Death Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D MagdonDeath Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D Magdon is an Agatha Christie style murder mystery with intrigue, romance and characters that are so much fun I’m relieved to hear there’s a sequel in the works.

Jay Venkatesan is in for a surprise when she accompanies her girlfriend, Nicole, to her grandfather’s 70th birthday party. She’s still adjusting to the news that Nicole is from a mega wealthy family when its patriarch goes into distress and dies in front of everyone.

Someone in the room killed Nicole’s grandfather, but who in the Fox family would do that?

Jay’s doing her best to support Nicole while managing her own anxiety, but it doesn’t help matters when her eccentric, mystery reading Aunt Mimi decides she’s going to solve the case.

The Characters

Death Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D Magdon is told in the third person, entirely from Jay’s perspective. She’s smart, kind and works very hard at dealing with her anxiety, often using mindfulness techniques to stop it from getting on top of her. She’s reliable and has a good heart, and I loved that she stands by her people even when they frustrate her and knows how and when to apologize.

We don’t get to know Nicole nearly as well as we know Jay, but I hope we learn more about her in the next book. What we do see of her, however, I like. She loves her family and is loyal to them, but I love how she adores Jay and the way she makes Jay her family. She’s confident and articulate, Jay’s perfect complement.

Aunt Mimi is determined to get to the bottom of the murder mystery and is a bit ridiculous, but in such a fun way. Underneath it all though, she cares deeply for Jay and has clearly been her rock for a long time.

[tweetthis]”I don’t mind that you’re here. I like any woman who can rock short hair.”[/tweetthis]

The Writing Style

Rae D. Magdon has an easy, fun, readable writing style, which is why I followed her from fanfic to her original fic. I love how she’s taken the spirit of Agatha Christie’s fiction, queered it up with a great butch/femme pairing, and brought it into a contemporary setting.

The Pros

A fun story well told with endearing characters! I also appreciated seeing such a normalized depiction of anxiety and depression, rather than yet another hamfisted one that just reinforces stigmas.

The Cons

I don’t know if this is actually a con, but the sex scenes were way more explicit than I would have guessed given the tone of the rest of the book. If you read mysteries for the actual mystery and aren’t into sex scenes, you might want to skip past them.

The Conclusion

If you’ve long been yearning for an Agatha Christie style murder mystery with lesbians, look no further. I enjoyed Death Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D. Magon and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

Excerpt from Death Wears Yellow Garters by Rae D Magdon

Nicole gave her a grateful look. “Thanks. For everything. You’ve been perfect during all of this. I don’t know how I would have coped without you.”

“You would’ve been fine,” Jay said, but the compliment made her chest swell. “So, what movie do you want to watch?”

Nicole put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking space. “It doesn’t matter. I’m planning on making out with you during most of it.”

Jay’s eyes widened in surprise. “Are you sure? I…I didn’t think…I mean, you don’t have to…”

“It’s what Grandpa would have wanted.”A small smile crossed Nicole’s face when Jay started sputtering. “Don’t look at me like that. He was a pretty enlightened guy. I came out to him before either of my parents. And even though he was devoted to his work, he always took time to enjoy life and be with the people he cared about. I want to be just like him.”

Although she tried not to read too much into the comment, Jay couldn’t help grinning. Even though everything else seemed to be going wrong all at once, her budding relationship with Nicole felt very, very right.

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Bits and Bobs

  • AISN number: B01B2FNL7A
  • Publisher: Desert Palm Press

Rae D Magdon Online

review-copyNote: I received a free review copy of this book for review. No money was exchanged for this review. I will always review books as honestly as possible and on occasion I refuse to review books.