garters is no exception. I breezed through the book so quickly. It was such an enjoyable read, with such a unique plot and not what Rae usually writes. Jay, for me, was a character that I found very easy to identify with, and I absolutely adore her aunt who was hilarious throughout the whole book. I wish I had a crazy aunt like that. It wasn't predictable at all, and I only figured out who did it when I reached the end. Absolutely a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it to people who want wlw and a poc main character!
November 11, 2016
2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Death Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D. Magdon
1) Loved the mystery. Loved the characters. And I absolutely loved the cover, which immediately invoked the mood of this story.
2) I loved the quirky, very real, and very sympathetic protagonist of this well-constructed mystery. Terrific characters and a very sweet romance.
3) This novel had my attention from the opening, had me thinking about it when I was busy, and kept me coming back, so that I finished it in less than a day. The mystery was complex with a number of quirky characters well fleshed out, the budding relationship between the protagonist and her girlfriend was very believable with the racial difference between them open without being heavy, the topic of mental illness was handled extremely well, with sympathy but not pandering, and the crazy aunt was a terrific twist. I didn't figure out whodunnit until they told me. Overall very satisfying.
4) What a fun read! Witty humor, and entertaining characters. Aunt Mimi is a crack up.
1) Loved the mystery. Loved the characters. And I absolutely loved the cover, which immediately invoked the mood of this story.
2) I loved the quirky, very real, and very sympathetic protagonist of this well-constructed mystery. Terrific characters and a very sweet romance.
3) This novel had my attention from the opening, had me thinking about it when I was busy, and kept me coming back, so that I finished it in less than a day. The mystery was complex with a number of quirky characters well fleshed out, the budding relationship between the protagonist and her girlfriend was very believable with the racial difference between them open without being heavy, the topic of mental illness was handled extremely well, with sympathy but not pandering, and the crazy aunt was a terrific twist. I didn't figure out whodunnit until they told me. Overall very satisfying.
4) What a fun read! Witty humor, and entertaining characters. Aunt Mimi is a crack up.
June 26, 2016
Interesting characters and a murder mystery with wlw main characters? I'm sold.
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