Grave Silence

Jude Devine #1

by Rose Beecham

Detective Jude Devine doesn't face too many challenges based in remote Paradox Valley. However when the body of a local teenager shows up with a stake through her heart, Jude finds herself leading an investigation no one wants to touch.

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

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Rose Beecham is the mystery pen name of best-selling lesbian romance and mystery novels writer Jennifer Knight. She is the prolific author of romance and mystery novels under three pen names — Jennifer Fulton, Rose Beecham, and Grace Lennox. She was first published by the Naiad Press in 1992. Jennifer is a recipient of the Alice B. Reader's award for Lesbian Fiction, multiple Golden Crown Literary Award winner, and Lambda Literary Award finalist for both romance and mystery.

Jennifer Fulton, Rose Beecham, Grace Lennox

Reviews

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Jude Devine, an undercover FBI agent working as a Sheriff’s Detective in a small town in Colorado, author Rose Beecham creates a very believable lesbian character. The kind we want to root for (something she’ll need as the story progresses).

The book is well written with a very exciting story-line told from various pov’s. I got to know quite a lot more about the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints and their evil practices. It made me sufficiently outraged on behalf of the woman and children in this story. There are some memorable characters here. Be warned for graphic scenes.

I thought Jude’s torrid affair with golden girl of Southwestern forensic pathology, Dr. Mercy Westmoreland, brought some much needed levity. I loved Mercy’s frankness about her sexual needs, quite refreshing. Jude grows frustrated when Mercy is more than happy to keep things casual. Don’t expect a romance (it being a murder/mystery and all) but there is plenty of gay to keep it juicy.

Narrator Kim Baldwin did a fairly good job. Maybe less of a voice actor than I would have liked but I guess I’m spoiled of late.

Audiobook available on Scribd.

f/f I love Mercy, she made me lol

4.4 stars

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

me, 30 pages into this book: ehhhhhh i don't love this, i'm going to get up and stop reading it

me, one hour later: i mean maybe i'll stop reading this for 5 minutes to eat dinner

me, two hours later: i mean maybe i'll read the sequel now

(i really liked her writing style and her characters were all very strong and i got immediately invested?!?!?!?!? i have a bunch of legitimate complaints that i don't really want to go into but I was so invested and read it in one sitting)

[Megan]

It occurs to me that a reader can bond with the style and tone of a certain books very quickly; with others not at all. This is one of the former. I liked Jude almost immediately and more importantly, I liked the style of writing, the flow of words, the tone of the story, and the immediacy of the emotions. Still, this book has an unusual setting and some damn weird characters. Think of Erskine Caldwell meets Zane Grey.

Jude Devine herself has a unique occupation in the literature. She is an undercover FBI agent working as a Sheriff’s Detective in a small town in Colorado, near the Utah border. When a young woman is dredged up from the Dolores River, Jude comes to fear that fundamentalist Mormons may have been responsible. That’s right, and if you think that Zane Grey painted them harshly in Riders of the Purple Sage, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Granted that Beecham is careful to distinguish the offshoot Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints from the rank-and-file LDS, I doubt she voted for Mitt Romney in the 2012 election. She paints a society of sullen, gruff, interbred woman haters and child molesters and it’s hard not to root for Jude to cut the balls off every last one. With dull scissors.

Beecham isn’t making this stuff up. These guys really exist; he-masters who think that getting into heaven depends on the number of wives you have, and that child-wives are another plus. The brainwashing that goes on is incredible to anyone who is not actually in the cult, but normal to anyone within. Interesting, too, that Beecham seems to indicate that the Utah authorities turn a blind eye on some of these isolated enclaves. If so, then bravo to Beecham for bringing them to our attention. And even more kudos for making everything seem totally genuine and realistic. The research that she put into this novel must have been stupendous.

But politics aside, this is a well-written, thrilling mystery with characters we care about (unless, of course, we want them dead). Beecham alternates point of view so that we see some chapters from Jude’s eyes, some from the eyes of others. There is no letdown from one POV to another; all are equally interesting.

Some parts of the mystery are unconvincing, but that’s to be expected in modern mysteries, when most of the realistic possibilities for plots have already been done. Most obvious was the fact that the murdered girl’s missing legs were never accounted for. And the actual method of her death and the disposal of her body were almost shrugged off as either not important enough to have to explain, or not thought out as well as they should have been. Take your pick.

In the end, though, this book was exciting from beginning to end, with a beautiful love interest that will be developing through the series. Will I buy the second book? I already have.

I read the 2014 version of the e-book.

Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 1250 other lesbian mysteries by over 400 authors.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting book and I really liked ‘Jude’ as a main character, but I also found the book really depressing.

I found the whole religious sect thing and the attitude to women and children quite sickening and of course this isn’t helped by the ridiculous US gun laws. (While I am reading this book the news was full of a gunman who had just killed 19 children in a Texas primary school, with an assault rifle)

By the end even Jude’s love life was dismal, overall although I felt I should give more, I couldn’t give more than three stars.

[Rory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. I really enjoyed the voice (both of the characters, and the audiobook reader, she killed it.) I enjoyed that it's a very gay book but isn't inherently a romance (If explicit sex scene squick you out, be warned.) Jude is definitely more of a romantic than she wants to let on, though, which I think makes her a fun character. The many viewpoints involved with this story and how they weave together makes it easy to find one (or multiple) characters to empathize with and learn to like. The stark look into the world of religious cults that use loopholes to exploit both their own children and the welfare system was really interesting too, as well as the brainwashing habits these groups tend to use.

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I was expecting this to be more of a light-hearted farce of a mystery (maybe the almost comical cover art), but it surprised me. While the early chapters had a few laugh-out-loud scenes, especially between Jude and Mercy, it had a much deeper, more serious plot that I really enjoyed.

[Line P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book is quite good, although I had not deleted it from my list of books to read and it took a while while rereading it before I remembered I had already read it.
Maybe it's the slow start because once the plot themes started getting included I remembered it.
It was worth reading the second time too.

Really interesting story plot

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so I read this because it was recommended on scribd I was expecting police suspense and romance but It was more police suspense no romance as I did not like the romantic interest mercy.The subject of of the book was interesting as it did deal with Mormon cults so overall it was an okay read for a free recommendation and the narrator was good

[Bookgypsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great mystery! I enjoyed the plot;its very informative on the culture but also creates a deep emotional connection to the characters. It was very suspenseful and informative. I would have liked more of the romance however; that part was very dry and dull. It felt fake and forced.

[Debra Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Montezuma County Sheriff's detective, Jude Devine doesn't face too many challenges based in remote Paradox Valley, where most of the crime involves hiker assaults, campsite thefts, and cattle rustling. However, when the body of local teenager shows up with a stake through her heart, Jude finds herself leading an investigation no one wants to touch. As Jude uncovers the truth about the murder and tries to save a young girl from being forced into a marriage, she must decide how much she is willing to risk to see justice done. Further complicating her choices is her torrid entanglement with the golden girl of Southwestern forensic pathology, Dr. Mercy Westmoreland.

From best-selling romance author Jennifer Fulton writing as Rose Beecham.

[Elizabeth Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different. Good. Interesting info on FLDS and barricaded gun nuts. The sex was brief and blunt. No relationship. It would be neat to see Jude and Chastity get together. Worth the read, but be prepared for some intense scenes.

[Yeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose Beecham's research on a fundalmentalist sect was awesome. Her characters were interesting, and I would love to explore their relationships more.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick paced read. Likable characters. Will definitely read the next in the series.