Genre: Murder Mystery
LGBTQ+ Category: Lesbian
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Lt. Jenna Ferrari is in the middle of two cases and has just moved in with her girlfriend, Randi, so this is not a good time to hear from her estranged father asking for her help. But with her brother wrongly accused of murder, how can she refuse?
Randi isn’t about to let Jenna return home to face her past alone, even if it means she’ll be placed in a lot of awkward positions. However, she doesn’t truly know what she’s getting into until they arrive.
The sheriff calls it open and shut, but Jenna teams up with a deputy who is inclined to believe her brother is being framed. Together, they track clues and witness statements until they arrive at a shocking and dangerous conclusion. Can Jenna repair her relationship with her family and save her brother from life in prison, or are the odds simply unsurmountable?
This full-length novel includes all the sweet, quirky moments between our lovebirds, a new murder to solve, and intense family drama that will keep you turning the pages.
The Review
Lt. Det. Jenna Ferrari and her team have just dealt with a case of a teenage boy with no affiliation to gangs who was shot to death. All he wanted to do was play basketball on his neighborhood court. Such a waste of a young, innocent teenage life.
Randi still can’t believe she’s parking next to Jenna’s car – her dream has come true, and she’s finally found someone that she really loves. Now they’re living together, along with their pets Byron and Bandit.
She finds Jenna in the workout room, and can tell something is bothering her. Randi is always there to hear about Jenna’s frustrations of the day, and if nothing else, to be a sounding board for her.
They are both still adjusting to living with each other. Jenna wants to do more to help Randi at home, but Randi doesn’t need Jenna to do her laundry or fold her clothes – she want’s to do her fair share. But Randi has her own systems, which take some getting used to. Still, their understanding, patience and love keep growing every day.
Jenna follows Dr. Grayson’s advice to deal with stress – take time for some deep breaths. Her team, whom she considers family, are working on some unsolved rape cases. Randi’s former boyfriend, Dr. Eric Crane has also provided some valuable help, creating new algorithms for Ethan Bauman to use with those cases.
But before Jenna can get too deep into the investigation, she gets a phone call from her estranged father, Vincent Sr. She hasn’t had any contact with her family for thirty-two years, so why now? Because her brother, Vincent Jr., is in trouble with the law, for murder. It bothers her that her father has the nerve to act like there isn’t anything wrong between them and, she reacts badly to the call in front of her team. When she shares what she’s learned about her brother, they encourage her to go back home to do what she can.
With Randi by her side, they head to Kentucky. While there, they will come face to face with the dysfunctional Ferrari family: Vincent, Jenna’s mother Renita, and her younger sister Angie. As if dealing with her family isn’t troubling enough, she has to work with Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department.
Homecoming in Murder is the best story in the “Lessons in Murder” series so far. Little by little, Edale Lane had shared clues to issues in Jenna’s life and her past, and finally the Ferrari Family has been brought to the forefront. We get to see all the painful, heartbreaking issues that Jenna dealt with from her past, including the abuse, lies, condescension, patronizing and homophobia that poisoned her relationship with her family.
This is also another complicated murder mystery, which Jenna will be tackling from scratch, dealing with the rude and patronizing Sheriff Lamb without her top notch team to work with. But she does find an ally in Deputy Booker Reid.
There’s quite a line up of characters: Jenna’s team at the Roanoke, Virginia Police Department, the Ferrari Family, Dawn Presley and little Eli, and various witnesses and suspects.
Lane puts the brilliant Jenna Ferrari through her paces, to try and solve more than a murder. I loved Homecoming in Murder a high emotion, suspenseful, danger-filled page-turner.
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.
