In the Game (Virginia Kelly Mystery)

Has a better book ever been written? The answer is no. I loved this so much. It's both a fun time capsule and enduring in its themes. Ginny is a black lesbian amateur sleuth who has a world view shaped by her identity. Her best friend's girlfriend ends up dead and she decides to take on the case,

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all the while having these absurdly funny interactions with women she's trying to sleep with. I found this book hilarious and cinematic. I was put right into the late 80s / early 90s. And it had enough heart for it to be worth a reread at some point.

One of my critique partners helped me realize that the manuscript I've been revising is a hardboiled mystery. It was hard to recognize because my protag doesn't look like the typical hardboiled detective. So I immediately sought out all the hardboiled detective books I could find featuring black queer women. I found three, and this is the first I've read. It's honestly amazing how some things change, but so much stays the same. Ginny is still incredibly relatable, her observations on people and her place in society still tracks. The book is just a really good time. Very special.

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