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Hard Fall: A McStone and Martinelli Thriller
Five days after the Loma Prieta earthquake strikes San Francisco, Emily Bryson, a young, everything-to-live-for lesbian SFSU student/part-time exotic dancer, is dead, her body washed up on a beach south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The medical examiner rules it a suicide, and the police close the missing person case filed by Emily’s lover, K. M. “Stone” McStone.
Through a series of fortunate circumstances, Stone is introduced to Zoe Martinelli, office manager of Coppola Investigations, amateur sleuth, and student psychic. Stone and Zoe team up to find out what really happened to Emily.
Was it suicide, as everyone assumes? Or murder? Or something else?
Through a series of fortunate circumstances, Stone is introduced to Zoe Martinelli, office manager of Coppola Investigations, amateur sleuth, and student psychic. Stone and Zoe team up to find out what really happened to Emily.
Was it suicide, as everyone assumes? Or murder? Or something else?
- GenresFiction
262 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
638 people want to read
About the author
Pascal Scott
14 books28 followersPascal Scott writes lesbian noir novels and short fiction and erotica. She is the author of Hard Fall: A McStone and Martinelli Thriller; Hard Luck: An Elizabeth Taylor Bundy Thriller; and Hard Limits.
Her short fiction has appeared in Thunder of War, Lightning of Desire: Lesbian Historical Military Erotica; Through the Hourglass: Lesbian Historical Romance; Order Up: A Menu of Lesbian Romance and Erotica; Unspeakably Erotic: Lesbian Kink; and Best Lesbian Erotica II and III. In another life she was a reporter for the gay and alternative press in San Francisco.
She is retired now, living happily in Decatur, GA. She is married to the author Josette Murray.
Her short fiction has appeared in Thunder of War, Lightning of Desire: Lesbian Historical Military Erotica; Through the Hourglass: Lesbian Historical Romance; Order Up: A Menu of Lesbian Romance and Erotica; Unspeakably Erotic: Lesbian Kink; and Best Lesbian Erotica II and III. In another life she was a reporter for the gay and alternative press in San Francisco.
She is retired now, living happily in Decatur, GA. She is married to the author Josette Murray.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 29, 2019
San Francisco, 1989. The dead body of Emily Bryson, a university student and part-time exotic dancer, appears on a beach. The police rule it as a suicide but her partner, K. M. “Stone” McStone, has doubts about it. She enlists amateur private investigator Zoe Martinelli to find out the truth.
'Hard fall' presents a good depiction of LGBT life in San Francisco in the tumultuous 1980s troubled by AIDS and homophobia. The book also explores different issues such as women sexuality, gun control, bereavement, alcoholism, philosophy, and psychology. The main characters, Stone and Zoe, are well-written and multilayered, and Stone struggles with bereavement and alcohol are realistic and believable.
The plot idea is very interesting and engaging with a few twists and turns. However, I think that the problem lies in its execution. This novel is written from multiple points of view, though I felt that it would have been enough or more productive to the development of the mystery if there were only two. My other issue is that the pace of the mystery is sometimes too slow to keep the reader interested and the main romance is only mentioned as an afterthought. In my opinion, the romance aspect should have been developed properly or else left for the next installment which I suspect the author might be considering.
Overall, an ok mystery that presents a good depiction of LGBT life in San Francisco in the tumultuous 1980s. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
'Hard fall' presents a good depiction of LGBT life in San Francisco in the tumultuous 1980s troubled by AIDS and homophobia. The book also explores different issues such as women sexuality, gun control, bereavement, alcoholism, philosophy, and psychology. The main characters, Stone and Zoe, are well-written and multilayered, and Stone struggles with bereavement and alcohol are realistic and believable.
The plot idea is very interesting and engaging with a few twists and turns. However, I think that the problem lies in its execution. This novel is written from multiple points of view, though I felt that it would have been enough or more productive to the development of the mystery if there were only two. My other issue is that the pace of the mystery is sometimes too slow to keep the reader interested and the main romance is only mentioned as an afterthought. In my opinion, the romance aspect should have been developed properly or else left for the next installment which I suspect the author might be considering.
Overall, an ok mystery that presents a good depiction of LGBT life in San Francisco in the tumultuous 1980s. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2019
I rec'd an ARC from Sapphire Books for an unbiased review.
Main characters Zoe and "Stone" feature in this slow detective romance. 1980's life in San Francisco's LGBT community with all of the upheaval, angst and drama is ably covered. However, I floundered somewhat with the many topics in the overall plot and struggled to finish the read. Only 2 stars unfortunately.
Main characters Zoe and "Stone" feature in this slow detective romance. 1980's life in San Francisco's LGBT community with all of the upheaval, angst and drama is ably covered. However, I floundered somewhat with the many topics in the overall plot and struggled to finish the read. Only 2 stars unfortunately.
October 1, 2019
This story describes a mystery about the sudden death of the former lover of Kathleen McStone aka Stone. Stone is a university counselor who had met her ex-lover, Emily, a student, at a counseling session.
Stone is likable and is very charming. She says the right things at the right time and is a bit of a romantic. She is a workaholic and won't let other women touch her. However, she is on a mission and will stop at nothing. Her heart is aching and she uses alcohol to cover up her pain. I like how Stone grows during the story into a strong woman. I feel it adds depth to her character.
Zoe Martinelli is a private detective and the other protagonist in the story. She is hired by Stone to do some digging work for her. She is also a psychic. This caught my interest since I'm fascinated with psychometry and how it is used in the story. Zoe is smart and very intuitive and uses her gifts in a positive way. One word of advice. Don't be a passenger in her car. Her character is interesting but I feel she could have been more developed.
Some more things to note. I love how the two main players play off each other. Their conversations are really fun at times. I like the places the author takes us in the book. The descriptions are clear and I can imagine myself being there.
There is a bit of violence intertwined and a few choice words are used just to be aware.
The pace of the story is moderate and there are some page-turning episodes peppered throughout. I was savoring the story in between reading. There is a twist in the story that will make your head spin so be prepared. It is really exciting and the two women are amazing. The story ends a bit on the sudden side. Stay tuned for the sequel. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.
Stone is likable and is very charming. She says the right things at the right time and is a bit of a romantic. She is a workaholic and won't let other women touch her. However, she is on a mission and will stop at nothing. Her heart is aching and she uses alcohol to cover up her pain. I like how Stone grows during the story into a strong woman. I feel it adds depth to her character.
Zoe Martinelli is a private detective and the other protagonist in the story. She is hired by Stone to do some digging work for her. She is also a psychic. This caught my interest since I'm fascinated with psychometry and how it is used in the story. Zoe is smart and very intuitive and uses her gifts in a positive way. One word of advice. Don't be a passenger in her car. Her character is interesting but I feel she could have been more developed.
Some more things to note. I love how the two main players play off each other. Their conversations are really fun at times. I like the places the author takes us in the book. The descriptions are clear and I can imagine myself being there.
There is a bit of violence intertwined and a few choice words are used just to be aware.
The pace of the story is moderate and there are some page-turning episodes peppered throughout. I was savoring the story in between reading. There is a twist in the story that will make your head spin so be prepared. It is really exciting and the two women are amazing. The story ends a bit on the sudden side. Stay tuned for the sequel. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.
October 13, 2020
This book won the Goldie/GCLS 2020 Award in the Mystery/Thriller category, though I'm not very sure why. The author managed to create a 1980s environment quite successfully, but beyond that I'm not sure what the novel aims to achieve.
If it is to create a mystery, then why resolve it so soon? If it is to make the story thrilling, then why spend so much time demonstrating Stone's grief? And if it is aiming to show strong, independent, clever women of that decade, then it completely fails to do that too. Because: is there any other way to understand the butch Stone's sexist thoughts and ideas about femmes? Or is there any other explanation for why Zoe, a smart PI, exposes herself to a danger situation without taking adequate precautions to ensure she has a backup when things go belly-up?
If it is to create a mystery, then why resolve it so soon? If it is to make the story thrilling, then why spend so much time demonstrating Stone's grief? And if it is aiming to show strong, independent, clever women of that decade, then it completely fails to do that too. Because: is there any other way to understand the butch Stone's sexist thoughts and ideas about femmes? Or is there any other explanation for why Zoe, a smart PI, exposes herself to a danger situation without taking adequate precautions to ensure she has a backup when things go belly-up?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews