Tarnished Gold by Ann Aptaker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How much did I love this book? As much as I ever loved the Maltese Falcon, which is saying quite a lot. A lesbian Sam Spade, Cantor Gold is a fast talking, womanizing, wonder of an unwilling detective. An art thief, she must weave her way through dirty cops and the mafia to solve two murders. Along the way she gets banged up pretty good, and the descriptions of who, what, when, where, why, and how paint a picture you won’t soon forget.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those who are butch, or who love butch women. It was SO wonderful to see the world of the fifties reflected through the eyes of a lesbian who is unashamed and unabashed in her sexuality. Even though I found Cantor Gold in the second of a series, Tarnished Gold easily stands alone. But now I have to go read the first, because the world and characters that Ms. Aptaker paints are just that good.

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