Stevie‘s review of Rush by Carsen Taite
Lesbian Contemporary Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 15 Dec 13
As a Brit, it took me a while to figure out how the title of this one tied into the plot, although I expect US readers might be more or less clued in from the start that a story about sororities and their alumnae would also have links to Rush Week. We have neither sororities nor Rush Week; (secondary) schools sometimes have alumni/alumnae associations, universities generally do, and the Oxbridge colleges do too (I can’t speak for the other collegiate universities, but I have my suspicions). And a lot of universities have Freshers’ Weeks, but, in my day at least, joining a society generally involved handing over a few pounds and turning up at meetings – no initiation involved. That said, most of the clues to the killer’s identity were there to be picked up on, even by me, and not grasping some of the other clues until later didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this gripping mystery story.
Assistant District Attorney Danielle Soto is part of a pilot project that involves prosecutors with major police investigations right from the outset, rather than only once an arrest has been made, and the case she’s been assigned to is extremely high profile. A killer is targeting well-off women in their late middle age, and about the only link between the victims is their membership of the same sorority when at university. This connection leads Danny to the office of Ellen Davenport, herself an alumna of the same sorority, albeit considerably younger than the murder victims, and also the current executive director, as well as the daughter of another prominent alumna.
The pair are attracted to each other straight away, although Danny suspects that Ellen is completely out of her league. Meanwhile, Ellen is keen to hook up, but isn’t looking for a long-term relationship with anyone – unlike Danny – due to her various family commitments. Ellen’s mother has early-onset Alzheimer’s and her father is avoiding taking any care responsibilities, leaving everything to the overworked, overstretched Ellen.
As the investigation continues, the link to the sorority becomes more obvious, and Ellen worries that her mother may be the killer’s next target, even while doing whatever she can to keep her suspicions – and indeed anything else that may link her mother to the other victims – from Danny. Then the FBI gets involved, and one of their assigned agents takes a very personal interest in Danny, much to Ellen’s annoyance.
I like the push and pull between the two heroines, and also the glimpses into the lives of high society women that we get through, especially, Danny’s eyes. There are some definite class-difference issues going on in their relationship, although some of the subtleties may have escaped my notice – I do still feel that we are seeing two highly professional women sparking off each other for all that Danny prefers beer to wine and dresses a lot more casually away from the office than does Ellen. Initially I found Danny harder to warm to, mostly because of one early comment she makes that implies her taking pride in sending convicted killers to death row (maybe that’s another influence from my non-US upbringing). Ellen, meanwhile, lost my sympathy a little when she lies in order to try to keep her mother away from the investigation. In the end, though, I was cheering for both of them to find the killer and then to get together and stay together.
Grade: B
Summary:
Prosecutor Danielle Soto believes her position on the sorority killer task force is a perfect way to advance her career, but her plans don’t include falling hard for a captivating woman who lives in a completely different world. When the investigation and her attraction to Ellen Davenport collide, Danny must choose between the safety of sameness and the peril of the unknown.
Ellen Davenport has secrets, but until Danny Soto entered her life, she hadn’t realized that protecting her privacy would come at such a high price. Can she explore her attraction to Danny without exposing herself and her family to danger, or must she risk everything for love?
Read an excerpt.
