Author: A.M. McKnight
Title: Goslyn County, a lesbian crime/romance.
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: November 21, 2015 through CreateSpace
Cover: Cover Design by CreateSpace/Cover Badge Image by Keith Bruce (kbkgraphx)|Dreamstime.com
Length: 320 pages, 74,953 words
Categories: Crime, F/F
A mostly black community with its roots in farming, Goslyn, Virginia lay just south of the State’s Capital. The once small, close-knit county had grown rapidly in the past two decades and boasted a population of just over fifty thousand. But the county’s crime stats had grown as well, and the latest offenses included several break-ins and rumors of a meth lab. Time had brought many changes, and many of the longtime folks of Goslyn no longer recognized their community and longed for days gone by.
Goslyn PD Detective Olivia “Ollie” Winston loves her family and friends and shows it through her sense of humor. Just like her neighbors, she too worries about the recent events, and it’s her job to find out who’s behind the crime spree. While investigating three burglaries, Olivia meets IRS Special Agent Maureen Jeffries who is pursuing a tax fraud suspect. Their cases are connected, and both soon discover they have much in common, personally and professionally.
This is a book which hits on all my high points for being fantastic: Strong women, lots of action and suspense, a touch of romance (but not as the main theme), and a nod to important social issues. I loved it, start to finish.
Olivia and Maureen are easy heroes to root for. They’re not perfect, but they are both dedicated, smart, and professional as well as caring. I enjoyed the glimpse into their world as they track the suspects’ illegal activity from two different angles. One thing I appreciate is that the story is suspenseful, but it isn’t about violent crime or a vast government conspiracy or the mob. It may seem like that would be challenging to turn into an exciting plot, but the author did an excellent job pulling us into the world these characters inhabit.
Along the same lines, another thing I really like is how the suspects are humanized here. I found myself hoping for them as much as I wanted Olivia to crack the case. There isn’t so much black-and-white thinking here. Anyone who is looking for heroes and villains may be disappointed because that’s not the point of the story. There are a few moments when we see into the lives of the suspects which made me really emotional.
As for the romance, I think it’s perfect. First of all, can I just say how much I love characters who actually have a conversation about what they want in a relationship? And who don’t let minor challenges give rise to huge fights? It was so refreshing to watch Olivia’s relationship with Maureen unfold. It felt secondary to the case they’re working on but in a good way. These are two loving, gentle souls who obviously belong together.
There are so many side characters here. Personally, that’s something I love, although I understand when readers prefer fewer. For me, it makes the town feel more real, and it makes the main characters more authentic. They aren’t exclusively focused on their relationship, which makes it feel more natural and unfold more smoothly. And of course, it makes me want to know more about the people living there and what they’re up to.
If I could boil this down to one thing which is probably the main reason I loved it, this story is about relationships of many types. Those are always my favorite, regardless of the genre. This may have been the author’s first novel, but I’m definitely hoping not the last.
For outstanding writing, an engaging plot, and characters with emotional breadth and depth, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Goslyn-County-M-McKnight/dp/1515323099?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc
“Good morning, Special Agent Jeffries,” Detective Winston said.
“Detective!” Maureen couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice when she answered.
“Yes, Ms. Taylor said you were returning my call.”
“She did?” Maureen saw Carol peek into her office and give a thumbs-up. Maureen balled up a Post-it and threw it at her. “Uh…yes, I wanted to fill you in on my trip to Atlanta. But I heard you had some excitement yesterday.”
“We did. Bertrand Lewis is in the hospital after an attack by a burglary suspect. He’s in ICU suffering from a heart attack and a concussion.”
“How’s he doing? Have you been able to talk to him?”
“He’s expected to pull through, but he’s in no condition to talk yet. We have the suspect in custody, and he’s in the hospital too–meth withdrawal. We plan to question him later today.”
“And the car chase? Was that the suspect?”
“Yeah. The idiot could’ve killed somebody. I spent most of the evening filling out report forms and talking to my lieutenant and the media rep.”
“You were in the chase?!” Maureen again couldn’t hide the emotion in her voice.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it–just some scratches and dents in my truck. We think the suspect is a Calvin Henry who goes by the nickname ‘CJ.’ We matched his prints to some found at the three offices. I’m surprised this guy wasn’t already in the system, given his drug habit.”
Maureen could hear Olivia take a breath after she finished. She just held the receiver as if she was mesmerized by the sound on the other end.
“Hello? You still there?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah. Just taking notes,” Maureen fibbed. “Anything else?” She could hear Olivia turning pages and clicking her mouse.
“We think CJ had some help with the burglaries. We may be able to confirm that soon. We also may have a good Internet lead that could help your guys. There was some noise in a hacker chat room about Goslyn and identity info. I can fax a copy of the printout to you.”
“I should buy you lunch for doing all the heavy lifting here, Detective,” Maureen said.
The phone got quiet.
“Detective?”
“I love Chinese,” Olivia blurted out. “I’ll eat while you tell me about your trip to Atlanta.”
I walked right in to that one. Maureen was trying to think fast. Her schedule was full through lunch that day, and she really wanted to see Olivia in a more relaxed, less formal setting. The weekend.
“How about lunch tomorrow, Saturday, if that’s okay? I have some relatives in Goslyn I’ll be visiting.” Maureen held her breath.
“You have relatives in Goslyn?” Olivia asked with a childlike interest.
“I do. I can tell you all about them at lunch.” Maureen was feeling confident.
“Okay. How about Chinese at the mall on Bailwick at one o’clock?”
“I know where it is, and I’ll see you tomorrow, Detective.”
I’m a longtime Virginian and practice law as a first profession. I decided to try my hand at writing after getting hooked on lesbian crime and romance novels. As a lover of fast crime action and black lesbian romance, I combined the two and wrote my first book, Goslyn County–self published. My future works include a short story romance and a second self-published novel–both based on the characters of Goslyn.
Website/blog: https://ammcknight.wordpress.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wordmc46
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Amazon author’s page: amazon.com/author/ammcknight
