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Alison Kaine Mystery #1

by Kate Allen

Alison Kaine, lesbian cop, enters the world of leather-dykes after a woman is brutally murdered at a Denver bar. In this fast-paced, yet slyly humorous novel, Allen confronts the sensitive issues of S/M, queer-bashers and women-identified sex workers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Lesbian, LGBT, BDSM, Queer, Crime

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book is definitely not high quality but it was pretty fun! This also had the perhaps most ADHD sex scenes I have ever encountered - also fun!

I can’t really comment on the accuracy of the portrayal of the Denver Colorado lesbian community in the early 90s but it was an interesting depiction nonetheless.

[JKR · Rating 2 out of 5]

This title needs a good editor.

[Dee]

DNF = No rating

If you don't mind books that remind you on every other page you are reading about dykes. Then this is for you.

Contains - leather dykes, butch dykes, baby-dykes, leather dykes, cute dykes, the mountain dykes, and a local dyke garage.

BTW - I have nothing against the word dyke.

I don't enjoy reading books where characters are referred to as the blond woman, the tall woman, the thin woman, the black woman, etc, either.

[Evelyne · Rating 1 out of 5]

In her landmark essay The straight mind, lesbian radical feminist Monique Wittig characterized the "straight mind" as a way of over-classifying the world along inflexible categories, with a core of assumptions about power, gender and hierarchies that are never doubted and too easily taken as universals, in a way that preserves and enforces oppressive hierarchies, among which sexism. I purport that Tell me what you like is best understood as a manifestation of a semantic universe — that is, its underlying system of semantic units that are used to classify the world — that's little more than a slight alteration of the straight mind. This leads to a strikingly predictable and reactionary story, so much that I was able to successfully predict most of it a few pages before the middle. Hence the low rating, and hence why to find good aspects for a balanced review, I'll have to compare it to the only worse book I know, Fifty Shades of Grey.

The story is about a lesbian cop who intervenes on a murder scene at a gay bar while she was on vacation, after learning in the journal that there was another similar murder at a lesbian bar. She therefore decides to investigate on her own, despite not being an inspector and not being allowed to, because she's a lesbian and fears her male colleagues wouldn't care enough and wouldn't do a good job. At the same time, she's exposed to the world of BDSM due to her job and due to having a love interest who turns out to be a leather dominatrix. The main character is also shown as being short-tempered, not really good at interrogating people because she's far too blunt, as always being a step or two behind the murderer, and as being clumsy (she falls for no clear reason when chasing the murderer and easily gets overpowered by an untrained guy).

To summarize, her only skill is being a lesbian. I'm not making that up, take everything together, and that's her main and almost only skill. She's not 5 steps ahead everyone like Hercule Poirot, she doesn't beat the baddies with relative ease, she doesn't shoot with insane precision, she isn't exceptionally good with people. Moreover her only consistent interest is being interested in leather BDSM as a submissive. And when I say submissive, I really mean it: she's almost always being acted upon by other people, sometimes with dubious consent from her. She only shows some sort of agency with her love interest and when she goes to interrogate people she's mostly reacting to obvious clues instead of making more sophisticated hypotheses. Overall, both as a cop and as a sexual being, she's incompetent, has little agency, and her main trait is being a lesbian with a few quirks (being a cop and into BDSM). She's clearly the brainchild of the straight mind. If you're unconvinced, wait to see how the sex scenes are; but before that, let's dig deeper into the semantic universe of the book and talk about its implicit theory of gender.

A. J. Greimas in the second to last chapter of Structural Semantics explains that you can model the plots of western folktales and plays as the hero going from breaking an implicit contract with their community for various reasons (doing a mistake, lacking a quality, etc.) to re-entering the contract thanks to their adventures and having changed as a result, becoming worthy of a reward (typically marriage). If the hero fails to overcome their issues, they get punished. In both cases, what matters is resolving the contradictions given at the start so that the underlying semantic universe can be as balanced as possible. In Tell me what you like, the most important categories are that of gender and sexuality seen as a good basis for communities, and the story is the resolution of contradictions that make the lesbian community fractured and that let male elements be to close to it. I'll explain in more detail.

The first thing to notice is that all lesbian women are first referred to as being "dykes". When they receive more characterization, it's after having made that obvious. Even after their introduction, they're continuously understood as behaving like typical "dykes" or compared to what is supposed to be typical. It would barely be a stretch to say that all lesbian characters are implicitly understood as a variation onto a an archetypal "dyke"; this is especially visible page 38 where "S/M dykes"'s sexuality is categorized as a long list of "dykes who do X". The typical properties of dykes seems to be according to the semantic universe of this book: being against violence, sticking together, having clear dating patterns, being very much unlike men, not accepting being subalterns like straight women, being irreligious.

Of course, the reality shown in the book isn't like that, and there are contradictions to solve: the main character is a butch, she's a cop, BDSM is seen inside the lesbian community as a form of violence against women by women, the main character has a rival in the form of an attractive young man, said young man is very close to the love interest, the main character has a father who doesn't hate her, there are former lesbians who went back to being heterosexual and religious, and male cops are taking care of murder cases. Each of these aspects are brought back to equilibrium throughout the story (some in ways I find acceptable, others not): the butch is made passive and incompetent, the MC shows she gives more importance to the community rather than in being a cop, BDSM is shown as being not really violent and actually hot, the MC takes on the cases of murder by herself and eventually solves it, we get a funny scene with the father and then he's forgotten, the former lesbians are shown to be not very clever and of bad character, the possibility that a woman murdered lesbians is evoked but is finally dropped, and finally the young man who is too close to the love interest is revealed to be a lesbian-hating psychopath who was the murderer all along despite considering the love interest to be his substitute mother. To generalize, the underlying worldview would be something like: "the intersections of gender and sexuality form the basic units of socialization and the basic communities, they should not mingle, some will always be oppressed and hated by everyone else, individuals' behavior is best understood through that lens, and exceptions are due to exceptional circumstances or hide something horrible". Welcome to the straight mind barely adapted to being a lesbian, the resulting pessimism, essentialism, and paranoia are perfectly normal. I found this underlying semantic universe early in the book, and combined with having read the essays of Shklovsky on mysteries, finding the murderer and his motivations (jealousy and will to possess a woman, basically) was trivial, since the two obvious suspects (lesbian dommes and religious homophobes) were clear misdirections. I hoped for the best as I read the second half, but I was saddened to see I had predicted everything really well.

Final nail in the coffin if you're still not convinced the straight mind is omnipresent and determines everything in this book, the sex scenes. There is an imaginary one that's not really structured by the straight mind, but the other two, which are real in the storyworld, certainly are. The first one happens in the basement of a lesbian bar, and reads like a rapey hetero sex scene: the MC doesn't give consent to her partner to be penetrated, but she is anyway, she is and feels defenseless, and she eventually loves it. The second one, with the love interest, is something to behold; I had never seen that before in a lesfic book besides those that are obvious fetish fodder trash. Once again, the strapon is absolutely central to the submissiveness of the MC, and there's barely any other erotic act of importance besides penetration. The narration goes more and more into the MC's fantasy, and it culminates with this: "The servants had guided the dildos into Prudence's [the character the MC is playing] tight a**, into her open c**t, ignoring her pleas for mercy. Now the Mistress was beginning to thrust against her, pulling almost all the way out and then slamming back in. The opened her mouth and the cook, ready for the signal, began to spoon into it bites of chocolate eclair, filled with a rich custard. Alison was totally filled". Now, I know lesbian sex doesn't have to be purely cutesy stuff, it can be rough, it can subvert some aspects of gendered roles, etc. But considering everything that's been said previously about how the straight mind models everything really well, the passage about eclairs filled with a rich custard and the MC being totally filled is clearly imagery for ejaculation. What the absolute hell?

There are a few good points though. It is explained that S/M is but a part of someone's lifestyle and personality, that it requires consent, and can be freeing. This is better than Fifty Shades of Grey at least. It is also shown that having a good relation with one's parents is possible. Characters whose description goes further than "dyke" receive decent characterization. The writing style is good enough, although sometimes confusing, especially because of needless ellipses, changes of place, and small barely useful scenes. The reactionary political atmosphere is decently painted. Keep in mind that I'm saying that compared to the worst book I know of, Fifty Shades of Grey. There are many other books that are much better at doing all of that, but at least Tell me what you like isn't a complete catastrophe, and is a good manual of what not to do in lesfic. There would be a lot more to say in a detailed analysis, and a few things to learn. I don't think the time it was written in is a good excuse for its faults though; look at, say, Anne Lister's diaries, and you'll see someone who was much less influenced by the straight mind than this book is, despite having been written two centuries ago. I can only see someone who has deeply internalized and failed to criticize the straight mind sincerely liking this book. This is rather sad and depressing.

[Adam Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid lesbian-themed mystery novel. I liked the flawed characters and the banter between them. The mystery hangs together pretty well. I must admit that stumbling across the unexpectedly graphic S&M sex scene while I was on the bus to work was a mite disconcerting, though!

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 The start of a wonderful Lesbian mystery thriller series

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mention Delafield, yes.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Officer Alison Kaine has been a lesbian a while. She came out and grew up in an atmosphere of women's collectives, political correctness, and so forth. So when she meets a very feminine, sexy stranger, she's a little uptight when she finds out her new love interest is a professional dominatrix. At work, Mistress Anastacia at work stays legal, topping with no sexual contact, so Alison's cop side doesn't have anything to complain about, but when its her girlfriend Stacy, Alison has to deal with the tension between her desire, her kink-curiosity, and jealousy towards the unseen clients. There is some explicit sex in this series, and as we go through the books there's more kink along the way, so if that sort of thing bothers you, be warned.

When lesbians begin turning up murdered outside of lesbian bars, Alison is in the thick of it. She's on the scene of the first couple of murders, but the investigating male detectives are a pair of obnoxious homophobic sexists who not only won't listen to any of Alison's information, they bitch about her and get her in hot water at the P.D. for butting into their investigation. Never mind that the department has an official policy against orientation-based harassment and discrimination, and that Alisons's dad is an experienced senior officer on the force as well. While I know this sort of thing still goes on in the world around us, it just pisses me off to deal with it in my escapist reading. The combination of homophobia and abusive co-workers hit a bunch of my triggers, and I really think the book could have been written without leaning so hard on these buttons. The detectives could have skipped the homophobia and "you're just a girl" stuff entirely, and still not really listened to Alison just because she's NOT a detective.

Overall, the author injects a surprising amount of humor into the novel, which is a surprising and welcome counterpoint for the starkness of the murders. I like the whole series, and this is my favorite of the novels.

[Mary Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was a well-written book, I found it hard to stay engaged. It might've been that it was written in'93, but then I'm now reading a gay mystery written in '75 and I'm glued, so... Allison, our MC and a cop, is a cypher for the story about dykes being murdered outside of leather bars in her city of Denver. A mild-mannered lesbian belonging to no particular group (i.e., label), she's not well-versed in leather dykes, butches, lipstick lesbians, etc., and throughout the course of the story, she learns about them all, teaching readers who may not have known, either. I found it a little hard to believe that she was so naive, however, and mildly annoyed at that.

Since she happened to be at the bar that night, and since the bar is part of her regular patrol, she involves herself in the investigation despite not being assigned to it, which angers the (homophobic) detectives who are. But to her credit, she doesn't back down because, while she's not a butch leather dyke, this is her community and she wants to make sure the murderer is caught. When a second murder takes place, and then a third, Allison involves herself more deeply in the investigation despite being warned off by her boss, and she herself becomes an almost victim. At the same time, she finds herself very drawn to one of the suspects, a dominatrix named Stacy, which complicates things and obfuscates her view of the investigation. The fun of this book, for me, was watching Allison come to terms with her attraction to not only Stacy, but to a young butch bartender who turns Allison's world upside down before becoming a near-victim of the murderer when both she and Allison are attacked.

I was far more engrossed toward the end of the book when Allison began piecing together who the murder actually was, and it involved the history of older lesbians in the area.

I would recommend this book because it is well-written, but I would say stick with it until it begins to come together for you.

[Hadleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think this is really my genre, so take this with a big pinch of salt. Overall it's a good story, and it's not obvious where it's headed. The characters were alright, but having said that, there were so many of them it was hard to remember and keep track of all their back-stories. But having seen plenty of murder mysteries on TV, it wasn't that dissimilar in that respect - so I have a feeling people who like murder mysteries won't have a problem with it.

One thing that annoyed me a bit was that it referred to lesbians as dykes throughout. Maybe that was more of an accepted term when it was written - it was written in the early 90s after all.

[Female Person · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just... ugh!

[Zayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I'll give a 5 out of 5 for it's believability and it's self-awareness for the time period that it's set in. Some will criticize it for the usage of the word "dyke" a lot. I will heed to those who are sensitive about the word and it's usage in the context to be careful. The story isn't too complicated or too hard to follow at any point, but there is a good amount of eroticism so if you don't want that and want just a romance story (while it is a romance story at it's core) then this isn't the place or story for you.

Simply put, it is an incredibly immersive book that brings me, who is a straight man, into the world of BDSM and into the early-90s, BDSM, lesbian world that I didn't even really think about too much before picking it up. Unironically, back in the 90's, "dyke" was the go-to word for many homophobes and anti-same sex couples, but it has come back as a usage by same-sex lesbian couples in our age.
When I picked it up, it was on a shelf in the bookstore I was at with my mom and she had no idea what I was bringing home, but I knew I wanted to read it based on the cover. Sometimes, you can tell a book by its cover and in this case you definitely can tell there will be something steamy inside.

I will not spoil it, but I will say that it is focused on the relationship between this female police officer and this dominatrix named Stacy who just opens her world up to new things. This main character's mind is so open despite the anti-feminist, anti-queer, and anti-BDSM world and especially the aint-BDSM philosophies she encountered when she was younger are quite quickly changed from the experiences she shares with Stacy. While she, being a cop, experiments with another woman and learns more about herself as a woman. Think 50 Shades, but with hot female leads and a good story.

[Rhonda Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell Me What You Like by Kate Allen

One of the best tricks of the writing trade is grabbing a reader early on, which this book does. Diversity? Yes, in the form of leather women, anti-leather people, vegetarians, sex workers and anti-sex workers.

The scene is Denver, Colorado in the 1990’s, back when the term “dyke” was more common so be forewarned that the word dyke is used often in this story. Officer Alison Kaine makes a new friend who shares the love of quilting, but who also turns out to be a dominatrix sex worker who provides women with the S&M fantasy of their dreams. Then Stacey’s clients start dying.

I have had police officer friends with similar serious and sometimes cynical sides who were also able to find humor like Alison. However, I am not fond of a large list of characters, and I should warm readers looking for S&M sex scenes they might be disappointed as this story’s focus is on solving the mystery. But overall, this is a go-to book for a lesbian mystery readers.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, Leather Lesbians & Bible Thumping in 1 book

Its unique & captivating storyline, spectacular in its complexity, fluidity & intensity creates a very compelling & entertaining book. With a nice flowing effortless progression, engaging narrative incorporating such formidably vulnerable & passionately flawed characters made it an easy read.

The beginning of a good, entertaining series, with an array of interesting, layered & diverse characters & some really hot sex scenes, in this extremely well written book… your only thought is—What's gonna come next?

[Sohang Chopra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about a cop's unofficial investigation into a series of lesbian murders. There are also some romance elements as well as hints of Sado-Masochism. I feel that the romance could have been focused on a bit more though.

[Jay Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I might not have given this book enough of a chance, but I wasn’t thinking about it whilst not reading. What has put me off persevering is the leather and kink scene being tantalising to Alison but there is a pervasive attitude of shame and suspicion towards it. A bit disappointing

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get lost in this lesbian community and really enjoy the ladies around you.

[Em Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The suspense was there, the cast of characters was well fleshed out, and the protagonist was both flawed and likeable. The sex? Off the charts.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful Introduction

A wonderful mystery that introduces some really great characters. I cannot wait to read more of the Alison Kaine series.

[Abbey Patz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it needed an editor but other than that I liked it! I didn’t predict the killer in this book which i appreciate

[Fleur Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

cliterature for the win

[Megan]

From a few things I had read about her books, I expected Kate Allen to write about “big tough butches in leather jackets they never took off.” In fact, that’s exactly what Officer Allison Kaine thought when she found herself in a bar full of leather-clad lesbians. What she discovers (and what I discovered) is that leather dykes range anywhere between “packing” ultra-butches and submissive lipstick lesbians. Some are lawyers, some work in animal shelters, some may even be police officers. The trick is in how well they are captured in the writing, and Allen makes each of her characters not only come alive, but come alive with interest. One of the many things I really liked about this book is that Allison and I are learning the same things at the same time, having the same questions—first wary, then joyous—about what it would be like to be part of this odd enclave of leather dykes that even other lesbians shy away from. In fact, an important subplot of this book is the way in which lesbians who are not into the S/M theme disapprove of the practice as a form of violence against women.

The story begins when one of these leather dykes is murdered outside one of Denver’s lesbian bars. Because Officer Allison Kaine routinely patrols this bar, she gets involved in the case—much to the anger of the cops actually assigned to it. Allison is uncomfortable with the assignment until she gets to know several of the regular attendees of “leather night” at the bar. One of these, Stacy Ross, is a paid dominatrix whose business card reads: “Anastasia—Tell Me What You Like.” And wouldn't you know it; against her better judgment, Allison ends up falling for her.

Meanwhile, other dykes (Allen rarely if ever uses the word “lesbian”) are being killed—dykes that had a tie to her new friend Stacy. If Allison doesn’t find the killer soon, Stacy may be arrested for the crimes.

Allison’s investigative technique is one of her strongest features. While interviewing suspects, she often delves internally into the philosophy of interrogation. For instance, here she is questioning one of the suspects’ partners: “The trick with this kind was to handle her gently, not excite her to the point where she wouldn't speak. Playing it right was crucial; this woman would tell her everything she knew if she thought it would protect her girlfriend.” What Allison ultimately finds (and what I—what we as readers find) is a community of women whose lifestyles may seem strange, but who deal with the same emotions and foibles and self-doubts as the rest of us.

It is refreshing that Allison is simply a police officer, not a lieutenant or a detective as is true of so many other lesbian mystery protagonists (see Kate Delafield, Carol Ashton, Caitlin Reece, Frank Franco, et al). Women can be strong role modes without having a high rank. Similarly, Tell Me What You Like is one of the strongest entries in the lesbian mystery field.

Allen’s use of first-person point of view is done so well that I no longer feel guilty for taking other authors to task when it is done poorly—which is often if you have read my other reviews. No awkward internal dialogue or descriptions of random minutiae. In fact the book as a whole is as close to A+ as you can get without being perfect. I only noticed one segue glitch, where a proofreader or typesetter screwed up, and a section near the end where an editor seems to have talked Allen into having the murderer go on and on in his confession, revealing details that are not brought out in the story—details that would have changed the tenor of the investigation. It was bad advice.

Still, almost everything about this book is first rate; the professional writing, the S/M vs non-S/M debate, and the intense characterizations make this an important book. Kate Allen and her character Allison Kaine are among those solidly within the pantheon of lesbian mystery icons.

Note: I read the first New Victoria printing of this novel.

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.

[Rivqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very cute mystery with some great characters and delightful humour. It's interesting to look back on lesbian fiction that's now more than 20 years old; things have changed, and they haven't. At times, I found the writing style uneven, but on the whole this hit the right notes.

Small content note: there's an undercurrent of biphobia in this book, which is as expected as it is distressing (at least for me). There's also anti-BDSM sentiment, but this is dealt with in the context of the story, to which it's central.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Alison Kaine mysteries (and the two related Marta Goicochea mysteries) were among publisher New Victoria's finest genre offerings in the 1990s. I'm surprised they are not more popular--they're very well written, with a nice balance between angst, social comedy, and sexiness. This is the first book in the series. Alison is a Denver police officer, her new girlfriend Stacy is a pillar of the Denver S/M community, and their adventures are firmly embedded in a fully described Denver dyke community. Over the course of the series, Alison is keeping secrets about her developing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome--a source of embarrassment and real physical distress--and this adds a whole set of unexpected challenges to her crime-fighting duties. The plots are engaging, the dialogue is skilfully written, and Alison's POV narrative is always sensitive and smart.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's probably around three and half stars really: the mystery part struck me as a bit weak, but I'd mark it up for the depiction of community, particular period, characters and relationships, etc. I remember that I read and enjoyed these ten or so years ago, but don't remember all that much about them. Don't think I started then with this one, which is the first in the series.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was exciting, I gave it 4 stars because I was lost in some parts but it might be just me...