In Holy Hell, Elizabeth Sims introduces Lillian Byrd, the new dyke detective on the block. But Byrd is no common or garden private investigator, she’s a journalist by trade, one who gets sucked into the stories she covers.

We meet Byrd at a crossroads in her life, having recently left her long-term girlfriend she’s now been sacked from her job for stabbing her lecherous colleague, who also happens to be the boss’ son. It’s a funny way to introduce a character who has so many loose ends and previous lives flapping behind her, but it works well in establishing Byrd as a believable presence.

The plot of ‘Holy Hell’ concerns the murder of a mysterious woman Byrd checks out in a dyke bar. The body has been mutilated, the police appear to be flummoxed and our heroine wants to know more. Sims sets the reader on a trail that includes a gruesome storyline about missing body parts, the plight of closeted lesbians, the relationship between the police and independent investigators, and the horrors of religious fanaticism.

The action is set against the backdrop of Detroit, a city with an incredible history. Sims a former journalist with the venerable Detroit Free Press and long-time resident of the area obviously knows her stuff. Byrd informs us rather too many times that she lives in the suburb of Eagle, which is annoying, but Sims captures the city’s underbelly skillfully. Of particular interest are her descriptions of sleazy inner city real estate, and of course, it being America’s Motor City, cars and their owners feature quite prominently.

Byrd isn’t a perfect investigator, she often gets caught out by the people she is tailing. Her ineptitude, together with the cat and mouse chase she plays with the book’s villains, is what makes ‘Holy Hell’ such a thrilling read.

Neither is Sims’ novel a perfect piece of literature, it is peppered with minor clangers, for example Byrd and her colleagues produce a newspaper without computers and without the internet, which is pretty unthinkable in this day and age. Moreover, the character of Minerva LeBlanc, the glamourous crime writer, seems to be little more than a plot device. Hopefully readers will see more of her if she comes out of her coma later in the series!

The author has a real feel for her material, the murders are gruesome and pointless, and readers will feel an emotional involvement with the victims, a feature that is unusual in this genre. Despite the mandatory red herrings, the book is a straightforward read, a real page-turner that has no puffed up literary cleverness obscuring the action.


Holy Hell by Elizabeth Sims
Published by: Alyson Publications
ISBN: 1555836534
Price: £9.99