The most celebrated detective in lesbian literature returns in the most fateful case of her career…
“Kate,” Detective Joe Cameron said, “there was always the possibility—”
“—that like most threats they were just threats,” Kate finished for him. She knew better. Had known from the start this was as real as death.
Death is now on her doorstep. Not even her loyal LAPD colleagues can protect her from an attack that may come from anywhere, anytime.
Four years retired, Kate Delafield has a twenty-year old case roaring back on her, a case from which she had recoiled, withdrawn herself. A homophobic homicide far too reminiscent of a recent, haunting, life-changing investigation of the murder of a young lesbian at the Nightwood Bar. Now she suffers in secret, knowing she is personally culpable for the mishandling of evidence.
She has also begun to understand how the roads she has traveled have led her to this day. The key decisions about the conduct of her life and her police career that have brought her directly to this time, this place in the high desert where she has taken herself. All she can do now, she resolves, is protect as best she can the people she loves most, especially Aimee, from this threat. And, until her time runs out, she can go back and investigate, determine who actually ended the life of fifteen-year-old April Shuster.
But events, people, intervene. New people in her present life, some from her past. And they will take her in the most unexpected of directions.
A Kate Delafield Mystery Series Book 10.
GCLS Goldie Awards
Delafield — Winner, Mystery/Thriller/Crime and Finalist, Ann Bannon Popular Choice.
FROM THE AUTHOR
"Why simply Delafield as a title? Because this novel weaves together recurring strands and themes from previous Kate Delafield stories, Kate’s history, her personal and professional lives coalescing like never before in the most consequential, fateful case of her career. The choices and missteps of a lifetime converge in so starkly visible a pattern that even headstrong, denying Kate cannot look away; her very survival depends on her insights into herself, her decisions. This book, the final one in the series, is in many ways a summation of Kate as a person in the post-LAPD stages of her life, and the title is an echoing of that summation. Besides, Kate’s been such an interesting, contradictory, complex character to write about over the years, she deserves her own title."
—Katherine V. Forrest
The Lesbian Review
If you’re in the mood to devour a well-written, poignant and engrossing mystery that features a flawed and totally relatable main character—then you should definitely buy this book, as a matter of fact, you should get all the books in this awesome series!
NetGalley
Della B. - I have been a diehard fan of this series since its inception in 1984 with Amateur City. Each novel can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading each and every book of this multiple award winning series. Ms Forrest has created a brilliantly tortured character in Kate. She is the sum total of her experiences, losses and life choices. Kate has never seen what others have in her. Being her own harshest critic has always kept Kate from embracing her accomplishments and the love offered to her.
Ms Forrest is a brilliant writer. Her word choices combined with the deep understanding of the human ethos has me rereading the same sentence in a poetic haze. She speaks to my soul. Let her speak to yours.
NetGalley
Abbott F. - Katherine Forest has written a tension-filled novel about an iconic LesFic character. As Forest ratchets up the tension throughout the book and Delafield begins looking harder at her life, the book becomes increasingly harder to read while at the same time being harder to put down.
The ending is unexpected and more satisfying because of it. People who either haven’t met Kate Delafield before or maybe haven’t read the last few books in this series won’t be left out in the cold because Forest deftly reminds her readers of the major cases Delafield had handled over her thirty years as a member of the LAPD.
If you love police procedurals or thrillers or suspense or mysteries or books about familiar characters, then this book is for you. If you love well-written character-driven books, put this book at the top of your to-be-read list.
NetGalley
Laura G. - This book is intense, and I felt so bad for Kate. She is such a tortured character. After so many years in law enforcement she's haunted by so much, the cases that's she's worked, the loves she's lost. She is her harshest critic and doesn't see all the good inside of herself. This is a beautifully, haunting character study of a woman working to maintain her sobriety while trying to make amends for the mistakes of the past. I will be going back and reading the previous books in this series because this book has reminded me of just how brilliant and legendary Katherine V. Forrest is.
NetGalley
Anne M. - There is a lot going on here and while waiting to read this, I reread the previous books. No hardship believe me and you will definitely get more out of this if you have read the others but it is not critical as the author does a good job of dripping in bits of previous stories to thread the narrative with back story. Kate is a great character and I really wish she could be happy but happy characters don't have enough drama. Maybe at the end… no spoilers here so I won’t say any more, but this is a great book to continue the Delafield series and I hope it isn’t the last. If it is I thank KVF for 4 decades of brilliant writing and editing and joy.
NetGalley
Carol C. - I loved that the detective is older and flawed, Ms. Forrest once again delivers us a character that you want to love, have coffee with and weep for, along with a true emotional roller-coaster of a story that I want to ride again and again with Det. Delafield.
NetGalley
Jude S. - While this book was a real trip down memory lane for me, all the more so as there are many mentions of the second book in the series, Murder at the Nightwood Bar, Forrest’s writing is still as precise, still as keen as it was when I first read one of her books almost thirty years ago. It’s at once complex and accessible, as are her characters, the plot, the atmosphere. The addition of Dakota the dog brings easy warmth to a bittersweet story of love, mistakes, redemption, and forgiveness. If you’ve never read any of her books, you definitely should.
NetGalley
Henrietta B. - Forrest effortlessly brings us back into the life of now retired detective Delafield. The writing, the depth is outstanding. And no, not all is pretty: the scars of lesbian life in times when you had to hide run deep. I read with anguish about Delafield´s losses. There is love and loss, grief, and redemption. And there is a cold case which needs solving. The novel is aptly named Delafield—it is the sum of her life and maybe the essence of life of many lesbians who grew up in dire times and now enjoy the autumn sun outside the closet. Brilliant!
NetGalley
Betty H. - This is a brilliantly written conclusion to a fantastic mystery series, but I would expect nothing less from an author like Katherine V. Forrest. Just her name on the cover is enough to let the reader know they are about to read something special, and this book lives up to that expectation. We get to see Kate solve another murder mystery, and at the same time watch as she copes with what she has been through, both professionally and personally. This is one of the best character driven novels I’ve read lately.
If you are a Kate Delafield fan, this is the book for you. If you are a character driven mystery buff, then this entire series is definitely for you. That should keep you reading for a while.
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