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The Monarchs Are Flying: A Novel
Fine in glossy illustrated wrappers. First edition - First US printing, a trade paperback original. The first novel by this Canadian author, a courtroom drama of a woman charged with murdering the woman who was her ex-lover, set in an intolerant small town, with a homophobic police detective. 217 pp.
217 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 2, 2023
DNF'd at 56%
Boring. Also the font is distracting.
Boring. Also the font is distracting.
June 18, 2020
This novel will be of interest to those of you who like Claire McNab’s Carole Ashton series. In fact, except for the locations and professions, Carole and Harriett could be twins. Harriet has “compelling,” “brilliant aquamarine” eyes. She has “the pose of a model and the memory of a computer.” “Her small breasts were high and firm, in perfect scale with the slender hips and long, beautifully proportioned back.” The descriptions continue, but that’s enough for this review. And lest we all get too excited, Harriet is not only straight when the book begins, but she has undergone a divorce in the not-too-distant past.
Harriet is roused from boring life as a successful criminal attorney (ho hum) when an old client (and erstwhile suitor) hires her for a very strange reason: he wants Harriet to make sure that the woman who was arrested for killing his wife not be granted bail. It’s easy money, but when Harriet does a little digging, she realizes that the woman who was arrested—Leslie Taylor—was not only the dead woman’s lover before her marriage, but also innocent of the crime. But in the small town of Spruce Falls, Canada in the 1980s, it seems that Leslie—a well-known local TV reporter—would rather go to prison than divulge—to the world and to her parents—that she is a lesbian. Somehow, Harriet finds a way to get Leslie to fight the case against her and prove her innocence.
I was more than tempted to label this a double-sleuth mystery, like Penny Mickelbury’s Gianna and Mimi or Gina L. Dartt’s Nikki and Kate. It is told from the third-person point of view of both the main characters: Harriet and her client Leslie. In fact, the book starts with Leslie. We don’t meet Harriet until the third chapter. Yet it is Harriet that does the work and solves the mystery. To her credit, author Foster manages point of view changes gracefully and seamlessly. It is a near-omniscient POV that is able to hover over several of the main characters before zeroing in on each one in their turn. It is not, in other words, intrusive or authorial.
One of the few disappointing things about the book is the near dearth of information about Harriet. We don’t know where she grew up, who her husband was and why they divorced, or even her age. Pretty much all we know is that she is perfect and that she likes brandy. And here’s a real omission: Foster doesn't even tell us what brand of brandy Harriet prefers. Surely someone of her elegance wouldn't drink just any brandy. I know that some of the things I've said so far may seem a little catty, but the book is an interesting one. The author’s treatment of Leslie Taylor is much more in depth than that of Harriet and the portrayal of Leslie’s mother is extremely well done and touching. The bad guys, well, they’re guys, and they’re bad bad bad.
Published in 1987, this is one of the first 20 lesbian mysteries to see print and probably the first lesbian courtroom drama. Foster’s guide must have been the Perry Mason mysteries and I suspect that her team was fashioned somewhat after Mason’s as well. There is her efficient secretary Donna and her information gatherer Clarence, who gets a ton of information on almost everything without the author really going into detail about how he gets it. Nevertheless, I like the team; it imbues a little camaraderie into the proceedings.
The end of the courtroom scene is not really believable, but better than most Perry Masons and also better than Katherine V. Forrest’s later Murder by Tradition. Probably the worst thing about the book is its very last scene, which sums things up in a flowery manner by the use of butterfly images. If Marion Foster were here in this room with me now she would admit that she went back after the book was finished and inserted the butterfly images, then gave a new title to the book. It is very contrived. Still, The Monarchs Are Flying is an enjoyable read—one that I am giving 3.75 stars, which will show up in this rating system as a 4. So be it. I am anxious enough to read the other book in the series that I have put it on my To Buy list. Maybe I can find out a little more about Harriett. The fact that I want to speaks for itself.
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.
Harriet is roused from boring life as a successful criminal attorney (ho hum) when an old client (and erstwhile suitor) hires her for a very strange reason: he wants Harriet to make sure that the woman who was arrested for killing his wife not be granted bail. It’s easy money, but when Harriet does a little digging, she realizes that the woman who was arrested—Leslie Taylor—was not only the dead woman’s lover before her marriage, but also innocent of the crime. But in the small town of Spruce Falls, Canada in the 1980s, it seems that Leslie—a well-known local TV reporter—would rather go to prison than divulge—to the world and to her parents—that she is a lesbian. Somehow, Harriet finds a way to get Leslie to fight the case against her and prove her innocence.
I was more than tempted to label this a double-sleuth mystery, like Penny Mickelbury’s Gianna and Mimi or Gina L. Dartt’s Nikki and Kate. It is told from the third-person point of view of both the main characters: Harriet and her client Leslie. In fact, the book starts with Leslie. We don’t meet Harriet until the third chapter. Yet it is Harriet that does the work and solves the mystery. To her credit, author Foster manages point of view changes gracefully and seamlessly. It is a near-omniscient POV that is able to hover over several of the main characters before zeroing in on each one in their turn. It is not, in other words, intrusive or authorial.
One of the few disappointing things about the book is the near dearth of information about Harriet. We don’t know where she grew up, who her husband was and why they divorced, or even her age. Pretty much all we know is that she is perfect and that she likes brandy. And here’s a real omission: Foster doesn't even tell us what brand of brandy Harriet prefers. Surely someone of her elegance wouldn't drink just any brandy. I know that some of the things I've said so far may seem a little catty, but the book is an interesting one. The author’s treatment of Leslie Taylor is much more in depth than that of Harriet and the portrayal of Leslie’s mother is extremely well done and touching. The bad guys, well, they’re guys, and they’re bad bad bad.
Published in 1987, this is one of the first 20 lesbian mysteries to see print and probably the first lesbian courtroom drama. Foster’s guide must have been the Perry Mason mysteries and I suspect that her team was fashioned somewhat after Mason’s as well. There is her efficient secretary Donna and her information gatherer Clarence, who gets a ton of information on almost everything without the author really going into detail about how he gets it. Nevertheless, I like the team; it imbues a little camaraderie into the proceedings.
The end of the courtroom scene is not really believable, but better than most Perry Masons and also better than Katherine V. Forrest’s later Murder by Tradition. Probably the worst thing about the book is its very last scene, which sums things up in a flowery manner by the use of butterfly images. If Marion Foster were here in this room with me now she would admit that she went back after the book was finished and inserted the butterfly images, then gave a new title to the book. It is very contrived. Still, The Monarchs Are Flying is an enjoyable read—one that I am giving 3.75 stars, which will show up in this rating system as a 4. So be it. I am anxious enough to read the other book in the series that I have put it on my To Buy list. Maybe I can find out a little more about Harriett. The fact that I want to speaks for itself.
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.
October 22, 2012
Unrealistic courtroom drama of a closeted lesbian wrongfully convicted of murder, and how everything all works out perfectly in the end with her parents magically accepting her with open arms and the real killer revealing himself in the courtroom.
Silly at best.
Silly at best.
July 5, 2008
A well written mystery. The author also demonstrates how internalized homophobia is destructive.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews