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Toni Barston #1
Anticipation
Attorney Toni Barston has been assigned to prosecute a serial killer - one who has already confessed to the crimes and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for life without parole. But then a mistake at the city jail allows the killer to walk free, and soon the killing of prominent women in the community begins again.
After the brutal murder of someone closely involved in the case, Toni’s supervisor assigns a new female investigator from their office to protect her.
Soon both women are struggling to remain professional as the search for the killer intensifies. Will the killer be caught before Toni becomes his next target?
After the brutal murder of someone closely involved in the case, Toni’s supervisor assigns a new female investigator from their office to protect her.
Soon both women are struggling to remain professional as the search for the killer intensifies. Will the killer be caught before Toni becomes his next target?
249 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Terri Breneman
8 books4 followersTerri Breneman is the author of the Toni Barston mystery series. She is a former psychotherapist and currently works as a research and writing attorney. Her three cats own a home in St. Louis in which she happily rents space.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 23, 2020
I was prepared for a serviceable little thriller/police procedural and was a bit surprised that the first half is primarily a lesbian romance! Although the seeds of the serial killer plot are sown fairly early, it doesn't really kick into gear until the halfway point. Someone is killing women within the law enforcement community, and it increasingly looks like it someone working from within. Good premise, except the red herrings are a bit obvious (the anonymous killer scrapes his leg and soon all the male suspects are walking with a limp!).
February 18, 2020
I'm stretching it for a 2 on this one because l didn't really like it. It's more like a 1.5. The title is appropriate. I spent most of the novel waiting for it to get properly into the story and then as soon as it did, the killer was given away in a sentence 70 pages before the end of the book so the last quarter was nearly redundant just when it should have been escalating.
The main characters are supposed to be powerful, career driven women, an attorney and a tough investigator. Unfortunately they read like teens. They spent an awful amount of time giggling, laughing until tears ran down their faces or even falling on the floor and rolling around in mirth. They also liked making costumes for a Halloween party including the purchase of a large rubber butt, and filling the fridge with snacks, wine and left overs.
The killer seemed to be a cardboard cut out stereotype of a psychopath who has mother troubles. His internal dialogue was just odd and I sort of had an image in my head of him running around like a ten year old chanting, "I am so great, I am so great..." The killer also took so much speed in the last few hours of his narrative it was a wonder his heart didn't explode or his head pop off.
I felt zero connection with the characters, and aside from their juvenile characterisation, there was a lack of emotion. We're told how the characters feel but we are not really shown so it's difficult for a reader to step into their shoes. The most emotion I felt through the whole read related to the cat and his actions.
I was put off by the amount of repetition too. I don't need to know three times in a page that Monday was just like any other Monday. I don't need dialogue to tell me one thing and then have the same thing repeated for the benefit of another character or simply repeated in the narrative. It gets boring and I found myself skimming some parts. Info dumps disguised as dialogue are also boring.
Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed and won't be reading any more in the series.
The main characters are supposed to be powerful, career driven women, an attorney and a tough investigator. Unfortunately they read like teens. They spent an awful amount of time giggling, laughing until tears ran down their faces or even falling on the floor and rolling around in mirth. They also liked making costumes for a Halloween party including the purchase of a large rubber butt, and filling the fridge with snacks, wine and left overs.
The killer seemed to be a cardboard cut out stereotype of a psychopath who has mother troubles. His internal dialogue was just odd and I sort of had an image in my head of him running around like a ten year old chanting, "I am so great, I am so great..." The killer also took so much speed in the last few hours of his narrative it was a wonder his heart didn't explode or his head pop off.
I felt zero connection with the characters, and aside from their juvenile characterisation, there was a lack of emotion. We're told how the characters feel but we are not really shown so it's difficult for a reader to step into their shoes. The most emotion I felt through the whole read related to the cat and his actions.
I was put off by the amount of repetition too. I don't need to know three times in a page that Monday was just like any other Monday. I don't need dialogue to tell me one thing and then have the same thing repeated for the benefit of another character or simply repeated in the narrative. It gets boring and I found myself skimming some parts. Info dumps disguised as dialogue are also boring.
Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed and won't be reading any more in the series.
January 21, 2026
Anticipation is just that. Ms. Breneman weaves a great psychological thriller. Characters are well developed. There is humorous sexual tension between Toni and Boggs.
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June 19, 2020The longer I spend on studying the Lesbian Mystery genre, the more I wish I had known earlier—which, of course, is impossible and is the very reason we begin our studies in the first place. But if I could do it over again, I would make a note next to each title as whether the book involves a serial killer. And next to the serial killer I would make a note as to whether he (or, less likely, she) was a religious, homophobic, voice-hearing, pill-popping, and misogynistic psychopath (but secretly, of course, so that none of his everyday friends would suspect). And I’ll admit I would tend to stay away from these.
But after all, many Agatha Christie novels are about serial killers, right (although they didn’t call them that back then). It was “Miss Marple had to catch the killer before he killed again,” but in most cases he did kill again, over and over. So there is definitely a market for these books. The trouble is, after you have read 50 of the things, your rating tends to drop, probably for no better reason than boredom. Anyway, let’s cut to the serial killing, shall we?
The books in this series are titled in A-B-C-D order, but the title Anticipation actually does a lot of work. For one thing, the flirting between the two protagonists—Toni and Boggs—is titillating and we want them to get together. For me, though, I was also in a state of anticipation as to when this book would turn into a mystery, which it kind of does around page 150. As Toni says, “At least now I feel we’re doing something constructive instead of sitting on our butts.”
Breneman’s prose is workerlike, with a few lapses, such as the heavyhandedness of “She knew he didn’t like women attorneys. He thought women should be secretaries and leave the “real work” to men.” Or the silliness of the killer’s internal dialogue when he thinks, “One day people would realize how he had rid the world of filth. He would be recognized as a hero and they would be in awe of his brilliance.” He even giggles in anticipation (there’s that word again) of his next killing.
On the other hand, Anticipation boasts one of the best cat characters in the genre. Mr. Rupert acts not only as Toni’s companion, but is someone that she speaks to constantly. In addition to being cute, it serves al an alternate narration technique, letting the reader see what she is thinking without having to use internal monologue. This brings up the books rating at least another half star. Unfortunately, Mr. Rupert’s involvement in the climax of the story takes away that half star and more. It’s not the first book I’ve read in which a pet saves the day, but I hope it is the last.
And for those of you that read Lesbian Mysteries primarily for the romance and sex, well, at least there’s plenty of romance. In fact, aside from a few inanities, the back and forth between the two is both spirited and fun. The last 50 or so pages are also—although predictable—exciting. The wanderings inside the killer’s head are so silly that they are hard to take seriously and cut the suspense level down considerably. The author, who was once a counselor, attempts to explain the killer’s actions. On a literary level, though, I’m afraid she failed.
So there are a couple of good things about the book, but a number of bad things as well. Overall, I would rate this book somewhere between a 2 and a 3. The sequels may very well improve , but I doubt I will want to wade into Borderline or the others.
Notes: I read what appears to be the first paperback printing of the first novel in this series.
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.
But after all, many Agatha Christie novels are about serial killers, right (although they didn’t call them that back then). It was “Miss Marple had to catch the killer before he killed again,” but in most cases he did kill again, over and over. So there is definitely a market for these books. The trouble is, after you have read 50 of the things, your rating tends to drop, probably for no better reason than boredom. Anyway, let’s cut to the serial killing, shall we?
The books in this series are titled in A-B-C-D order, but the title Anticipation actually does a lot of work. For one thing, the flirting between the two protagonists—Toni and Boggs—is titillating and we want them to get together. For me, though, I was also in a state of anticipation as to when this book would turn into a mystery, which it kind of does around page 150. As Toni says, “At least now I feel we’re doing something constructive instead of sitting on our butts.”
Breneman’s prose is workerlike, with a few lapses, such as the heavyhandedness of “She knew he didn’t like women attorneys. He thought women should be secretaries and leave the “real work” to men.” Or the silliness of the killer’s internal dialogue when he thinks, “One day people would realize how he had rid the world of filth. He would be recognized as a hero and they would be in awe of his brilliance.” He even giggles in anticipation (there’s that word again) of his next killing.
On the other hand, Anticipation boasts one of the best cat characters in the genre. Mr. Rupert acts not only as Toni’s companion, but is someone that she speaks to constantly. In addition to being cute, it serves al an alternate narration technique, letting the reader see what she is thinking without having to use internal monologue. This brings up the books rating at least another half star. Unfortunately, Mr. Rupert’s involvement in the climax of the story takes away that half star and more. It’s not the first book I’ve read in which a pet saves the day, but I hope it is the last.
And for those of you that read Lesbian Mysteries primarily for the romance and sex, well, at least there’s plenty of romance. In fact, aside from a few inanities, the back and forth between the two is both spirited and fun. The last 50 or so pages are also—although predictable—exciting. The wanderings inside the killer’s head are so silly that they are hard to take seriously and cut the suspense level down considerably. The author, who was once a counselor, attempts to explain the killer’s actions. On a literary level, though, I’m afraid she failed.
So there are a couple of good things about the book, but a number of bad things as well. Overall, I would rate this book somewhere between a 2 and a 3. The sequels may very well improve , but I doubt I will want to wade into Borderline or the others.
Notes: I read what appears to be the first paperback printing of the first novel in this series.
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.
January 19, 2013
Wow, this was an awful book. Incredibly juvenile characters, and a plot that desperately and poorly rips off Agatha Christie. A waste of space on my kindle.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews