Goslyn County

 

Summary:

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.

 

Excerpt from Goslyn County:

“I think we’ve talked about everything except politics and sex,” Olivia said out of the blue.
Maureen blushed and was speechless.
“Sorry, Maureen. I don’t know where that came from.”
“Don’t worry about it. You just reminded me of Carol, my receptionist. She’s far more graphic though. Let’s make another date so we can talk about politics. Then…perhaps a third date for sex? I mean, to talk about it.”

 

 

Book review:

When you first pick up Goslyn County, you’ll note the cover isn’t flashy. There are no sexy women on the cover. Nothing that screams it’s a book focusing around the love that blooms between two lesbians.

What you see is a detective’s badge.

Maybe A.M. McKnight’s intention was to let our imaginations conjure up how we think Olivia and Maureen would look or maybe she wanted the readers to buy the book because it was a crime story (first) with a love story attached.

All I can say is …thank goodness for book summaries because without it I wouldn’t know it had a same sex coupling in it.

Those of us who look towards a cover first, seeking a lesbian story, I think they might pass on it, unbeknownst to its content. That’s why I always read the back cover.

Moving on……

The first thing I loved about McKnight’s story, Goslyn County, was the countless strong women gracing the pages. Brains, beauty, brawn – her characters had it all and were respected members in their field of expertise and/or distinguished members of society. Take Ollie, she was a detective and taught math at the community college.

Her mother, a retired teacher, was in Haiti helping to re-open schools devastated by Mother Nature. Lisa, her best friend, was a IT goddess and business owner. Gloria, Maureen’s sister, was also a business owner. I could go on but you get the idea. Smart, strong women — ideal role models for our youth.

In regards to the cases being investigated by Ollie and Maureen, the plot of the tax fraud and subplot of car cloning had its moments were I was totally engrossed into the unfolding action and other times where I felt the story had gone stale.

When the lull moments came about, McKnight would bring me back into the fold with their choice of date topics. And McKnight, if you are reading this, I will never be able to look at the Pillsbury Doughboy the same way again. (See page 147 for explanation)

Since this is a book revolving around two women falling in love, I must discuss my thoughts at the pairing. I liked they didn’t rush into sex. They waited until they were in love. When they finally consummated their relationship, they didn’t rip each other’s clothes off.

They weren’t consumed with a fiery passion where they were frantically pawing at each other, starved for physical content. Like their courtship, they took their time — exploring one another. For me, the slow loving was more sensual, more erotic, than most “must have you now” sex scenes most authors seem to write.

Well done, A.M. Knight!!

Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)

Score: 4/5

 

 

 

This guest review was contributed by Kameron Brook of Superkambrook.