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Kate Delafield #5
Liberty Square
Long before high-profile lesbian cops such as Laurie R. King's Kate Martinelli were fighting for our attention, a former Marine turned Los Angeles police detective named Kate Delafield was doing some quietly effective ground-breaking of her own under the expert guidance of Katherine V. Forrest. In Liberty Square, Delafield is in Washington, D.C., for the 25th anniversary reunion of her old Vietnam outfit. When all hell breaks loose, it's Kate the cop who has to sort it out. Forrest's writing is spare and her characters come to life quickly. Other Delafield books in paperback include Amateur City, The Beverly Malibu, Murder at the Nightwood Bar, and Murder by Tradition.
242 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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281 people want to read
About the author
Katherine V. Forrest
44 books323 followersKatherine V. Forrest is a Canadian-born American writer, best known for her novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. Her books have won and been finalists for Lambda Literary Award twelve times, as well as other awards. She has been referred to by some "a founding mother of lesbian fiction writing."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 17, 2022
Liberty Square is a little different from the other titles in the series because Kate is in Washington as a private citizen when the first murder happens. Finding out more is accordingly more difficult, and while she is on it, Kate and her veteran friends meet and exchange memories of the past. The veteran talk was a mix of interesting and maybe a little too much at times for me. However as can be expected, it is not there without reason, and it turned out that the veterans exchanging memories is crucial for the whole case. Everything came together nicely and I enjoyed the story the more it went on; don’t expect too much romantic interaction, though.
5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 stars
July 22, 2022
Kate Delafield is a very interesting complex character. In this book, we learn more about her experinces during the Vietnam War. She had been forced to attend a Vietnam veterans' reunion in DC. Then her hotel room was shot at and one of her friends was murdered. Of course, she is there as a civilian so cannot officially investigate the matter. Overall, it's a good read especially seeing what the Vietnam War veterana have to go through both during and after their deployment.
December 31, 2011
Five years passed between the time she wrote last book in the series, "Murder By Tradition", and this one. I don't know if she forgot what happened in "Tradition", but in "Liberty Square" she has Kate Delafield and Aimee Grant living together full-time, her former detective partner Ed Taylor has gone from talking about retiring to actually being gone, and a new partner Torrie Holden is there without any attempt at a backstory about her. Reading all the books in the series back to back makes it possible to see discrepancies between one book to the next, and there are huge gaping holes in this one. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was at least one other book in between these two that I don't know about, one that fills in the gaps and explains some of the new additions, but there isn't. Anyway, this one has Kate and Aimee in Washington DC; Kate had to go there for an FBI seminar, so Aimee got together with one of the women on Kate's old Vietnam military reunion committee and arranged to have it there at that exact time so Kate wouldn't have an excuse not to go. Apparently she hasn't gone to the other reunions and never talks about her time in Vietnam. While there, someone shoots at their hotel door and then murders one of the reunion guests, so of course Kate is embroiled in the mystery. For the most part it's a good read, but reading page after page after page of her and her military buddies sitting around reminiscing about their war stories gets tedious and boring. Also, this is the first of her books to be written in hardcover, and she's changed publishing houses from the lesbian publisher Naiad Books to the mainstream Berkley Books. Gay and lesbian issues are still prominently featured, but she's toned it down just a little bit - probably at the suggestion of her new publisher, who would want her books to be palatable to a wide heterosexual audience.
October 30, 2024
Liberty Square feels like a step backward in this series because it actually is. Much of the story is backstory, Kate's Vietnam experiences, and like much backstory, it is unnecessary and unsatisfying.
Books 2-4 of this series reminds me of the TV show Quincy, M.E. Why? For those unfamiliar with that show, when the actor Jack Klugman wrenched control of the series away from the creators, most of the episodes became a "social issue of the week" installments. To be fair, the episodes on orphan drugs helped bring about actual policy changes in the federal government. But I digress...
The undercurrent of every book is Kate's status as a lesbian in the LAPD, but beyond that Forrest used Book 2 to address the terrible consequences of the wretched treatment of LGBTQ children by their parents. Book 3 delves into the HUAC hearings and McCarthyism. Book 4, systemic gay bashing and hate crimes. Now the issue is the treatment of Vietnam vets, particularly those who were homosexual. This book was published in 1996, so it makes the issue feel a bit dated and the tone feels more appropriate for a mid-80s story.
It doesn't help that the novel also leaps "real time" in the lives of the characters from the last novel. The still developing relationship with Aimee is now entrenched but they are still dealing with growing pains? In 5+ years she has barely shared anything from her past? Okay. Also, she has a new partner, but I use "new" with trepidation as they've been together for a little while, and the reader has to accept their developed dynamics. Granted, Torie (Forrest loves vowels in younger women's names) only appears on the phone and (spoiler) she gets the boot in the next book. Why give all this backstory for random non-recurring characters but not for Kate's actual LAPD partner?
You know what also doesn't help? Aimee being an idiot.
Someone fires several shots through their door. Aimee refuses to stay down. When someone knocks on the door almost immediately after, she "flings the door open" despite Kate's demands she stay down and stop moving. Forrest seems to want to make Aimee (being that she is so much younger than Kate) appear willful and spunky. However, as noted, it just makes her appear like an idiot. Now, the couple has chemistry--but oil and water have chemistry too and we see how that works out. When Aimee was practically forcing Kate to have sex in book 3, butching the butch as it were, at least they had some sort of strangely compelling dynamic--especially given that Kate was actually crushing on Aimee's elderly lookalike aunt. Now, they either act sweet or quarrel with each other. Again, it doesn't help that Forrest keeps introducing more interesting female characters with better chemistry.
After chapters of backstory and unlikely as hell circumstances, the killer is caught. The characters lament the meaninglessness of the Vietnam War, implicitly because the United States didn't win not because the United States had been abetting a colonial power then took up the mantle under the ruse of anticommunism. That is to say, war is only really bad when you lose. Though, to use the most overused of sapphic fiction's phrases, "if I'm being honest", most countries would agree with that statement.
Books 2-4 of this series reminds me of the TV show Quincy, M.E. Why? For those unfamiliar with that show, when the actor Jack Klugman wrenched control of the series away from the creators, most of the episodes became a "social issue of the week" installments. To be fair, the episodes on orphan drugs helped bring about actual policy changes in the federal government. But I digress...
The undercurrent of every book is Kate's status as a lesbian in the LAPD, but beyond that Forrest used Book 2 to address the terrible consequences of the wretched treatment of LGBTQ children by their parents. Book 3 delves into the HUAC hearings and McCarthyism. Book 4, systemic gay bashing and hate crimes. Now the issue is the treatment of Vietnam vets, particularly those who were homosexual. This book was published in 1996, so it makes the issue feel a bit dated and the tone feels more appropriate for a mid-80s story.
It doesn't help that the novel also leaps "real time" in the lives of the characters from the last novel. The still developing relationship with Aimee is now entrenched but they are still dealing with growing pains? In 5+ years she has barely shared anything from her past? Okay. Also, she has a new partner, but I use "new" with trepidation as they've been together for a little while, and the reader has to accept their developed dynamics. Granted, Torie (Forrest loves vowels in younger women's names) only appears on the phone and (spoiler) she gets the boot in the next book. Why give all this backstory for random non-recurring characters but not for Kate's actual LAPD partner?
You know what also doesn't help? Aimee being an idiot.
Someone fires several shots through their door. Aimee refuses to stay down. When someone knocks on the door almost immediately after, she "flings the door open" despite Kate's demands she stay down and stop moving. Forrest seems to want to make Aimee (being that she is so much younger than Kate) appear willful and spunky. However, as noted, it just makes her appear like an idiot. Now, the couple has chemistry--but oil and water have chemistry too and we see how that works out. When Aimee was practically forcing Kate to have sex in book 3, butching the butch as it were, at least they had some sort of strangely compelling dynamic--especially given that Kate was actually crushing on Aimee's elderly lookalike aunt. Now, they either act sweet or quarrel with each other. Again, it doesn't help that Forrest keeps introducing more interesting female characters with better chemistry.
After chapters of backstory and unlikely as hell circumstances, the killer is caught. The characters lament the meaninglessness of the Vietnam War, implicitly because the United States didn't win not because the United States had been abetting a colonial power then took up the mantle under the ruse of anticommunism. That is to say, war is only really bad when you lose. Though, to use the most overused of sapphic fiction's phrases, "if I'm being honest", most countries would agree with that statement.
October 23, 2014
I do love the Kate Delafield mysteries. They aren't so much detective story but social commentary on important historical issues, especially important queer historical issues. This book touched on Kate's time in Vietnam, something that had been mentioned in previous books but not discussed in any depth. The book touched on all sorts of issues, sexism and homophobia in the military, the tragedy of war, but did so in a way that was very respectful of those who served. That said there was still a mystery as one of the vets at the reunion was murdered. The revelation was surprising as well as sad. The ending had me in floods of tears. Definitely one of the best series I've read this year.
July 31, 2023
What a story! Katherine V. Forrest's detective Kate Delafield once served as a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam and very reluctantly goes to a reunion with the people she served with there 25 years earlier. Of course one of them is murdered just before the reunion starts. This story recounts all the horror of the war and the varied feelings of those who were there.
I've been against the war ever since I took a class on the history of Southeast Asia and learned that there was a Geneva agreement in the '50s to hold an election there but the election was never held because the Western powers believed that Ho Chi Minh would have won. I'm not saying the Communists were good. I'm saying that the United States had no business intervening and wasting many thousands of American lives and far more Vietnamese lives and laying waste to the country. The war changed my feeling about my country. I love it, but I know that it can do terrible wrong.
I normally avoid reading novels about the war--except those written by Vietnamese or Vietnamese Americans like Viet Thanh Nguyen's superb The Sympathizer and Nguyen Thanh Que Mai's The Mountains Sing. But since I admire Katherine V. Forrest as a leading lesbian novelist, I read Liberty Square. It provides a moving account of the war as lived by American nurses, doctors and soldiers that acknowledges the suffering of the Vietnamese. It's also a gripping mystery.
As a loyal citizen of the District of Columbia who supports statehood, I was unhappy about some of the stereotypes about DC voiced by some of the characters.
I've been against the war ever since I took a class on the history of Southeast Asia and learned that there was a Geneva agreement in the '50s to hold an election there but the election was never held because the Western powers believed that Ho Chi Minh would have won. I'm not saying the Communists were good. I'm saying that the United States had no business intervening and wasting many thousands of American lives and far more Vietnamese lives and laying waste to the country. The war changed my feeling about my country. I love it, but I know that it can do terrible wrong.
I normally avoid reading novels about the war--except those written by Vietnamese or Vietnamese Americans like Viet Thanh Nguyen's superb The Sympathizer and Nguyen Thanh Que Mai's The Mountains Sing. But since I admire Katherine V. Forrest as a leading lesbian novelist, I read Liberty Square. It provides a moving account of the war as lived by American nurses, doctors and soldiers that acknowledges the suffering of the Vietnamese. It's also a gripping mystery.
As a loyal citizen of the District of Columbia who supports statehood, I was unhappy about some of the stereotypes about DC voiced by some of the characters.
December 21, 2018
This fifth book in the series of Detective Delafield is more a peek into her life story centering around her service in the Marine Crop when she was young and about her service in Vietnam. Kate and her girlfriend Aimee go to Washington DC to participate in a reunion of her service mates from the year they all spent together during the war. It is a gritty rendition of what life was like over there and their remembrances of who they were, how they interacted and with whom they formed relationships. Turns out there is a murder in their midst and someone is out to kill Kate and she doesn't know why until the weekend has run its course. Its a coming home for Veterans of that war that was long overdue. This is also a good look into Aimee, Kate's younger lover and what makes her tick. I really enjoy Katherine Forrest and her work.
May 13, 2020
It's a lesbian mystery. She's a marine and reminiscing on her time in Vietnam. Some good points are made about war, power, the problems with protesting (even though war is terrible), gender and homophobia as well as friendship and humanity. There is also a tendency to end up glorifying the military after all which seems illogical when all is said and done. But only books from the 90s dare to be this anti-war
Kate and Aimee have a strained beginning in this book and end up to sweet to be true making this very much a junk-food read. It follows the formula of murder happens, detective works out who did it. Perpetrator kidnaps detective and tries to kill her. Cliches galore but I liked it anyway maybe for the anti-war and anti-authority moments. Maybe for the queerness. A good enough to be enjoyable read.
Kate and Aimee have a strained beginning in this book and end up to sweet to be true making this very much a junk-food read. It follows the formula of murder happens, detective works out who did it. Perpetrator kidnaps detective and tries to kill her. Cliches galore but I liked it anyway maybe for the anti-war and anti-authority moments. Maybe for the queerness. A good enough to be enjoyable read.
April 10, 2025
dissertation reading, #13
this book completely shook me - it’s so different from any other book in the series. as this is the last book i will read for my dissertation (NOT the last book i will read in this series, however,) i wanted to say that i have adored this series - how forrest experiments with form while also tying each book together through love and community is fascinating.
i did struggle with some of the racist aspects of this book - of course, outwardly racist characters are condemned as they are through the rest of the series, but there was a bit of implicit bias here. however, i understand this is a product of time and nationality. as someone who isn’t very educated on the vietnam wars, this was eye-opening for me.
however, kate delafield will always have a very special place in my heart (and, let’s face it, my degree). i am grateful for her.
this book completely shook me - it’s so different from any other book in the series. as this is the last book i will read for my dissertation (NOT the last book i will read in this series, however,) i wanted to say that i have adored this series - how forrest experiments with form while also tying each book together through love and community is fascinating.
i did struggle with some of the racist aspects of this book - of course, outwardly racist characters are condemned as they are through the rest of the series, but there was a bit of implicit bias here. however, i understand this is a product of time and nationality. as someone who isn’t very educated on the vietnam wars, this was eye-opening for me.
however, kate delafield will always have a very special place in my heart (and, let’s face it, my degree). i am grateful for her.
June 7, 2024
I'd really like to give this book a 2 1/2 stars. Why no 1/2's allowed?
This is the 6th Delafield book I've read and my least favorite. The middle of the book felt like I was at a friend's reunion listening for hours on end while they talked with old friends about the "bad" old days. No one wants to go to their partner's reunion with them - it's just sheer hell. Even worse having to read about it.
With that said, some details about Delafield's life are filled in - she's an enigma in many ways, in others she's a stereotype of a police officer. Knowing a bit of the back story helps.
This is the 6th Delafield book I've read and my least favorite. The middle of the book felt like I was at a friend's reunion listening for hours on end while they talked with old friends about the "bad" old days. No one wants to go to their partner's reunion with them - it's just sheer hell. Even worse having to read about it.
With that said, some details about Delafield's life are filled in - she's an enigma in many ways, in others she's a stereotype of a police officer. Knowing a bit of the back story helps.
January 12, 2025
The crime and mystery in this story is linked to Kate's past when she served in the Vietnam War. Although the plot twist is excellent, it's not a light read as a substantial part of the narrative covers Kate's and her friends' memories of that time.
As I've visited Vietnam's historic DMZ and the War Remnants Museum in Saigon(Ho Chih Minh), I had a bit more context on some points raised. Kudos to Ms Forrest who has largely succeeded in outlining a balanced view on the various rights and wrongs of all parties involved in that conflict.
As I've visited Vietnam's historic DMZ and the War Remnants Museum in Saigon(Ho Chih Minh), I had a bit more context on some points raised. Kudos to Ms Forrest who has largely succeeded in outlining a balanced view on the various rights and wrongs of all parties involved in that conflict.
December 21, 2019
I do not read much fiction yet wanted to buy something at my local book store on Small Business Saturday. This book was the purchase. I liked it. Although I did get many of the characters confused but realized that I probably didn't need to retain the details of their stories. I focused on remembering 4 or 5 of the main ones. Turned out to be sufficient. Anyway, I may seek out additional books by this author should I want a break from the biographies and historical books that I tend to read.
September 30, 2020
I liked Aimee’s proactive participation in this book, and their intimacy (although no sex was involved in the scenes). War drama is not my cup of tea. It was boring as hell reading about Kate’s war friends chatting on the past all that amount, to just land the important piece of information for the case in the end of the long dialogues. Yeah, Nam war was a sham... especially because it didn’t impede socialism to spread. Pity.
January 15, 2024
What a well written novel about the after effects of war. Eye opening about things the average person who has not experienced. This was about the Vietnam conflict, but could be any war. I would like to hope a lot of the prejudices have been eliminated, but, unfortunately that may not be so. One day, some day.
May 29, 2024
3 stars. I’m glad that we finally got some back story on Kate but this book was really lackluster following book four. Aimee was annoying, there were too many side characters, and the plot was not the most interesting thing. It was just an overall really weak book in the series. Hoping the next one will be better.
September 14, 2017
Forrest adds depth to both Kate and Aimee by setting the story at a Vietnam veterans' reunion in D.C. Well-crafted mystery as well as supporting cast of characters. I read it in one sitting, staying up past 2:00 a.m.
April 30, 2022
Achingly Beautiful
Although I served with honor in the military, thankfully I never saw combat. This book pays tribute to those who did and to all who paid the incredible price of doing so. The writing is both profound & sensitive. I highly recommend it to all.
Although I served with honor in the military, thankfully I never saw combat. This book pays tribute to those who did and to all who paid the incredible price of doing so. The writing is both profound & sensitive. I highly recommend it to all.
March 2, 2023
Liked it. Different setting and it was kind of nice. But I learned a lot about Vietnam soldiers. It was interesting. Would recommend.
December 14, 2023
This was a very real look at some of the veterans from Vietnam. Kate grew so much in this book.
May 30, 2023
As a Vietnam era veteran I am especially fond of this book. Although I did not serve in Vietnam, I did serve overseas and some of the military portion of this novel really hit home, bring back many memories. The mystery portion was great as always with the Vietnam portion adding a bittersweet touch. Thanks Katherine Forrest for giving a nod to veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam.
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June 18, 2020Katherine V. Forrest is more of a literary chameleon than I had come to expect. I was familiar, of course with her romantic classic Curious Wine, but I’m surprised in the number of ways she alters the lesbian mystery genre—a genre she helped to create. The first several books in the Kate Delafield series are purely Investigative. In the fourth, Murder by tradition, she segues into Courtroom Drama. The fifth—Liberty Square—may be the cleverest of all. The longest chapter—a scene in a hotel room where Kate interacts with a number of suspects in a murder—would have made a very good stage play.
The scene of Liberty Square is Washington D.C., where Kate and Aimee have come not only for Kate to attend an FBI profiling seminar and for Aimee to sightsee, but also for Kate to attend the 25th anniversary of her military service in Vietnam. Of course a murder occurs and Kate—although out of her jurisdiction—has to solve it.
Problem is, she really doesn't solve it at all. Instead she is abducted by the killer and almost killed for the very reason that she failed to make all of the necessary connections. She only escapes when the DC cops prove they have more moxie—and more brains—than Kate suspects.
Aimee has more of a role in this book, but the reader still does not get to know her in the way we like to know major characters in any book. This notwithstanding, the book is important in its depiction of careworn war veterans, both in the past and the present. I suspect that Forrest had to do more research for this book than for any other. The admirable TV series China Beach is mentioned at least three times and there are, in fact many parallels between the series and this novel. After all, both are about women in Vietnam, and roles in that particular war were limited to behind-the-scenes duties—medicine, supply, entertainment, and the like.
But for us to understand Kate Delafield—and for Aimee to understand her—this part of her life had to be written about. I’m glad it came with such an enjoyable script and cast of characters.
Final Rating: 4.5
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.
The scene of Liberty Square is Washington D.C., where Kate and Aimee have come not only for Kate to attend an FBI profiling seminar and for Aimee to sightsee, but also for Kate to attend the 25th anniversary of her military service in Vietnam. Of course a murder occurs and Kate—although out of her jurisdiction—has to solve it.
Problem is, she really doesn't solve it at all. Instead she is abducted by the killer and almost killed for the very reason that she failed to make all of the necessary connections. She only escapes when the DC cops prove they have more moxie—and more brains—than Kate suspects.
Aimee has more of a role in this book, but the reader still does not get to know her in the way we like to know major characters in any book. This notwithstanding, the book is important in its depiction of careworn war veterans, both in the past and the present. I suspect that Forrest had to do more research for this book than for any other. The admirable TV series China Beach is mentioned at least three times and there are, in fact many parallels between the series and this novel. After all, both are about women in Vietnam, and roles in that particular war were limited to behind-the-scenes duties—medicine, supply, entertainment, and the like.
But for us to understand Kate Delafield—and for Aimee to understand her—this part of her life had to be written about. I’m glad it came with such an enjoyable script and cast of characters.
Final Rating: 4.5
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.
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January 3, 2012Liberty Square, a Kate Delafield Mystery, by Katherine V. Forrest, A. Borrowed from the National Library service for the Blind
In this book, Detective Kate Delafield of the LAPD, is being sent to Washington D.C. for a profiling class run by the FBI. As it happens, the weekend after the conference ends is a reunion of the Vietnam vets from her unit who served together 25 years earlier. Kate has never gone to one of these reunions, but her partner, Amy, has convinced her to attend this one since she’ll be in D.C. anyway, and because Amy wants to visit D.C. for her first time. Kate and Amy have no sooner checked into their hotel room when the door panels are shot out and the bullet goes through a window. Kate, who has been nervous about this reunion already, wants to go home, but Amy convinces her that now that they’re here, they should stay. The hotel gives the two of them a complementary suite. The reunion dinner begins, but Kate and her friends soon realize that one of their group, Allen, is not there and they know he checked in. Kate and one of the vet nurses go to his room, and find him dead. Kate calls in the authorities. She knows he has been murdered. She sees his last attempt to leave them a message, the word CAP written in blood. This has a special meaning for Kate, as CAP was the nickname of someone she was very close to in Vietnam, someone who was declared missing in action and never found. As the police interview all of the people present who were in his unit, it becomes clear that Allen was killed due to something that occurred 25 years ago when they were in Vietnam. They convince Kate to have them come to visit her in her suite, and they talk most of the night. They talk about the things that happened there, how they felt about it then and now, and they talk about what happened to gays and lesbians in the military during the Vietnam war. This is a thriller of the locked room type, where someone present in the group is the murderer. A very good book, very intense. Kate is in danger she doesn’t even recognize. The book has a moving ending with all of them visiting the Vietnam Memorial.
In this book, Detective Kate Delafield of the LAPD, is being sent to Washington D.C. for a profiling class run by the FBI. As it happens, the weekend after the conference ends is a reunion of the Vietnam vets from her unit who served together 25 years earlier. Kate has never gone to one of these reunions, but her partner, Amy, has convinced her to attend this one since she’ll be in D.C. anyway, and because Amy wants to visit D.C. for her first time. Kate and Amy have no sooner checked into their hotel room when the door panels are shot out and the bullet goes through a window. Kate, who has been nervous about this reunion already, wants to go home, but Amy convinces her that now that they’re here, they should stay. The hotel gives the two of them a complementary suite. The reunion dinner begins, but Kate and her friends soon realize that one of their group, Allen, is not there and they know he checked in. Kate and one of the vet nurses go to his room, and find him dead. Kate calls in the authorities. She knows he has been murdered. She sees his last attempt to leave them a message, the word CAP written in blood. This has a special meaning for Kate, as CAP was the nickname of someone she was very close to in Vietnam, someone who was declared missing in action and never found. As the police interview all of the people present who were in his unit, it becomes clear that Allen was killed due to something that occurred 25 years ago when they were in Vietnam. They convince Kate to have them come to visit her in her suite, and they talk most of the night. They talk about the things that happened there, how they felt about it then and now, and they talk about what happened to gays and lesbians in the military during the Vietnam war. This is a thriller of the locked room type, where someone present in the group is the murderer. A very good book, very intense. Kate is in danger she doesn’t even recognize. The book has a moving ending with all of them visiting the Vietnam Memorial.
May 19, 2015
Kate's the best
This is the book that made me want to read everything I could find by Katherine V. Forrest, and propelled LAPD homicide detective Kate Delafield to the top of the heap of my favorite fictional heroes.
There are no new John D. MacDonald or Lawrence Sanders novels, and it can be a long wait for a new J. A. Jance or Lawrence Block or Elmore Leonard or Tony Hillerman. So, like every avid reader, I have to go mining for other gems and--luckily--stumbled on "Liberty Square."
This is a story about memories and reunion, and--of course--murder. It's a set piece, like a classic Christie, but the memories of these Vietnam vets are still raw and painful. Forrest said that she needed to explore Kate Delafield's military background, and in so doing, she brought to life the many experiences of the men and women--especially the women--who served in that, or any other, misbegotten hellhole. I'm glad she did.
If you haven't read anything by Katherine V. Forrest, you're cheating yourself. And I highly recommend you start with "Liberty Square."
This is the book that made me want to read everything I could find by Katherine V. Forrest, and propelled LAPD homicide detective Kate Delafield to the top of the heap of my favorite fictional heroes.
There are no new John D. MacDonald or Lawrence Sanders novels, and it can be a long wait for a new J. A. Jance or Lawrence Block or Elmore Leonard or Tony Hillerman. So, like every avid reader, I have to go mining for other gems and--luckily--stumbled on "Liberty Square."
This is a story about memories and reunion, and--of course--murder. It's a set piece, like a classic Christie, but the memories of these Vietnam vets are still raw and painful. Forrest said that she needed to explore Kate Delafield's military background, and in so doing, she brought to life the many experiences of the men and women--especially the women--who served in that, or any other, misbegotten hellhole. I'm glad she did.
If you haven't read anything by Katherine V. Forrest, you're cheating yourself. And I highly recommend you start with "Liberty Square."
January 29, 2013
Forrest's were some of the first lesbian detective novels I came across. Now there are more, I find her work pretty conservative for my taste -- that is, the social perspective gets in the way of the story for me. I like the veteran - theme in this one, though -- invites comparison with other books/movies of the Deer-Hunter variety.
August 13, 2012
On this reading I think I appreciate "Liberty Square" more than before. I realize that more than a detective novel it's a novel about some very serious issues - like "why on earth did USA have to go to Vietnam and get so many young Americans killed?"
October 1, 2010
So far, a decent book for a lesbian mystery. But then, Katherine Forrest has always been a decent author, and her books are also well-edited. Not true for so many of the genre, unfortunately...
February 5, 2010
An excellent mystery series with an interesting female protagonist.
August 31, 2016
Wasn't as into this one...mainly because of the subject matter, but I still love this series in general.
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January 25, 2016A nice, light read. Learned a lot about the main character and the plot line had some nice twists.
June 29, 2016
Really good.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews