The Beverly Malibu

Kate Delafield #3

by Katherine V. Forrest

When despised Hollywood director, Owen Sinclair, is found murdered and handcuffed to his bed, LAPD homicide detective Kate Delafield finds herself attracted to Aimee Grant, the beautiful young niece of the woman who discovered the murdered man

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

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Katherine V. Forrest is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."

Reviews

[Jhosy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book.
While the mystery and suspense was very well developed and as always, Kate conducted a good investigation I'm dissatisfied with the ending.
I wish I had read more in detail how the police arrested the killer, didn't summarize resolutions.
And Kate's new romance left me hesitating.
At one hand, since Aimee appeared in the story I shipped her as a possible new romantic interest for Kate. I like that Aimee aroused other sides of Kate's sexuality, that's a good thing.
But on the other hand I don't like completely "passive" characters, I always prefer "power bottoms" (sorry if these terms resemble fandoms terminologies).
Maybe this is just a feature of this book, while the romance between Kate and Aimee is new and Kate is getting the news of being a bottom. I hope that in the next few stories she inserts a little more "dominance".
Even being a bottom it is possible to have moments of control, self-sufficiency and intensity in sex.
Oh well ... I extended myself on this subject lol
4.0 stars

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's a quick read and a bit like watching an episode of a tv detective show. If the show was actually set in the real world where gay people exist. It reminds me of the old pulp novels that way in that while this was a book about a "Hollywood" murder the realistic portrayal of the entertainment industry was great. The undercurrent of this book was all about the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee and how that ruined so many lives and caused so many deaths. The murder mystery brilliant brought to life this glimpse of history. Likewise the insight into queer culture at the time, and in the 50s was very interesting. The very end and how they caught the murderer after that did feel a bit over the top and melodramatic but it was still a wonderful book. I've already ordered the next in the series.

[Celina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, a woman who is a serial killer... the idea reminds me of Charlize Theron's movie "Monster" but the content is absolutely not related at all.

I love Kate and it feels different, reading this book series. It feels real but the reality like not the today-kinda reality, at least not the larger pic. I checked Bella Books and the book was originally published by Naiad Press 1989, now this makes it a classic.

I wanted Kate and Paula. Reading this book series, has given me that feeling when you read a memoir.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are Okay mysteries (Amateur City), Good mysteries (Murder at the Nightwood Bar), and Important mysteries. The Beverly Malibu, the third novel in the Kate Delafield series, is an Important mystery. Good, interesting, and well-drawn characters, a tight, well-paced plot, a plausible solution, and an insight into one of America’s most shameful incidents: the Hollywood Blacklist. Little known by most of today’s readers, many artists in the film industry were asked by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the early 1950s to rat out members of their profession who were suspected to be Communist sympathizers or homosexuals. Some, like Lillian Helllman, told Senator McCarthy and his cronies to effectively go fuck themselves, But others did not, and ruined the careers of many wonderful artists in the movie industry—not only directors, writers, and actors, but people behind the scenes as well.

The Beverly Malibu is about some of these people. Detective Kate Delafield of the LAPD is called to a boarding house for elderly and retired members of the movie profession, where a particularly grisly murder by poison has taken place. Seems that the dead man testified against a number of people at the HUAC hearings over 30 years before, but revenge has no statute of limitations. And of course, everyone else living in the house seemed to have something against him.

As is normal in a Kate Delafield mystery, Kate and her partner Ed Taylor have to interview each person in the house to find out exactly what happened. In the process, the reader is treated to a history lesson not only on the McCarthy era, but about the behind-the-scenes artists that make a movie what it is: the script supervisor, the historical researcher, the screenwriter, the film editor, the actor, and more. Their stories are all fascinating, their lives well lived.

As is her habit, Kate becomes enamored with one of the suspects, but in a quirky twist, ends up bedding the woman’s niece instead—a woman more than 15 years her junior. Her new girlfriend is actually the least interesting person in the book, but one that changes Kate in a very positive way, that makes her experience more facets of her womanhood. Will this woman be a staple in Kate’s future? Only reading the next book in the series will tell.

The opportunity for combining a mystery with important world events comes rarely to an author, and Forrest takes excellent advantage of hers. I recommend this book for everyone.

Kudos to Lindsay Ellison, who narrates each book in the series for the National Braille and Talking Book Library. Somehow she accomplishes the incredible feat of making each of the dozen or more characters in this book come to life in their own unique ways.

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.

[Hannah CF · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Lesbian detective, single, professional meets an Old Hollywood clan of retirees who are all murder suspects. It soon became apparent that it would be subject to practically every mystery novel trope. Sexual involvement with a suspect? Check. Oh and it's the best sex they've ever happened to have had? Check. The ending simply made me angry. The climax of the novel happened entirely in a flashback. That would be like a Scooby Doo episode where it shows Freddy scratching his chin, then he snaps his fingers. The scene cuts, and they're sitting around eating popcorn and Freddy goes "Omg gang, it was crazy. Daphne pulled a mask off the ghost's face and Old man Withers turned out to be the culprit!" It was not satisfying at all. I feel like I went through all the work of reading the book and I didn't get my climax! Well, at least the main character did. If you know what I mean.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. In the middle of reading it I felt I had to Google the Hollywood Ten to know more about the context of some of the characters. It's a queer mystery so there is some romance for our heroine...that was slightly dodgy in my opinion but not for the reason she angsts over in the book. The way attraction was portrayed was interesting.

The murder victims were so unlikeable I was tempted to side with the murderer even when....thing at the end happens that we are supposed to be upset by. Did you know Ronald Raegan was a "friendly witness" (voluntary informer) for HUAC. It really does seem like the US has had a few very awful creatures in as Presidents.

Anyway the book tried hard not to be too political but the facts speak for themselves. Glad I read it.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Beverly Malibu, the third book in the series, involves the murder of Owen Sinclair, a man who gleefully and proudly testified for the House Un-American Activites Committee in the 1950s. A rotten horrible man. Smelly. Rude. Unrepentant. He was murdered in his room at the "Beverly Malibu", the name of the apartment complex. Most of his neighbors loath him. Most of his neighbors are in one way or another related and/or former Hollywood people. Actors, script supervisors, editors, directors (Sinclair), etc.

Once again Kate Delafield falls into a fling with someone she meets at a crime scene. The first time with Ellen O'Neil, a woman struggling with her long term lesbian lover (Amateur City). The second time with . . . um. Name isn't given in the description. I believe her name was Andrea. A woman who also had struggled with a long term lesbian lover, though for a different reason. She had been a gorgeous woman. She could not stand the reaction her lover gave when she first removed the bandages and revealed her scared body. And so, another "people in need" hook up for Delafield.

The hook up in Beverly Malibu . . . hmms. Kate hadn't gotten over the death of her lover in the first book. It had been years, but Anne had been her only love and they had lived together for . . . I believe 12 years. Kate had started to get over the death in the second book, but was still iffy/leery/shattered. Andrea was in need. Need to be reassured that she was still attractive. But not in need for a relationship. Right. So, the hook up in Bevelry Malibu finds Kate beginning to be ready to move on from Anne.

While at the crime scene at the Malibu, she spots Paula. An elegant majestic woman. Who lived next to the murder victim. There was another woman there, Paula's niece Aimee, but Kate barely noticed her. Trapped by Paula. So much so that she kept having to recover her detective persona while in her presence. Ed Taylor noticed Aimee though. Mentioned she was a 10. Gorgeous. Kate just kind of looked at him in confusion. As mentioned, she didn't really pay much attention to the fact that there was another woman in Paula's room. It was Aimee, though, who had been most effected by the death of Owen Sinclair. Shocked. Horrified. Unable to sleep. Paula was ice water. Walked right in and starred at the tortured murdered man.

Kate's kind of distracted during the investigation. Ed's focused on a playwright who has been blocked since 1974 when Sinclair stole his script. One thing leads to another and . . . case solved. 1989

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a Katherine Forrest and Kate Delafield fan for a long time. The plot is interesting and intense with various suspects and a curious motive. I like mysteries and this was a good one. I especially liked Paula Grant and her niece Aimee.

[Ulla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Kat Delefield story!
This is the third in the series, and IMHO the best. Not that I don't think all Katherine V. Forrest's novels aren't splendid!

[Scriptmonkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beverly Malibu gets 3-stars like Murder at the Nightwood Bar, but it is not as twinkly a star rating. However, it is still better than Amateur City.

What I liked about this story had little to do with the murder mystery or the characters. Rather it was the discussion of the actual history that I found enjoyable, even if I was well aware of the details. Having had debates with people who took the anti-freedom stance of Sinclair and Kincaide, I can verify that their defense was precisely what those faux-liberty right wing nuts say when they justify using the Constitution for toilet paper, while typically bringing up their favorite delusions of superstition to cement their idiocy.

On the negative...

This book in some ways rehashes the first book, where the murder and the suspects are all contained within one building.

Kate once again sleeps with a witness/suspect. It would be one thing if she was private detective, but she works for the LAPD. She ups the ante by first ogling the geriatric aunt before settling for the barely out of college niece. A 35 to 40-year swing, I'd say. They say Amy hangs around this time. So, that's different.

Noted in my review of the second installment, but even Kate comments on the prevalence and relevance of the smoking going on in this building. She even has a character chain-smoking just for the smell of it, even though she dislikes it and doesn't inhale.

Now, although I enjoyed the history, it did go on for a bit. Every character had a string in their backs to pull and they would ramble and rant on the topic. Still, I appreciated that she used actual historical figures and called out those who named names.

Kate, third time in a row, calls herself stupid for missing some obvious clues because, once again, her personal animosity and prejudices clouded her judgment--and it's not not related to her banging a witness.

For as important as Amy seems to be for Kate and how important she presumably will be in future installments, there is precious little given as to why she would be so interesting to Kate--except that she bears a striking resemblance to her elderly aunt who she really wants to bang. Also, it was confusing that Amy kept being compared to Candice Bergen. I get that it's 1989 and Murphy Brown is Murphy Browning it, but Candice would be around Kate's age. Amy is 25. This might be shocking, but 25-year old Candice looked rather different from 43-year old Candice. Besdies, I don't think Katherine meant a young version of Candice. I think the author was attracted to Candice in the present and decided to say Amy looked like that, despite the brunette hair and violet Elizabeth Taylor eyes. All of which is to say, Amy is the author constructing her dream woman and giving her to Kate.

The book succumbs to some Hollywood tropes (appropriate I suppose given everything), but the tape/chalk outline of the first murder victim is not so much a thing. It was something constructed for some news photographers at times, but such activities could contaminate forensic evidence. A cyanide victim's breath smelling like bitter almonds is "possible" but it isn't as easy to detect as movies would have us believe. Also, the victim in question suffered from acute ingestion (not inhalation or chronic exposure) of the poison, which would probably give less time for the cyanide to metabolize and impact the smell of the breath.

Although the cops made jokes about it, in a place where someone was clearly poisoned, they spent way too much time accepting food and drinks from suspects.

[Princessccamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, great story. Loved the book. Loved the new couple. Touchy subject to many. I understand both point of views. Although it’s bad that socialists were persecuted in USA by their government simply because of their beliefs, thousands and thousands of conservatives were killed, executed, exterminated—simply because of their beliefs—by The socialist revolution in each of the countries whose socialist/communist party overtook power and control of population. They kill anyone who opposes to their government and ideas. Socialism is a compilation of the most beautiful words, the most beautiful ideals, what every peaceful person ever wanted to hear, gathers good people who have the best of intentions, but decades passed by and we can see they don’t live up to their beautiful words, and that the results of this ideology implemented in those countries are catastrophic: famine, death, hopelessness, chronic poverty. Socialism has killed more people that way than both great wars together. They use famine as a strategic mass weapon to subdue the population into slaves, to depend on the rulers, as the government who once claimed to be democracy become a perpetual imperialism passing power through monarchy-like heritage (Fidel to his brother and North Korea), through rigged, fake, fear imposed elections (Venezuela and most African countries), or both. Capitalism is far from perfect, but is fairer, with more human rights applied with more hope for personal growth and development of individual and collective projects than those of the country I came from. In the end of day, I am glad and grateful that USA hadn’t turned out socialist.

[Lisa Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I didnt read the first two books. I went online and looked for murder mystery lesbian romance novels and this was the first on a list on the first site I checked out. I say that specifically because once I read this book the series was worse than a drug. I read a book a day, forgoing sleep most nights to get in another chapter or finish the book, and after the 7th book I was so satisfied I didnt go back to murder mysteries again right away. The research that went into book 3 and 5 are awe inspiring. Having not read the first two, all I can say from 3-7 is that this feels like a murser mystery first and a romance second. Set between '88-96, this was fascinating to read from the perspective of a Vietnam Vet, in the closet, police officer. Fascinating in the car crash/trainwreck cant-look-away sort of fascinating. Book 3 focuses on a murder set in a retirement home in LA. These people survived the Red Scare/McCarthy Era, and have a lot to say about it, and not being a history buff, getting only a passing glance in American History in highschool, hearing so much more about what it was like is chilling. And this is where the references I mentioned before come in, because my God the references! The research that went into this work of fiction is telling, and i love the books even more because of it. If you want a murder mystery to really sink into then this is your series.

[Holly Sammons]

Is it me, or does Goodreads not include the narrator in the credits for many audio books. This is th third Kate Delafield book I've listened to all read by Kate Zane. She's great. She is now THE voice of Kate Delafield for me.

I had two small issues with this book - having a character named Aimee Grant, in a novel written in 1989, seemed like an odd choice. The world already had an Amy Grant. Related to that same character was the voice the narrator uses for Aimee Grant - so breathy, and always sort of sexy and suggestive in a manner I found hard to take seriously. This will not be an issue for anyone reading a hard copy!

The whole story line related to the House Un-American Committee was fascinating. We really do need to know our history so that we might not repeat it which may be what we're heading for today (2024)

I like these Delafield series - especially in audio. I wish Kate would find a romantic interest that wasn't connected to a crime and was her own age. I also wasn't fond of the bottom/top trope. Seemed a bit cliche.

[Christopher Hachet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is brilliant

This in its own way rivals the novel Horse for best read this year. And it’s book # 58 for me.

The minor and supporting characters in this book just sing in how well they are written and how well they push the plot along.

I utterly felt like I was in the MCs head the whole novel.

Sense of place being in Southern California…this book made me feel like I was right there.

Horse is still the number one book this year. But this is a close number two.

Effing brilliant.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great yard sale find (in Villas, NJ of all places).

As a mystery genre series, it was middling. In that context, I do prefer protagonists who are anti-cop, and even though this one is a cop, she's a a lesbian cop who doesn't feel safe to come out in 1989, so I liked her. Plus mysteries focused on "social issues" are typically more up my alley, and this one was enhanced by its focus on HUAC and the bullshit of "anti-communism."

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. This was good, I really enjoyed the first 80% of it but that last little bit lost steam. It wasn’t bad or anything but it wasn’t as attention grabbing as the rest of the book had been. I like this new relationship Kate has started with Aimee. I hope they last. I’m kinda really digging this series the more that I read them. They’re fast paced and addictive.

[Mayra Luria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this author tells a story. keeps you guessing most of the way through. nice enjoyable read and presents the gay community as we are... regular people with the same issues as everyone else with the added tension and concern of societies prejudices.

[honor · Rating 4 out of 5]

dissertation reading, #9

i still really enjoyed this book but it wasn’t my favourite in the series! i found the ending quite rushed and disappointing and some of the political commentary a little clumsy, but the vast majority of the investigation was amazing and i loved the romance plot!

[Cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Delafield is a lesbian detective as skillfully drawn as Grafton's Kinsey Millhone and other "biggies" in female-led mystery fiction.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible edition

[Jen Keyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I had an issue with Kate in this one. She moving way to fast with that young thing. I know that ann is gone and she wants to fill that void and not miss out on a good thing but Jesus.

[Kate J :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a detective book

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always political, always surprising.

A little bit less developed than her earlier works but still a pivotal piece.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soundtrack to this book: Every Heartbeat, because the love interest's name was Aimee Grant... song popped back into my head every time I read her name! It was one of my childhood favourites though so that was cool :)

I LOVED this book!! Definitely my favourite of the series so far, which was funny considering Beth thought I wouldn't like it and it's her least favourite of the first four. It was my favourite though because of the awesome communism/HUAC angle to the crime. We learned a little about HUAC in one of my film classes, and I was also interested in the communism 'scare' from when I worked on Pack of Lies, so a lot of the background in this story absolutely fascinated me. I also found the mystery to be extremely engaging and the other characters to be extremely vivid. Hazel was especially fun, what with her four urns of Jerome's ashes, which she kept in different rooms so she didn't have to carry him around to talk to him. For important discussions though she'd get all of the urns all together in the one room so she could talk to him all at once... hee!

One thing that surprised me was how Kate didn't know what HUAC was at first. She was over 40 in the mid-80s, I learned about that when I was a teenager in the 21st century! Oh god I loved all the name dropping too though, real names mixed in with fictional ones when discussing who had informed, and who had been informed on. There was some real history in there, a LOT of facts, and it was fascinating.

As usual though, I could have done without the romance. After three books it just feels too formulaic - there's a murder, one of the witnesses happens to be gay, she and Kate sleep together after two days. I actually ended up skipping the sex scenes here because I really didn't care, nor did I buy it. Kate spent the first half of the book (which btw spans all of about 36 hours) lusting after Paula. Then she's visited by Paula's niece, Aimee, who she's barely noticed. And like ten minutes later they're in bed. I've said it before, I'd really like these books more if they were just decent murder-mysteries, where the lady cop happens to be gay. She doesn't have to go and sleep with a different witness each time, does she?! After all of two days...

Although I must confess that I did warm to Aimee eventually, probably because after that the time actually passed at a fair speed and by the end of the book, they'd been together for over a month. So this one, despite its beginnings, is a lot more solid. Now let's just keep Aimee around so that Kate can quit sleeping with her witnesses, okay?!

I was a little let-down by the ending, and the eventual capture of the killer. Who, in case I forget, was Dorothy. It seemed a little removed from Kate and Taylor, sort of a hasty post-script.

One other thing that made me exclaim with disbelief was the whole "dumb mistake" over Dorothy Brennan's name:

Kate: How could her [married] name be Brennan if her husband had English parents?
Me: Um... wtf?

Apparently Brennan is an exceedingly Irish name. So Irish, in fact, that it's completely unfeasible for ANY English person to be called Brennan! Seriously? THAT'S your logic?! That there can't possibly be any Brennans living in the entire of England who aren't fresh off the boat from Ireland? (Oh yeah, and of course the husband's surname was the very English Smythe. Stereotypes abound...)

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the way Forrest gives us a piece of history along with the mystery. In each of her books Forrest addresses one or more issues that are still relevant today- racism, pedophilia, parents’ acceptance of their lesbian/gay children, etc. Can’t believe it took me until my 60’s to find this author. It’s so great to have multiple lesbian and gay characters throughout each of her novels represented just as we are in real life. And of course Kate Delafield is a great character. With each book I like Forrest’s writing more.

[Kathleen Hagen]

Beverly Malibu, by Catherine V. Forrest, a-minus, Talking Book, borrowed from the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind.

This is one of the Kate Delafield series. In this one Kate meets Amy, who is her girl friend in additional books in the series. I haven’t been reading these in order. In this book, Kate and her police partner, Taylor, are called to an apartment house in L.A. called Beverely Malibu. A man has been poisoned in one of the apartments. The coroner knows right away because the strychnine leaves particular telltale signs that the doctor recognizes from medical school. It appears that someone handcuffed him, poisoned him, and then sat and watched him die, perhaps for as long as three hours. On the surface, it doesn’t seem as if anyone in the apartment building could have done it, but as Kate investigates, she finds that there is a theme which connects them all. They were all affected in the 1950’s, in one way or another, by the hearings held by the House Unamerican Activities Committee, and the man who was murdered was an informant to the committee. This is one of those locked room type mysteries where it becomes clear that someone in that apartment building committed the murders, and it will be important for Kate and Taylor to determine who did it and why. A very good book full of suspense.

[Freyja Vanadis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best of the first three books in the series. It's interesting to learn a little bit about what happened in the 1950s with the House Un-American Activities Committee and the whole Communist Red Scare Hollywood blacklist thing.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started to read this series of books on the recommendation of a friend. I love mystery books though these really do not fall into that realm. It's another point of view with a lesbian police detective as the main character. She a tough c.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really read mysteries, so the format and theme were a bit dull to me. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in queer history or HUAC.