Laura Antoniou

Oh my goodness, what a sexy, funny, clever tale Laura Antoniou has managed to collar here! It's a little bit tongue-in-cheek, a little bit knowing-wink, and a little bit eye-opening peek, all depending on how readers orient themselves to the tale.

The Killer Wore Leather is a well thought-out, well-played murder mystery that just happens to take place in a fetish-filled environs of a BDSM convention. If you're thinking that's hardly original, especially since CSI has already done it more than show more once, you're right, but Antoniou cleverly owns up to that. In fact, she even has one of her characters reference the fact very early on, just so there are no misunderstandings. Yes, she nods to the reader, it's been done before, but never by such a well-qualified insider, and never with such depth and deliciousness.

As murder mysteries go, that element of the tale is rather straightforward. It's your traditional whodunit, with all of the false leads, red herrings, and misdirection you might expect. Personally, I solved the case rather more quickly than the lovely Detective Rebecca Feldblum, but that's perfectly all right. It's the investigation that drives the story, not the solution, and there are a lot of clever twists along the way.

I loved the way Antoniou peeled back the leather and the latex, peeked beneath the satin and the lace, and exposed the human beings involved in the scene. She plays to their fantasy personas, but also has some good-natured fun with their fetishes. For every scene that excites or titillates the reader, there's another that makes us pause, think, and feel for the characters. There are sincere homages to many stereotypes within the book, but some nonchalant dismissals of others as well. Just like in real life, nobody is wholly defined by their costume or their role, and others are so very much not what you would expect.

Oh, and I'm not just talking about the convention attendees, either. Antoniou paints the detectives, hotel staff, and other guests with just as diverse a brush, revealing some clever and witty insights along the way.

Ultimately, aside from the delicious humour, I think what really distinguishes The Killer Wore Leather is its commitment to the BDSM scene, even while acknowledging just how universal its themes and characters are. Theoretically, you could change the setting to a Star Trek convention or a comic con and have it work very well, with the same us-versus-them mentality, the same misunderstandings, and the same protective sort of clique-ness. However, there are some deeper insights into love, friendship, and the whole power dynamic that are unique to the scene, and which really provide the story's charm.

Whether you're whips and chains and collars are second-nature to you, or you have never imagined them on anything other than the neighbour's dog, this is a mystery that's worth a read. Play along and solve the case, or just enjoy the journey . . . it's up to you.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins show less

While this review indicates a 2017 read date, I bought a copy later on in 2017 and have read it several times since.

2020 review: The previous review still absolutely stands. I've reread the book a few times since then and continue to like it even more. I look forward to it every time I read it. The dynamics between different people are delightful for different reasons. Detectives Feldblum and DeCosta are great together as cops, and I liked seeing a tense partnership for once. I read a lot of show more mysteries and watch police procedurals, and this is a variant of the typical. I liked how they both put aside their personal differences so smoothly and fluidly, and how dedicated they each were to their jobs. The way their conflict was ultimately handled, I thought was actually done convincingly. Bitsy and Earl had me cheering from page one, as pretty much always. Bitsy and her beau were a -delight- and oh, my heart warmed. I resemble her beau, and like women who resemble Bitsy, so I felt like I had a stake in such representation, as it were. Ravenfyre and her family--there were times I felt so much sympathy for them. There were times I snickered at some plot twists involving them, and I always laugh at the part where several women cheer a certain event that befalls the Ravenfyre family. I would cheer if I was there watching it, too. I'm mean but ohh, front row seating to that drama! Or maybe I'd die of second-hand embarrassment. Not sure. But on the page, it's fun to look forward to. I've really grown to like the bootblacks over time. I want to be Mickey Abraham when I grow up. Every time she laughed, I laughed, or giggled or tittered. I found Trudy to be really annoying for a lot of reasons, but I was happy for Detective Feldblum and intrigued to watch such a cool-headed cop be not so, as she bumped into an ex. I would -not- handle that a tenth of as well as she did.

I liked -how- the plot kept twisting and why. I liked how I had to think, and sometimes I try to piece together the clues. Mostly, because of how the book is so well put-together, I just read on happily.

Original review: This book was wonderful! I laughed a lot while reading it, and every new plot twist sent me spinning. Oh, someone new is suggested to have killed him? I was wrong! I must read more carefully after imagining exactly what happened! I was so grateful that kink culture was portrayed so honestly. I cheered the detectives on. When the author writes another murder mystery, I am sure to read it. show less

I loved this book. It was one of those books you just can't put down.

Antoniou's real strength in this book is the characters. Each one is three-dimensional and fully realized - even the unlikable murder victim turns out to be more than he seems. While the unpleasantness of the murder victim made it difficult for me to really invest in the resolution of the mystery, my interest in the characters kept me reading.

This full exploration of the characters and avoidance of stereotypes was show more particularly appreciated given the setting of the story: a kink convention. As such, many of the characters are involved in nonstandard personal or sexual relationships, but that is not the defining character trait for any of them. Antoniou lampshades this throughout the book, frequently pointing out that most of the attendees live ordinary lives most of the year, and one minor character has a rather brilliant monologue about how attending kink conventions isn't really much different from being a Trekkie or a football fan.

Fans of erotica should be warned: while this book is set at a kink convention and the author does not shy away from vivid descriptions, there is very little sex in this book. There are only two, perhaps three, explicit sex scenes, so I would give it an R rating instead of an NC-17.

This relative dearth of explicit sex scenes dovetails nicely with what one of the characters says about sex: it doesn't end with what's between your legs; intimacy and trust are much more important. Antoniou follows through on this idea by making the less explicit sex scenes focus on the relationship between the characters involved; the more explicit scenes are reserved for relationships lacking in some way this vital component. show less

Ms. Antoniou has definitively demonstrated that even in a murder mystery, scared cow makes the best hamburger!

Disclaimer: I received this book through Librarything's Early Reviewers Program.

Set in a swank Manhattan hotel, our author spins a compelling yarn about the murder of the retiring Global Mr. Leather, Mack Steel. It seems that Mack has made enemies of practically every part of the kink community with his abrasive personality and bigoted views, opening up potential pool of suspects so show more wide that the investigation detective despairs of finding killer before the crowd disperses back to their respective locales making the task almost infinitely more difficult. Add in the heat from the brass, journalists trying to make their mark, the producers, and protesters and the pot quickly bubbles on its way to boiling over.

This is also the tale of our protagonist, Detective Rebecca Feldblum of the Midtown East Precinct, who despite being one of the few “out” lesbian detectives in NYC is dismayed to find out that she has been handed this case. Her lieutenant’s belief that these are “her people,” grates on her because she believes nothing could be farther from the truth. It is equally the story of Nancy Nichols, a jaded journalist who wishes she had been assigned almost any other story than the Global Mr. and Ms. Global leather and Bootblack contest, at least until the murder is discovered. As we watch their investigations unfold, viewing the spectacle of a world of dominants, masters and mistresses; submissives and slaves; boys and bois (oops, I almost forgot the bootblacks!) dressed in leather, latex, lingerie or nothing at all through the eyes of the uninitiated, it morphs into an all too human view into the world of conventions and title competitions. In an environment where appearances are often more important than substance, we get an insight into the human relationships and learn that what looks laughable can actually be a deep, meaningful, and satisfying exploration of the human condition.

If you have ever attended a kink convention, or for that matter any kind of convention with a contest, you will delight in finding your own local personalities featured in this story, I know I did! This is a well-crafted story by an internationally renowned author, and it is every bit the story I expected from Laura Antoniou and more. Belly up to the bar and grab this one, it is funny and satisfying on many levels and I, for one, hope we see a lot more of Rebecca and Nancy. show less