Anne Laughlin

When the hallowed halls of academia become the stage for murder, newly appointed Dean Beth Ellis's search for the truth leads her to unexpected discoveries about her own heart. For Beth Ellis, Grafton College and its faculty and students are her home and family. But the president of the college rubs everyone the wrong way, the new English professor on campus isn't much more popular, and Beth has her hands full trying to keep the peace as various campus factions quarrel. Still, she didn't show more expect a tenure battle to end in murder. Sally Sullivan left the Chicago police homicide division and returned to her hometown where, as chief of police, she expected her greatest challenges to be dealing with car accidents and drunk drivers. But faced with a murder investigation with more motives than evidence and an inexperienced staff, Sally finds small-town policing isn't as simple as she thought. Neither are her growing feelings for Beth Ellis. As Sally and Beth's different worlds collide, their desire to solve the murder is complicated by their unexpected attraction. A second murder on campus places the survival of the college itself, their tenuous relationship, and even their lives in jeopardy. show less

Wow, a BDSM novel with both a head and a heart, this grabbed me early on and refused to let go. I loved the development of the different relationships, and the discussion of love merged with a desire for submission. The contrast between the experienced but uneasy Adele and the far more confident newbie, Laura, provided a great perspective.

Ex-cop Josie Harper was kicked out of the police force for propositioning her lady commander. After a bipolar diagnosis and regular therapy and medication to control it, she opens a private investigative office. As luck would have it, she lands a major murder case on her first day at work. The case involves a publishing heiress and CEO, Lauren Wade, who was arrested, tried but eventually acquitted of murdering her girlfriend because the jury thought the prosecution was unable to prove it show more 'beyond reasonable doubt'. Josie is being hired to find out once and for all if Lauren was indeed guilty or not.

The book is mainly about Josie's life as she goes about her day as a bipolar PI and Lauren's life and her continuing trials after her acquittal. We get a good idea of what it's like to be bipolar and how Josie copes (or not) with the stresses of daily life. Josie is actually a pretty good PI--thorough, assertive and very perceptive. Neither is she too perfect. The investigation is actually quite realistic, as it also shows the limitations of a PI working solo. But like most cop/PI shows on TV, Josie is just as gung-ho when the more appropriate action should be to let the proper authorities handle it. But of course, where would the fun be in that? Josie is also a bit of a cad when it comes to treating women. Add to that a pair of highly dysfunctional parents and barely-controlled bipolar swings, and you have a very interesting albeit flawed protagonist.

So, if we're following the usual romance formula, we expect the two lead characters who have POVs to cross paths and eventually to hook up together, because, otherwise why spend so much book-time on them, right? Except that things don't happen at all the way we expect. I applaud the author for veering away from the usual, predictable route, but..and this is a big BUT... Unfortunately, I can't say anything more without revealing the various twists. As readers, we have to be invested in the main character(s) in any book for us to want to finish it. How would you feel if a book spends so much time making you fall in love with a certain character and then eventually removed them from the romantic pairing? This happened not just once, but twice in this book. Granted, two of the characters eventually got back together. But still, I felt really bad about the one who got offed. Like..all that build-up and this is what we get in return? :) Also, some things in the book just don't make sense. Why would Lauren's parents fire her after everything she's done for them? And just over 3 dismal quarters? or haven't they noticed that she was highly distracted by their kidnapping? Why would Josie attempt to rescue them at all when all she needed to know was their location. They obviously can be better rescued safely when the bad guy isn't there. If her itching-for-action bipolarism is the explanation for that, then she has no business being a PI, because she is a danger to herself and others. But don't worry, there is an HEA. It's just that the route takes quite a roundabout way to it. Also the single most important mystery in the book--who killed Lauren's girlfriend is never actually solved, lol but by the end of the book, we couldn't care less who did it because all the possible suspects are either dead or locked up anyway. :). In conclusion, I must admit I enjoyed the book, but it leaves a bit of a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. show less

This book is hard to describe.

It's set in an and around Chicago and the main character is named Josie. She's a newly minted PI. She was a cop in the property division, but had some troubles a year before the book starts, and left the force. Those troubles were mostly caused by the fact that Josie's bipolar.

She's been getting better for the past year, and I sorta wish that we'd seen more of that. But, overall I thought that all the mental illness stuff (not just with Josie, but with other show more characters as well) seemed real enough (although I don't have any personal connection with Josie's particular illness).

Josie's first case as a PI is a doozy. Someone comes to her from the publishing company a woman named Lauren runs and since Lauren has just been acquitted of the murder of her partner Kelly, this woman (Sarah) wants Josie to find who the real killer is.

And as if that's not enough, we get introduced to Tim, Lauren's brother and between he and their parents (not to mention Josie's parents) there seem to be an endless supply of wicked subplots.

Finally there was Lucy. She didn't come into the story right away, and wasn't a totally main character, but she was my favorite character in the novel for sure.

I do have to say that it was hard to get through. Not because of the craft of the writing, but the plot and themes. They were just so very intense.

I was also a little disappointed with the end. It seemed very herky jerky compared to the rest of the book.

Still, it was a very interesting book that definitely had me guessing all the way to the end.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less