Genre: Lesbian Mystery
LGBTQ+ Category: Lesbian
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Her job was to look for Harry. The trouble started when she found him.
It looked like a simple task: serve divorce papers on failed businessman Harry Smith, who’s run off to rural north Wales leaving his wife with a baby and a mountain of debt. A welcome distraction from the implosion of her personal life.
But it turns out that Teema Crowe isn’t the only one looking for Harry when she — literally — trips over his body, lying face down in a pool of oil, with a knife in his back.
The police think Teema makes an excellent suspect for the murder. Her employer and her cheating ex-girlfriend know far too much about it but they aren’t telling. There’s an illegal money-lender who wants Teema silenced, and doesn’t mind hurting the people she loves, and a widow who just wants the insurance.
It’s a race against time for Teema to find out who killed Harry, before the police or the murderer find her.
The Review
Badly Served is the first book in a new series from Ripley Hayes, “Teema Crowe Investigator & Process Server”.
Teema Crowe had one job to do – serve Harry Smith divorce papers. But what she winds up serving is a dead Harry.
Life has taken a wild turn for Teema. She found out her girlfriend of five years Cassie cheated on her, and they’ve broken up. Cassie is still living in the apartment they shared. Manchester Investigations, that she helped start up with Cassie and her brother Nick Perry, has given her no support at all. The Wales police, especially DI Carey, are rude and racist, and he’s doing everything to prove she’s guilty of murder. And she doesn’t trust those who want to help her: Detective Chief Supt, Maldwyn Kent, Danny Owen and Inspector Sophie Harrington.
Teema has two good friends that she considers her brother and sister, Summer Bateman and Del Carlton. Summer and Del grew to be like family in the Atkinson foster home. With danger growing, Del has already been attacked because Teema shared her suspicions. Summer has gotten involved too, and they both are on the run. Teema stays persistent, even though she’s scared. She puts it all on the line to save her friends and prove her innocence and bring the guilty to justice.
Badly Served kicks off a new series from Ripley Hayes featuring Teema Crowe, a young, black, lesbian. For the first book of this series, the author really takes an in-depth look into Teema’s life. She faces intolerance, racism, disrespect and hostility, and she’s talented at her business and figuring out this puzzle of murder. She also has her own fears, insecurities, and love for her found family. She also deals a lot with her feelings about her past in the Atkins foster home. As she looks back at how she was treated by Cassie’s mother and now by Cassie, she struggles with a mix of emotions, confusion and decisions to be made.
I liked this new group of characters. What will happen with Summer Bateman and Teema? I also enjoyed Del Carlton and his friend Kyle, and the start up business of process serving.
It was fun to have some of Hayes’s previous characters show up – Daniel Owen, Maldywn Kent and Sophie Harrington from the “Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries” all have cameos.
Hayes brings a complex, fast paced, suspenseful mystery to the page, filled with danger, plenty of twists and turns, and a domino effect of guilty parties.
While the epilogue hints that there’s certainly more to come, but this book could have held its own as a stand alone. I’m excited to see what Ripley Hayes has planned for the next Teema Crowe story!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
