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Tru North Mystery #1
K.C. Bomber
Kansas City Police Detective Tru North is having a rotten year. Someone is getting a kick out of sending deadly gifts, beautifully crafted boxes that explode when opened. Tru doesn't realize how close she is to discovering the truth. But the bomber knows and is preparing a special delivery just for her.
198 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
15 people want to read
About the author
Janet McClellan
9 books10 followersReceived PhD from Northcentral University in Arizona and assistant professor with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in the Justice department teaching graduate and undergraduate courses. Formerly of SUNY Canton in the Criminal Investigation department teaching homicide investigation, death investigation and crime scene investigation. McClellan has an extensive background in public service including her roles as police officer, police chief, investigator, corrections official, and chief executive of the Kansas Violent Sexual Predator Maximum Security Facility. She has written crime fiction series with the main character being "Tru North", mystery novel Murder in Cloud City, romance novel Windrow Garden and non-fiction book Erotophonophilia: Investigating Lust Murder.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 9, 2020
I finally found a pre-2000 book for bingo that kept my attention. This is part romance and part mystery with a healthy dose of psychology. Tru is a detective on the hot seat whoe supervisor wants her gone. He assigns her to an old case. On top of that, her ex dumped her cruelly so she's not in a good place. Marki is a professor of psychology who studied violent men and who moonlights as a bartender at a women's bar occasionally.
The book starts by introducing us to a despondent Tru who meets Marki in the bar. Things happen and Marki can't get Tru out of her mind. One reason I enjoyed this was the interesting look at life in the 90s. Behaviors we would condemn now were acceptable then. Marki outright stalked Tru but we didn't recognize it as stalking then.
Marki pines for Tru, who hopes to put that night at the bar behind her. They end up coming together when Tru seeks a psych eval of the bomber. The book is told through Tru's perspective, with a single chapter focused solely on the criminal. Marki gets some time as well so we can see how she feels about Tru. The romance is not very deep but it is present. The major part of the novel is the mystery. There is plenty of detecting and putting clues together, as well as an action-packed climax to the case.
The book starts by introducing us to a despondent Tru who meets Marki in the bar. Things happen and Marki can't get Tru out of her mind. One reason I enjoyed this was the interesting look at life in the 90s. Behaviors we would condemn now were acceptable then. Marki outright stalked Tru but we didn't recognize it as stalking then.
Marki pines for Tru, who hopes to put that night at the bar behind her. They end up coming together when Tru seeks a psych eval of the bomber. The book is told through Tru's perspective, with a single chapter focused solely on the criminal. Marki gets some time as well so we can see how she feels about Tru. The romance is not very deep but it is present. The major part of the novel is the mystery. There is plenty of detecting and putting clues together, as well as an action-packed climax to the case.
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June 18, 2020I’m not sure I’ve ever read a more uneven novel. It’s like the author wrote the first two chapters as a graduate student in creative writing, then came back to it a quarter of a century later and decided to make it a crime story, paying no attention to her earlier style. Either that or several different people wrote the book, at least one of whom didn’t read what the others had written. But first the plot:
When the book begins, Tru North has just gotten cruelly and painfully dumped by her girlfriend. The breakup puts Tru into a major depression, affecting both her mood and her job as a police detective. To make it worse, her boss decides to give her an assignment so impossible that she will resign. Not because she is a lesbian or because she has been particularly bad at her job, but simply because he feels like it. Enter Dr. Margarete (Marki) Campbell, who takes an almost harassingly intense interest in Tru.
If the entire book was written as good as the first two chapters, it would rate a hands-down 5 stars. Dark, dreary, cold, depressing, and very real, the persona of Tru etches itself into our interest kind of like one of Tru’s own similes: The gray haze of winter lingered in her shrinking soul as easily as the clouded skies hugged the spires of downtown buildings.
But for some reason, most of the other chapters might have come from any of a thousand pens and are disconcertingly blah. The mystery itself is not a bad one: somebody is sending bombs in the mail to unsuspecting artists. Unfortunately, the motives of the bomber are silly and Tru’s method of tracking him down is delivered in an oh-by-the-way manner.
And there’s Marki. When Tru first meets her, Marki is a tall, tough-looking bouncer in a woman’s bar. In an incredibly surreal and arousing scene (in Chapter 2), Marki cajoles a very drunk Tru into having sex in the dark but crowded bar. Tru, ashamed of her conduct, refuses to go into that particular bar again. But when she goes to her second choice a week later, Marki is there as well, watching and thinking. She is at a third bar, too, in the next booth from the unsuspecting Tru, listening to her conversation with a friend and even following her home.
But enough of Marki. Let’s get back to the case. When Tru decides she needs the help of a professional to try to understand the psyche of the bomber, she makes an appointment to see the Head of the Psychology Department at the local university. Oh, shit! It’s Marki!
The Naiad editor in charge of K.C.Bomber was Lila Empson, whose name I had not run into before but who seems to have spent much of her time with Naiad editing romances. I don’t think she deserves much credit for how this one came out. I admit that some of the descriptions of police work are well done and interesting, and the climactic ending is exciting. Still, I have no problems treating this one like a bad relationship and trying to move on. Trouble is, I have discovered that Marki is my checkout clerk at WalMart, she is also the UPS driver that delivered my latest batch of books to review, she anchors the late news on TV. Lately, she has been haunting my dreams as well, threatening, cajoling, demanding, wheedling, promising me sensual delights beyond imagining if I will only change this review.
Note: I read the first Naiad 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.
When the book begins, Tru North has just gotten cruelly and painfully dumped by her girlfriend. The breakup puts Tru into a major depression, affecting both her mood and her job as a police detective. To make it worse, her boss decides to give her an assignment so impossible that she will resign. Not because she is a lesbian or because she has been particularly bad at her job, but simply because he feels like it. Enter Dr. Margarete (Marki) Campbell, who takes an almost harassingly intense interest in Tru.
If the entire book was written as good as the first two chapters, it would rate a hands-down 5 stars. Dark, dreary, cold, depressing, and very real, the persona of Tru etches itself into our interest kind of like one of Tru’s own similes: The gray haze of winter lingered in her shrinking soul as easily as the clouded skies hugged the spires of downtown buildings.
But for some reason, most of the other chapters might have come from any of a thousand pens and are disconcertingly blah. The mystery itself is not a bad one: somebody is sending bombs in the mail to unsuspecting artists. Unfortunately, the motives of the bomber are silly and Tru’s method of tracking him down is delivered in an oh-by-the-way manner.
And there’s Marki. When Tru first meets her, Marki is a tall, tough-looking bouncer in a woman’s bar. In an incredibly surreal and arousing scene (in Chapter 2), Marki cajoles a very drunk Tru into having sex in the dark but crowded bar. Tru, ashamed of her conduct, refuses to go into that particular bar again. But when she goes to her second choice a week later, Marki is there as well, watching and thinking. She is at a third bar, too, in the next booth from the unsuspecting Tru, listening to her conversation with a friend and even following her home.
But enough of Marki. Let’s get back to the case. When Tru decides she needs the help of a professional to try to understand the psyche of the bomber, she makes an appointment to see the Head of the Psychology Department at the local university. Oh, shit! It’s Marki!
The Naiad editor in charge of K.C.Bomber was Lila Empson, whose name I had not run into before but who seems to have spent much of her time with Naiad editing romances. I don’t think she deserves much credit for how this one came out. I admit that some of the descriptions of police work are well done and interesting, and the climactic ending is exciting. Still, I have no problems treating this one like a bad relationship and trying to move on. Trouble is, I have discovered that Marki is my checkout clerk at WalMart, she is also the UPS driver that delivered my latest batch of books to review, she anchors the late news on TV. Lately, she has been haunting my dreams as well, threatening, cajoling, demanding, wheedling, promising me sensual delights beyond imagining if I will only change this review.
Note: I read the first Naiad 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.
Read
October 11, 2021AN "OLDIE" BUT NOT A GOODIE! This book is awful, confusing and disjointed. Just couldn't finish it.
August 19, 2012
Enjoyable murder mystery featuring lesbian homicide detective Tru North. I had read book 2, _Penn Valley Phoenix_, out of sequence, and it was good to get a little more backstory. I enjoyed Marki's very direct approach to breaking Tru out of her shell, (after their initial encounter.)The book seemed to have a little more humor than I remember from the other Tru North I had read, but it's fairly subtle, and helps show how Tru is emerging from a somewhat emotionless state. A little more depth would have been nice, but, since this is one of those many Naiad books that come in at just under 200 pages, there's not too much room for it. All in all, though while not an awesome book, a very pleasant read worth the time spent. 3 1/2 stars, actually.
July 7, 2012
Likable lesbian cop mystery/drama set in Kansas City.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews