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The Arc
Carly Fletcher's body is pulled from the River Clyde in the heart of Glasgow. DCI Ellie McVey must solve the mystery surrounding her death. The story follows her investigation and a possible new romance for Ellie as she meets beautiful redhead Kate by chance in the park. Kate is battling insecurities based on her disability but finds the dectective so attractive she shirks her self imposed lonliness for a chance at real happiness. Can Ellie solve the mystery and keep the girl?
194 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2019
41 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 14, 2021
I enjoy British* detective mysteries and British humour and banter. Tie in a lesbian romance and some cute pooches and you've got me hooked!
A good light read with all these elements and more. Kate's hilarious and overprotective mother and aunt are so delightful. As is DCI Ells police partner, Gavin.
DCI Ellie is a swoon worthy love interest and cop.
Kate and Ellie's love is fairly instant, but it somehow worked so well. You just felt their connection and it was very domesticated early on, which felt realistic to me.
Going to read book 2 next since I love these characters.
* Ok technically this is Scottish but YKWIM!
A good light read with all these elements and more. Kate's hilarious and overprotective mother and aunt are so delightful. As is DCI Ells police partner, Gavin.
DCI Ellie is a swoon worthy love interest and cop.
Kate and Ellie's love is fairly instant, but it somehow worked so well. You just felt their connection and it was very domesticated early on, which felt realistic to me.
Going to read book 2 next since I love these characters.
* Ok technically this is Scottish but YKWIM!
November 18, 2023
3,5 stars
A run of the mill crime procedural.
But well executed and I liked both the MCs and the secondary characters.
My only gripe was that it was so obvious who did it that I got actually annoyed when I had to wait for Ellie to figure it out.
A run of the mill crime procedural.
But well executed and I liked both the MCs and the secondary characters.
My only gripe was that it was so obvious who did it that I got actually annoyed when I had to wait for Ellie to figure it out.
October 8, 2019
Excellent!
I loved The Arc. A great combination of police work, mystery and romance. I really hope that this turns into a series.
I loved The Arc. A great combination of police work, mystery and romance. I really hope that this turns into a series.
April 23, 2020
Buy this book it’s brilliant !!
Bloody Brilliant BooK !! You’ll read it in one sitting & will definitely loose sleep over it. It’s full of crime, mystery & suspense which will have you holding your breath one minute & yelling at the police the next lol
It’s full of humour & laugh out loud moments as well as love. Don’t scroll past this book it’s more than worth the money ! You won’t regret it !!
Bloody Brilliant BooK !! You’ll read it in one sitting & will definitely loose sleep over it. It’s full of crime, mystery & suspense which will have you holding your breath one minute & yelling at the police the next lol
It’s full of humour & laugh out loud moments as well as love. Don’t scroll past this book it’s more than worth the money ! You won’t regret it !!
May 21, 2022
Enjoy
I enjoyed this book very much. And there are 4 more in the series. Sure glad I stumbled on this writer. I like lesbian romance. But I like this genre so much more. And I find it hard to believe it is her debut novel. It has a good flow. Some crime, excitement, romance, and 2 sweet lovable dogs. Off to read the next.
I enjoyed this book very much. And there are 4 more in the series. Sure glad I stumbled on this writer. I like lesbian romance. But I like this genre so much more. And I find it hard to believe it is her debut novel. It has a good flow. Some crime, excitement, romance, and 2 sweet lovable dogs. Off to read the next.
May 14, 2020
A great read. Nice to read a book in an area I know well and love. Great story line, loved the characters of Ellie and Kate and I loved the banter between Ellie and Gavin. I enjoyed trying to work out who done it. I thought I had it then doubt was cast but then I found out that I was right all along.
I already have book 2 in the series lined up to read later tonight.
I already have book 2 in the series lined up to read later tonight.
June 8, 2020
Introductions
What a wonderful story. Romance and a thriller all wrapped into one. It was a great way to be introduced to Ellie and Kate.
What a wonderful story. Romance and a thriller all wrapped into one. It was a great way to be introduced to Ellie and Kate.
November 19, 2019
The Arc (DC Ellire. McVey Mysteries Book one,)
This is the first book I've read by this author J.A.Rainbow and what a great story and read. We meet DC Ellie McVey and her partner Gavin. Who. are investigatimg a drowning which looks like suicide at first but it turns into a murder case instead..
This was a great. read it covers parts of Scotland and the way the police work but it covers much more than that. There is a love ,humour, ME and the other characters in This book. A book worth reading most definitely. The author J.A.Rainbow did an excellent job writing this and I am looking forward to reading more by her.A massive 5 stars for an excellent book . Thank you J.A.Rainboe
This is the first book I've read by this author J.A.Rainbow and what a great story and read. We meet DC Ellie McVey and her partner Gavin. Who. are investigatimg a drowning which looks like suicide at first but it turns into a murder case instead..
This was a great. read it covers parts of Scotland and the way the police work but it covers much more than that. There is a love ,humour, ME and the other characters in This book. A book worth reading most definitely. The author J.A.Rainbow did an excellent job writing this and I am looking forward to reading more by her.A massive 5 stars for an excellent book . Thank you J.A.Rainboe
Read
October 1, 2022This book—and the rest of the series, for that matter—has surprisingly high ratings. It’s hard to figure out why.
This is the third book in a row that I have read that takes such liberties with punctuation that one might wonder if the author reads physical books—most of which are edited correctly—or just listens to audio books, in which punctuation is not noted. Run-on sentences abound and end-of-conversation punctuation is mostly absent. In addition, all conversations are rendered in italics, despite the fact that quotation marks are also used. I have read over 3000 books and I have never seen this before. Hint to author: italics are difficult to read, especially for the millions of readers that are vision impaired.
The book begins from the third-person point of view of the victim—almost always a mistake and a waste of space. Well, at least it wasn’t from the POV of the killer. The other chapters are seen from the eyes of both protagonists—Ellie and Kate—which is fine and has become standard practice in f/f novels. In short, a young women is pushed over a bridge to her death and DCI McVey has to figure out whodunit.
The investigation itself is well-plotted and thorough and the main characters’ interactions are easy and believable, although the romance comes a mite early—and never really comes to the climax the reader might be expecting. Secondary characters, like Kate’s aunt Peggy and even Ellie’s partner Gavin are sometimes done to excess. It’s nice to have a comic interlude from time to time, but several scenes here border on the silly. Kudos, though, for giving Kate MS—a disability that the reading public should know more about. And for adding a motif about Kate’s use of marijuana to help alleviate her symptoms.
In short, my rating would be higher if not for the errors—or the author’s unwanted license—in formatting and punctuation. Either way, it is annoying and distracting. Still, with perfect punctuation and less typos, this would still be in the 3 range.
Final Rating: 2.4
Note: I read the ebook version of this book that was available from Amazon in August, 2022.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel , along with information on over 1000 other lesbian mysteries by over 330 authors.
This is the third book in a row that I have read that takes such liberties with punctuation that one might wonder if the author reads physical books—most of which are edited correctly—or just listens to audio books, in which punctuation is not noted. Run-on sentences abound and end-of-conversation punctuation is mostly absent. In addition, all conversations are rendered in italics, despite the fact that quotation marks are also used. I have read over 3000 books and I have never seen this before. Hint to author: italics are difficult to read, especially for the millions of readers that are vision impaired.
The book begins from the third-person point of view of the victim—almost always a mistake and a waste of space. Well, at least it wasn’t from the POV of the killer. The other chapters are seen from the eyes of both protagonists—Ellie and Kate—which is fine and has become standard practice in f/f novels. In short, a young women is pushed over a bridge to her death and DCI McVey has to figure out whodunit.
The investigation itself is well-plotted and thorough and the main characters’ interactions are easy and believable, although the romance comes a mite early—and never really comes to the climax the reader might be expecting. Secondary characters, like Kate’s aunt Peggy and even Ellie’s partner Gavin are sometimes done to excess. It’s nice to have a comic interlude from time to time, but several scenes here border on the silly. Kudos, though, for giving Kate MS—a disability that the reading public should know more about. And for adding a motif about Kate’s use of marijuana to help alleviate her symptoms.
In short, my rating would be higher if not for the errors—or the author’s unwanted license—in formatting and punctuation. Either way, it is annoying and distracting. Still, with perfect punctuation and less typos, this would still be in the 3 range.
Final Rating: 2.4
Note: I read the ebook version of this book that was available from Amazon in August, 2022.
Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel , along with information on over 1000 other lesbian mysteries by over 330 authors.
Read
November 9, 2019A great read. I loved the story and that I knew many of the locations so could visualise where Els was on both sides of the Irish Sea. Characters having the names of our family members made it extra special. Thank you JA
June 10, 2021
Good plot
I enjoyed the murder plot felt it moved along at a reasonable pace.
If I'm honest by the end of the book the Ellie/Kate relationship was annoying. The author even referenced the old joke about lesbians moving quickly but this was super fast, girlfriend after 2 days, love after 2 weeks. And is a cop going to ignore weed usage?
Lost a star due to mistakes. The main character introduces herself to the victims mum as Detective Inspector chapter 4, then they look at CCTV with 'fresh ayes' and the Aunt said 'll was on my way'. Not sure why the proof readers didn't spot these, more ironically when 1 character was an author.
Had highs to read the next in the series but with how the book has left me feeling I think I'll pass.
I enjoyed the murder plot felt it moved along at a reasonable pace.
If I'm honest by the end of the book the Ellie/Kate relationship was annoying. The author even referenced the old joke about lesbians moving quickly but this was super fast, girlfriend after 2 days, love after 2 weeks. And is a cop going to ignore weed usage?
Lost a star due to mistakes. The main character introduces herself to the victims mum as Detective Inspector chapter 4, then they look at CCTV with 'fresh ayes' and the Aunt said 'll was on my way'. Not sure why the proof readers didn't spot these, more ironically when 1 character was an author.
Had highs to read the next in the series but with how the book has left me feeling I think I'll pass.
October 9, 2019
Great Read
I hope we get more from this author as I really enjoyed the read. The plot was good and I love the cover picture. Is this in Glasgow??
I hope we get more from this author as I really enjoyed the read. The plot was good and I love the cover picture. Is this in Glasgow??
October 21, 2021
Very enjoyable funny read
This is my first book by the author and I really loved it. I can’t wait to read the next one.
This is my first book by the author and I really loved it. I can’t wait to read the next one.
December 30, 2022
I love it!!!
This is a very good start in a hopefully wonderful series it has a nice balance between family In police Investigation and romance.
Romance may be like a little bit fast Obviously Especially what happens at the end.
and I actually did figure out who was the killer And I usually don't do that. I hope that The cases do become more complicated but other than that.
I love Kate I love Ellie And her partner and Kate's auntie and mother are very funny definitely give me a overbearing type of people but it's understandable why they are overprotective and sometimes over bearing with Kate but it's a really good balance in this book.
As a woman who lives in United States which I do I've never been to these locations UK and Scotland so I know they're police procedures completely different from United States so it still Crazy to me read a police officer or detective running into a situation and they don't have a gun on their hip. so for America citizen like myself that's the only thing that throws me off.
but other than that is not a hard book to follow Just outside of the culture the lango it takes a minute to get used to but it's not hard to follow if you can watch BBC I think it's what it's called then you can read this book So I look forward to the next book I am gonna continue to follow.
I wanna say also for anyone who is like myself who likes tomboy character I say Ellie definitely fits that Status But she is not a butch though But she is a tomboy definitely and I also skip the head to look at their I guess this is a spoiler so spoiler alert!!!!!!
I guess this is a spoiler alert For book I think it's 4or 5 but it's the book with the cover of the church I ahead to look at the wedding and Ellie does wear suit for anyone like myself who actually likes that set up. I don't know if Ellie will change as the books go on I just know what I know from this book and for me skipping ahead to look at that book I just mentioned so it could change I don't know.
But other than that is a good series I do recommend it if you like a bit of a balance it will make you laugh the jokes are good the people A good character to root for and I will be checking out book 2 and the rest of the books in the series.
This is a very good start in a hopefully wonderful series it has a nice balance between family In police Investigation and romance.
Romance may be like a little bit fast Obviously Especially what happens at the end.
and I actually did figure out who was the killer And I usually don't do that. I hope that The cases do become more complicated but other than that.
I love Kate I love Ellie And her partner and Kate's auntie and mother are very funny definitely give me a overbearing type of people but it's understandable why they are overprotective and sometimes over bearing with Kate but it's a really good balance in this book.
As a woman who lives in United States which I do I've never been to these locations UK and Scotland so I know they're police procedures completely different from United States so it still Crazy to me read a police officer or detective running into a situation and they don't have a gun on their hip. so for America citizen like myself that's the only thing that throws me off.
but other than that is not a hard book to follow Just outside of the culture the lango it takes a minute to get used to but it's not hard to follow if you can watch BBC I think it's what it's called then you can read this book So I look forward to the next book I am gonna continue to follow.
I wanna say also for anyone who is like myself who likes tomboy character I say Ellie definitely fits that Status But she is not a butch though But she is a tomboy definitely and I also skip the head to look at their I guess this is a spoiler so spoiler alert!!!!!!
I guess this is a spoiler alert For book I think it's 4or 5 but it's the book with the cover of the church I ahead to look at the wedding and Ellie does wear suit for anyone like myself who actually likes that set up. I don't know if Ellie will change as the books go on I just know what I know from this book and for me skipping ahead to look at that book I just mentioned so it could change I don't know.
But other than that is a good series I do recommend it if you like a bit of a balance it will make you laugh the jokes are good the people A good character to root for and I will be checking out book 2 and the rest of the books in the series.
July 15, 2020
Brilliant
What a brilliant book keeps you going from first page to the last,could not put it down.
Great to get to know the characters and there professional jobs and private lives.
This book makes you laugh and cry so much compassion between the main characters and me
been a geordie married to a Scotsman i understood the sense of humour.
Also being able to picture the name of the streets and towns.
Looking forward to a sequal.
What a brilliant book keeps you going from first page to the last,could not put it down.
Great to get to know the characters and there professional jobs and private lives.
This book makes you laugh and cry so much compassion between the main characters and me
been a geordie married to a Scotsman i understood the sense of humour.
Also being able to picture the name of the streets and towns.
Looking forward to a sequal.
March 21, 2020
Nice
I gave it five stars because the storyline was great but I was waiting for more romance. I liked the characters the mother and the aunt was funny I laughed so hard. Can't wait for the next book
I gave it five stars because the storyline was great but I was waiting for more romance. I liked the characters the mother and the aunt was funny I laughed so hard. Can't wait for the next book
June 26, 2021
Very good read
I really enjoyed this read. The characters are very interesting and likable. I enjoy a good mystery. The love story is sweet. The interaction of Kate's mom and aunt was very funny. Thanks for a fun read.
I really enjoyed this read. The characters are very interesting and likable. I enjoy a good mystery. The love story is sweet. The interaction of Kate's mom and aunt was very funny. Thanks for a fun read.
September 26, 2021
Easy to read
Books well written, I enjoy a lot of dialogue, love story a bit sickly sweet and not many crime novels have ++happy endings. It's a very easy read if that's what your looking for, like watching reruns of Friends!
Books well written, I enjoy a lot of dialogue, love story a bit sickly sweet and not many crime novels have ++happy endings. It's a very easy read if that's what your looking for, like watching reruns of Friends!
June 17, 2022
Great
I loved this book. Great M.C. Great back up cast. Lovely to see Glasgow portrayed so well with all the places I know so well.The story line was well thought out got my heart rate up. Looking forward to the follow up books. Highly recommend
I loved this book. Great M.C. Great back up cast. Lovely to see Glasgow portrayed so well with all the places I know so well.The story line was well thought out got my heart rate up. Looking forward to the follow up books. Highly recommend
February 8, 2023
Loved the book. Have a few too many run on sentences but otherwise very enjoyable. DI McVey Is very engaging and Kate grabs your attention. I will continue reading this series, I really want to see where the author takes us.
January 26, 2020
Happy ending
Always on the lookout for books with lesbian characters. Tried and tested formula. Enjoyable read. Girl gets girl happy endibg
Always on the lookout for books with lesbian characters. Tried and tested formula. Enjoyable read. Girl gets girl happy endibg
January 28, 2020
Good read
The book was easy to read and follow. I enjoyed the love story between Ellie and Kate. Funny in parts with Kate's family. Overall a decent read.
The book was easy to read and follow. I enjoyed the love story between Ellie and Kate. Funny in parts with Kate's family. Overall a decent read.
May 2, 2022
Gotta love them!
Ellie and Kate are perfect for each other. Mother Aggie and Aunt Peggy make their lives never dull. Throw in Bella and Bruiser and Gavin. Never a dull moment!
Ellie and Kate are perfect for each other. Mother Aggie and Aunt Peggy make their lives never dull. Throw in Bella and Bruiser and Gavin. Never a dull moment!
November 21, 2023
3.5 Stars
July 18, 2024
Very good!
I love finding new authors to read and I really enjoy a good crime drama. "The Arc" was really good and I definitely plan to read book #2.
I love finding new authors to read and I really enjoy a good crime drama. "The Arc" was really good and I definitely plan to read book #2.
September 17, 2025
Excellent story line. A murder, the following police investigation, the partnership between the two detectives and a new romance. Very enjoyable.
August 26, 2023
Intriguing Mystery
In case anyone is wondering, this is sapphic in that the main characters are lesbian. You get gentle coverage of many facets of the LBGTQ spectrum but you do not get explicit sex.
There's lots of love (but not love making) and the feelings are deep and wonderful, they're just not drawn out for the reader. This is really good for those who don't need or want sex on the page. Hinted at, a little, but that's left to your imagination.
The cast of characters and the mystery are great!
I'm definitely picking up the second in the series right away.
In case anyone is wondering, this is sapphic in that the main characters are lesbian. You get gentle coverage of many facets of the LBGTQ spectrum but you do not get explicit sex.
There's lots of love (but not love making) and the feelings are deep and wonderful, they're just not drawn out for the reader. This is really good for those who don't need or want sex on the page. Hinted at, a little, but that's left to your imagination.
The cast of characters and the mystery are great!
I'm definitely picking up the second in the series right away.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews