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Private Dicks
Private Dicks: Packing Heat
A Bar Called Once by Daniela Jeffries—Five years after Lana, the love of her life, left her for a man she hardly knew, Ryssa threw herself into her work as a private detective. But when she realizes women are being abducted from the bar where she and Lana met, her investigation leads her to Lana's husband as the prime suspect.
Black Suede, Red Velvet by Freddie Milano—Black Suede is one of the most exclusive clubs in town, and one with a lot of secrets. The owner, Fujimoto, is suspected of drug trafficking, and James Tachibana goes undercover to get enough evidence to bring in the kingpin—and starts to get too close to Kana, Fujimoto's favorite escort.
Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas P. Wojtowicz—Several years ago Deacon met Mishelle, a trans woman working as a prostitute. Much has changed since, but the two remain friends, and while Deacon wishes they could be friends and lovers, he's in no hurry to risk what they've got. Then Mishelle comes to him for help with a kidnapped girl, and Deacon learns too late he may never get a chance to say everything he wished he had.
Mr. X And The Blackmailed Female by Edale Lane—Mr. X is a celebrated and highly successful private detective in 1890s, and somewhat notorious for the mysterious way no one ever sees him, but must instead go through his assistant, Miss Stetson Goody—who is really Mr. X. It's a scheme, and a life, that's always worked perfectly for Stetson—until Lady Ashton shows up with a blackmail problem.
Orpheus Rising by Andrea Speed—Manu Collins is a private detective investigating a murder, who stumbles into the fact that Ralph Rundle, the richest man in the city, is involved in human trafficking. He frees some of the victims, but finds himself at a very dangerous does he go after the man himself? And if he does, what does this mean for both his life, and his relationship with his boyfriend, Eric?
Sweetbrier by Helena Maeve—As the Battle of Britain rages, a small town on the Welsh coast grapples with strife of its own—a guesthouse hosting cowardly Londoners and rich men too cynical to join the war has just become the scene of a suspicious death. Veteran-turned-detective Rahul Khan has no desire to get involved, but his curiosity is piqued when police hasten to dismiss the case—and snared further by Mark, one of the misfit residents of Sweetbrier House...
Black Suede, Red Velvet by Freddie Milano—Black Suede is one of the most exclusive clubs in town, and one with a lot of secrets. The owner, Fujimoto, is suspected of drug trafficking, and James Tachibana goes undercover to get enough evidence to bring in the kingpin—and starts to get too close to Kana, Fujimoto's favorite escort.
Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas P. Wojtowicz—Several years ago Deacon met Mishelle, a trans woman working as a prostitute. Much has changed since, but the two remain friends, and while Deacon wishes they could be friends and lovers, he's in no hurry to risk what they've got. Then Mishelle comes to him for help with a kidnapped girl, and Deacon learns too late he may never get a chance to say everything he wished he had.
Mr. X And The Blackmailed Female by Edale Lane—Mr. X is a celebrated and highly successful private detective in 1890s, and somewhat notorious for the mysterious way no one ever sees him, but must instead go through his assistant, Miss Stetson Goody—who is really Mr. X. It's a scheme, and a life, that's always worked perfectly for Stetson—until Lady Ashton shows up with a blackmail problem.
Orpheus Rising by Andrea Speed—Manu Collins is a private detective investigating a murder, who stumbles into the fact that Ralph Rundle, the richest man in the city, is involved in human trafficking. He frees some of the victims, but finds himself at a very dangerous does he go after the man himself? And if he does, what does this mean for both his life, and his relationship with his boyfriend, Eric?
Sweetbrier by Helena Maeve—As the Battle of Britain rages, a small town on the Welsh coast grapples with strife of its own—a guesthouse hosting cowardly Londoners and rich men too cynical to join the war has just become the scene of a suspicious death. Veteran-turned-detective Rahul Khan has no desire to get involved, but his curiosity is piqued when police hasten to dismiss the case—and snared further by Mark, one of the misfit residents of Sweetbrier House...
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 5, 2016
This is a set of six detective stories by different authors. What makes it such a good edition is that there is an interesting mix of styles within the stories, and genders and sexualities amongst the characters. If you can get past the lurid title, it is a wide range of interesting short stories.
A Bar Called Once by Daniela Jeffries
Ryssa is a successful PI. Living solo since Lana, the love of her life, left her for a bloke, Ryssa hangs out at the local bar every Friday night. There she spots a chap chatting up, and leaving with a different woman every week. Fairly normal, but it caught her attention when three of the four women were listed in the paper as missing. The real kicker though, was finding out that the chap was Lana’s husband. This was an entertaining yarn. The main character was fun and the story worked quite well. There was a little too much of the ‘Miss Marple explanation’ to tell us how it all worked at the end for my liking, but that’s being fussy. Entertaining lesbian PI short story. 3.5 stars.
Black Suede, Red Velvet by Freddie Milano
Fujimoto is a high-level drug trafficker, on whom no one can get close enough to pin anything. James Tachibana goes undercover to get evidence against Fujimoto, and the closest way to get into the organisation is through Fujimoto’s exclusive club. This is a tense and clever undercover story. Tachibana is well drawn through his internal thoughts, and the rest of the cast is lightly drawn. There are some lovely detailed scenes that build the tension between Tachibana and other players in the drama, and a gay romance which is surprisingly sweet. I really liked this one. 4.5 stars.
Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas P. Wojtowicz
Deacon is an ex-cop, quietly in love with one of his ex-snitches. Mishelle is a trans woman who works as a prostitute, who knows Deacon is one of the few decent blokes around. When one of the local heavies kidnaps one of Mishelle’s friends, she knows that Deacon is the only one who’ll go the distance. This has many of the elements of the hard boiled variety, but Deacon is a surprisingly gentle character for the PI he’s become. Mishelle is tough and smart, and it would have been good to follow these two in a longer story, as they have all the elements of good characterisation. The plot is fairly shallow, as befits the short story format. Intelligent and engaging. 3 stars.
Mr. X And The Blackmailed Female by Edale Lane
Miss Stetson Goody is smart, capable and loves puzzles. Realising that in the 1890s she can’t work as a private detective, she invents Mr X. No one ever gets to meet Mr X. but his is the name that goes into the newspapers when she wins a case. Lady Ashton had an ill-advised liaison with another woman, and a photo was taken. She needs to find the blackmailer before her whole family is in ruins, and Mr X is the one to get the job done. This was cleverly written. It’s hard to write in a different period without it sounding odd, and Lane does a good job of modernising enough to work without going into too much period detail to slow things down too much. 4 stars.
Orpheus Rising by Andrea Speed
Manu Collins is a PI investigating a murder by a crime syndicate run by the richest, and most powerful man in the city. He stumbles across some of the victims of human trafficking, and realises that acting on it will change his life, as well as the life of his boyfriend. This is an action book rather than a crime novel, but Speed handles it well. Nothing is extraneous in this fast-paced short story. 4.5 stars.
Sweetbrier by Helena Maeve
Set during the Second World War, this novella is a spy drama featuring Rahul Khan, who is a detective in a small town on the Welsh coast. A veteran who lost an arm during his time at the front, he is faced with solving a murder that the police have ruled a suicide. The woman was staying at Sweetbriar House, a local guesthouse, which is the temporary home of several wealthy guests who are sitting out the war away from the action. Sweetbriar is a nest of possible spies as well as a potential murderer. The handsome Mark is another attraction to the case for the PI Rahul. This is almost an Agatha Christie styled crime drama, full of possible murderers, although Maeve has upped the ante by setting it during the war and adding in spies. A quiet romp through a house of reprobates, but Rahul is engaging enough to bring us along for the ride. 4 stars.
Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
A Bar Called Once by Daniela Jeffries
Ryssa is a successful PI. Living solo since Lana, the love of her life, left her for a bloke, Ryssa hangs out at the local bar every Friday night. There she spots a chap chatting up, and leaving with a different woman every week. Fairly normal, but it caught her attention when three of the four women were listed in the paper as missing. The real kicker though, was finding out that the chap was Lana’s husband. This was an entertaining yarn. The main character was fun and the story worked quite well. There was a little too much of the ‘Miss Marple explanation’ to tell us how it all worked at the end for my liking, but that’s being fussy. Entertaining lesbian PI short story. 3.5 stars.
Black Suede, Red Velvet by Freddie Milano
Fujimoto is a high-level drug trafficker, on whom no one can get close enough to pin anything. James Tachibana goes undercover to get evidence against Fujimoto, and the closest way to get into the organisation is through Fujimoto’s exclusive club. This is a tense and clever undercover story. Tachibana is well drawn through his internal thoughts, and the rest of the cast is lightly drawn. There are some lovely detailed scenes that build the tension between Tachibana and other players in the drama, and a gay romance which is surprisingly sweet. I really liked this one. 4.5 stars.
Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas P. Wojtowicz
Deacon is an ex-cop, quietly in love with one of his ex-snitches. Mishelle is a trans woman who works as a prostitute, who knows Deacon is one of the few decent blokes around. When one of the local heavies kidnaps one of Mishelle’s friends, she knows that Deacon is the only one who’ll go the distance. This has many of the elements of the hard boiled variety, but Deacon is a surprisingly gentle character for the PI he’s become. Mishelle is tough and smart, and it would have been good to follow these two in a longer story, as they have all the elements of good characterisation. The plot is fairly shallow, as befits the short story format. Intelligent and engaging. 3 stars.
Mr. X And The Blackmailed Female by Edale Lane
Miss Stetson Goody is smart, capable and loves puzzles. Realising that in the 1890s she can’t work as a private detective, she invents Mr X. No one ever gets to meet Mr X. but his is the name that goes into the newspapers when she wins a case. Lady Ashton had an ill-advised liaison with another woman, and a photo was taken. She needs to find the blackmailer before her whole family is in ruins, and Mr X is the one to get the job done. This was cleverly written. It’s hard to write in a different period without it sounding odd, and Lane does a good job of modernising enough to work without going into too much period detail to slow things down too much. 4 stars.
Orpheus Rising by Andrea Speed
Manu Collins is a PI investigating a murder by a crime syndicate run by the richest, and most powerful man in the city. He stumbles across some of the victims of human trafficking, and realises that acting on it will change his life, as well as the life of his boyfriend. This is an action book rather than a crime novel, but Speed handles it well. Nothing is extraneous in this fast-paced short story. 4.5 stars.
Sweetbrier by Helena Maeve
Set during the Second World War, this novella is a spy drama featuring Rahul Khan, who is a detective in a small town on the Welsh coast. A veteran who lost an arm during his time at the front, he is faced with solving a murder that the police have ruled a suicide. The woman was staying at Sweetbriar House, a local guesthouse, which is the temporary home of several wealthy guests who are sitting out the war away from the action. Sweetbriar is a nest of possible spies as well as a potential murderer. The handsome Mark is another attraction to the case for the PI Rahul. This is almost an Agatha Christie styled crime drama, full of possible murderers, although Maeve has upped the ante by setting it during the war and adding in spies. A quiet romp through a house of reprobates, but Rahul is engaging enough to bring us along for the ride. 4 stars.
Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
August 1, 2017
All stories are about a private detective investigating a crime. All stories feature a diverse cast. All stories are incredible interesting reads.
A Bar called Once
Diversity: black bisexual Woman, lesbian Woman, f/f couple
Ryssa is a private detective and has noticed that girls at her bar have gone missing after talking to a certain man. One day while she is watching him again her ex suddenly stands in the bar. The man is her husband. Ryssa is scared for Lana’s safety and decides to tell her about her hunch. Reluctantly Lana agrees to help Ryssa observe her husband.
Lana has left Ryssa after she was shot by a witness that Ryssa slept with and soon married John, an accountant. But her husband’s behaviour is highly suspicious and soon Lana isn’t sure who the man is she married.
The story focuses very much on the case, but there is also some romance. Lana and Ryssa have good chemistry, but their shared past makes it at once easy to work together, but also more awkward.
The ending has a nice twist and the story is definitely interesting to read. 3.5/5 Stars
Black Suede, Red Velvet
Diversity: Japanese gay men, m/m couple
The owner of Black Suede, an exclusive Japanese Club, Fujimoto is suspected of Drug Trafficking and James Tachibana is hired to go undercover and investigate that. To reach his goal he’ll have to find a way to get closer to Fujimoto. That way may be trough Kana, Fujimoto’s favourite escort. James has not expected to find himself drawn to Kana.
Kana soon figures out that James finds him good-looking and heavily flirts with him. There are some incredible hot flirting scenes in this short story,
James knew that this would be a dangerous investigation, but after he has finally established a connection to Fujimoto it soon gets way more dangerous.
The story has some nice twists and turns and the ending is truly wonderful. 4/5 Stars
Cold, Bitter, Dark
Diversity: latina trans woman, m/f couple
Deacon wants to help his crush and partner Mishelle save a kidnapped woman. This however puts both of them in danger and Deacon still hasn’t told her how he truly feels about her.
Deacon and Mishelle met when he helped her get the money and the papers to legally change her name. Deacon used to be a police officer but lost his job when he refused to act corrupt for a captain. After that they soon became good friends and Deacon lived in her garage.
Mishelle works as a prostitute, does social work and is a CI for the local police. Her life is not safe and she knows it. When her friend is kidnapped she gets really dangerous. (Honestly she was scary and I love it!)
The ending is very nice and I think I found my new OTP <3 4.5/5 Stars
Mr. X and the blackmailed Female
Diversity: lesbian women, f/f couple
Mr X is a well-known private detective in the 19th century. Nobody has ever seen his face, as everybody who wants to hire him must arrange the deal through his assistant, Miss Stetson Goody. As it turns out she is actually Mr X and plans to keep her identity secret, but when Lady Ashton comes to her in need of help, it gets more complicated.
Jewel Ashton is blackmailed by pictures that somebody took while she was kissing another woman. This is terrible for her as she doesn’t have enough money to pay the black mailer and if it would come out her father’s political career would be destroyed. Stetson Goody is amazed. Never has she met another woman who loves woman just like she does.
Having grown up in the theatre community Stetson knows her way around make-up, costuming and acting. She loves her double life, as it offers her a chance to live a different life than women in her time where able to live.
They embark on a dangerous journey to find the blackmailer and save Lady Ashton’s honour.
I really liked Stetson’s unmasking at the end. 4/5 Stars #ownvoices
Orpheus Rising
Diversity: Asian gay man, m/m couple
Manu is a private detective. He has heard about a human trafficking ring under the Club Hell’s Kitchen. Even though he knows that it is dangerous, he decides to investigate this himself. Through sheer luck he survives that night and manages to free a few woman, but afterwards the real trouble begins. He decides to track down the man behind all this himself, even if it puts his life and his relationship with Eric at risk.
Manu is a very ambitious private detective, who wants to save some people. Even though he knows he can’t change the world he can change some people’s lives and that’s better than nothing.
Eric loves him and thanks to him being a paramedic, he can always stitch up Manu’s wounds.
The story has an open ending, but I liked Eric and Manu’s relationship, it was super sweet! 3/5 Stars
Sweetbrier
Diversity: Disabled (missing limb, PTSD) indian gay man, m/m couple
Set during the 2nd World War Rahul realizes that there is something iffy going on in his town. The police tries to cover up a murder and soon afterwards a woman from Sweetbrier House kills herself. Said woman has been reported to be scared for her life before. Rahul has to untangle that mess without any police support. And then there’s also interesting Mark, a resident of Sweetbrier House. Nothing is as it seems.
I love Rahul and that he is a disabled veteran, who still suffers from his time at war. His first marriage failed soon after he came back, as he didn’t sleep with his wife. Since then he has been single, until Mark comes along.
An interesting story set during war, with spies, traitors, murder and romance with an open, yet satisfying end. 4/5 Stars
Review crossposted to my blog here
A Bar called Once
Diversity: black bisexual Woman, lesbian Woman, f/f couple
Ryssa is a private detective and has noticed that girls at her bar have gone missing after talking to a certain man. One day while she is watching him again her ex suddenly stands in the bar. The man is her husband. Ryssa is scared for Lana’s safety and decides to tell her about her hunch. Reluctantly Lana agrees to help Ryssa observe her husband.
Lana has left Ryssa after she was shot by a witness that Ryssa slept with and soon married John, an accountant. But her husband’s behaviour is highly suspicious and soon Lana isn’t sure who the man is she married.
The story focuses very much on the case, but there is also some romance. Lana and Ryssa have good chemistry, but their shared past makes it at once easy to work together, but also more awkward.
The ending has a nice twist and the story is definitely interesting to read. 3.5/5 Stars
Black Suede, Red Velvet
Diversity: Japanese gay men, m/m couple
The owner of Black Suede, an exclusive Japanese Club, Fujimoto is suspected of Drug Trafficking and James Tachibana is hired to go undercover and investigate that. To reach his goal he’ll have to find a way to get closer to Fujimoto. That way may be trough Kana, Fujimoto’s favourite escort. James has not expected to find himself drawn to Kana.
Kana soon figures out that James finds him good-looking and heavily flirts with him. There are some incredible hot flirting scenes in this short story,
James knew that this would be a dangerous investigation, but after he has finally established a connection to Fujimoto it soon gets way more dangerous.
The story has some nice twists and turns and the ending is truly wonderful. 4/5 Stars
Cold, Bitter, Dark
Diversity: latina trans woman, m/f couple
Deacon wants to help his crush and partner Mishelle save a kidnapped woman. This however puts both of them in danger and Deacon still hasn’t told her how he truly feels about her.
Deacon and Mishelle met when he helped her get the money and the papers to legally change her name. Deacon used to be a police officer but lost his job when he refused to act corrupt for a captain. After that they soon became good friends and Deacon lived in her garage.
Mishelle works as a prostitute, does social work and is a CI for the local police. Her life is not safe and she knows it. When her friend is kidnapped she gets really dangerous. (Honestly she was scary and I love it!)
The ending is very nice and I think I found my new OTP <3 4.5/5 Stars
Mr. X and the blackmailed Female
Diversity: lesbian women, f/f couple
Mr X is a well-known private detective in the 19th century. Nobody has ever seen his face, as everybody who wants to hire him must arrange the deal through his assistant, Miss Stetson Goody. As it turns out she is actually Mr X and plans to keep her identity secret, but when Lady Ashton comes to her in need of help, it gets more complicated.
Jewel Ashton is blackmailed by pictures that somebody took while she was kissing another woman. This is terrible for her as she doesn’t have enough money to pay the black mailer and if it would come out her father’s political career would be destroyed. Stetson Goody is amazed. Never has she met another woman who loves woman just like she does.
Having grown up in the theatre community Stetson knows her way around make-up, costuming and acting. She loves her double life, as it offers her a chance to live a different life than women in her time where able to live.
They embark on a dangerous journey to find the blackmailer and save Lady Ashton’s honour.
I really liked Stetson’s unmasking at the end. 4/5 Stars #ownvoices
Orpheus Rising
Diversity: Asian gay man, m/m couple
Manu is a private detective. He has heard about a human trafficking ring under the Club Hell’s Kitchen. Even though he knows that it is dangerous, he decides to investigate this himself. Through sheer luck he survives that night and manages to free a few woman, but afterwards the real trouble begins. He decides to track down the man behind all this himself, even if it puts his life and his relationship with Eric at risk.
Manu is a very ambitious private detective, who wants to save some people. Even though he knows he can’t change the world he can change some people’s lives and that’s better than nothing.
Eric loves him and thanks to him being a paramedic, he can always stitch up Manu’s wounds.
The story has an open ending, but I liked Eric and Manu’s relationship, it was super sweet! 3/5 Stars
Sweetbrier
Diversity: Disabled (missing limb, PTSD) indian gay man, m/m couple
Set during the 2nd World War Rahul realizes that there is something iffy going on in his town. The police tries to cover up a murder and soon afterwards a woman from Sweetbrier House kills herself. Said woman has been reported to be scared for her life before. Rahul has to untangle that mess without any police support. And then there’s also interesting Mark, a resident of Sweetbrier House. Nothing is as it seems.
I love Rahul and that he is a disabled veteran, who still suffers from his time at war. His first marriage failed soon after he came back, as he didn’t sleep with his wife. Since then he has been single, until Mark comes along.
An interesting story set during war, with spies, traitors, murder and romance with an open, yet satisfying end. 4/5 Stars
Review crossposted to my blog here
December 14, 2016
I am grateful to this collection for introducing me to Freddie Milano and Helena Maeve, whose stories were sexy (and dangerous), beautifully written, and full of realistic, compelling characters. I also loved Andrea Speed's entry Orpheus Rising and its much needed dose of dark humor.
However, I can't believe something as grossly fetishistic of trans women as Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas Wojtowicz got past the editors. This is a story where the main character leverages his status as a police officer to sexually assault a trans woman (under the guise of stop and frisk) within minutes of meeting her - and yet we're supposed to find this violation romantic and root for their relationship. Multiple times the narrator describes the exact state of this woman's genitals, and we even have an appearance of the 'if I like a woman with a penis, does that make me gay?' trope, which is not only ignorant but dangerous. What a disaster. LT3 Press really needs a trans woman on their editorial staff and stories written by and from the perspective of trans women themselves, because this is just unacceptable.
However, I can't believe something as grossly fetishistic of trans women as Cold, Bitter, Dark by Douglas Wojtowicz got past the editors. This is a story where the main character leverages his status as a police officer to sexually assault a trans woman (under the guise of stop and frisk) within minutes of meeting her - and yet we're supposed to find this violation romantic and root for their relationship. Multiple times the narrator describes the exact state of this woman's genitals, and we even have an appearance of the 'if I like a woman with a penis, does that make me gay?' trope, which is not only ignorant but dangerous. What a disaster. LT3 Press really needs a trans woman on their editorial staff and stories written by and from the perspective of trans women themselves, because this is just unacceptable.
October 13, 2016
More diverse than the last Private Dicks, but I enjoyed it a little less (maybe because it was way less paranormal?). The first story was great, the second one good, but nothing that blew my mind in this book.
October 4, 2016
Disclaimer: I have a story in this collection. BUT STILL it's a great collection, especially if you like detective stories. Go, read, enjoy!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews