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The Third Eye

by Jenna Rae

For a long time, Captain Brenda Borelli has had it all—a devoted girlfriend, a dedicated partner, loyal friends, and a fulfilling career. Her world seemed perfect. But somehow it all fell apart. While she was busy investigating crimes, the things she valued most just slipped away.

When newly minted Officer Tami Sheraton is murdered by a corrupt cop, Brenda is unable to let the department close the case. She feels responsible for letting the rookie down and finds herself unsure of whom she can trust.

Soon she enlists the help of ex-girlfriend Tori and together they begin their own investigation. Just when the situation feels truly desperate, it only seems to get worse.

As if solving the murder isn’t enough, trying to figure out whether she wants to start over with her old lover—or explore the possibilities with a potential new one—might prove to be the most difficult task of all.

Paperback

$16.95

In stock

eBook

$9.99

Genre Thriller
Length 280 pages
Publication Date August 16, 2018
Publisher Bella Books
ISBN 9781594936043
Editor Ann Roberts
Cover Designer Judith Fellows

Extras

FROM THE AUTHOR

"The last couple of years have been tough. I find myself performing ongoing threat assessments as I read and watch the news. What does each policy change, each disturbing revelation, each breach of the public trust mean for our world, our country, our community, my family? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless, and I hate feeling that way. I started imagining how the same sorts of scary, disheartening changes we’re seeing on the global and national level would play out on a smaller scale.

Somehow this reminded me of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. In the play, there’s a struggle between old-fashioned Russian tradition and Western-influenced modernity. It seems to reflect the way my image of what America is or should be clashes with what it is becoming. There’s some strange circularity here: our idealized notion of American society conflicts with the pragmatic self-interest we find ourselves chafing under, in much the same way Russian society chafed under the emerging influence of capitalism. (Yes, I sit around comparing Russian lit to current sociopolitical trends. I’m just that cool.)

Out of this musing came The Third Eye. Briarwood is a charming town losing the battle to maintain its cohesiveness as private interests grind away at the social contract, and Brenda Borelli doesn’t know what to do. She has a place to focus her frustration and grief when a young rookie is murdered by her training officer. As Captain Borelli, Brenda feels responsible not only for Briarwood Police Department Officer Tami Sheraton’s tragic death but also for the corruption that appears to have led to it.

There’s something deeply satisfying about putting Brenda in a position to fight for the whole town against the greedy, the selfish, the shortsighted. What I particularly like about Brenda is that she knows she can’t save the world. She can’t fix her broken relationship or save her best friend’s wife or undo her mistakes or end crime or make things fair for everyone.

What she can do is try to make things a little better, and she dedicates herself entirely to doing so. She’s one small person working blind in an impossible situation, and I think that’s how a lot of us feel, especially now. I think of her as an absurdist hero. Things aren’t fair or reasonable, and it would be easy to turn a blind eye to what she can’t seem to change, but Brenda refuses to simply coast along in willfully blind complacency.

I root for Brenda. I want her to win, even though her victory won’t really change anything. I feel like her strength and courage and singlemindedness are emblematic of what most of us want to bring to the table. We don’t always know how to fight for what we believe in, but Brenda faces a clear choice. She’s willing to sacrifice everything to do what she believes is right, and I love her for that."


—Jenna Rae

Reviews

The Lesbian Review
Rae does a great job of keeping this story on track and unfolding at a good pace. I never felt like I was getting lost in the minutia of specific clues that took me off on a tangent and away from the heart of the mystery. There are a lot of moving parts to this narrative and at no time did I lose track of the characters and what their motives might be. I had fun reading this straightforward mystery in which the romance was definitely a subplot. I read so many romances each year it felt a little like a vacation spending some time with a story that didn’t involve awkward first dates or misunderstandings blown out of proportion.

Lesbian Reading Room
This is an excellent cop crime drama, great characters, engaging storyline and a real whodunnit until the last chapter. It soon becomes clear there is a cover-up, but who is behind it all remains a mystery. Really enjoyed this one. Would be a great start to a series.

goodreads
Lex Kent’s Reviews - The mystery part was well written. While Rae decided to not write the story in first person, like many mystery writers do, you still feel very close to Brenda. You are right inside her head as she tries to put all the clues together. Writing this way you feel a part of the story instead of just watching from a distance. If you are a mystery fan I think you will enjoy this.

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