Lauren Laurano
Created by Sandra Scoppettone

Surrounded by other gay couples and friends, Big Apple eye LAUREN LAURANO, formerly of the CIA, and her main squeeze, Kip, a psychotherapist, live together in Greenwich Village. This has just gotta be the first well-adjusted lesbian couple in detective fiction published by a mainstream press, as opposed to one of those tiny (and occasionally shrill) alternative feminist presses.

Not just another lesbian dick, Lauren stands out, thanks to the warmth and good humour, and the sense of community which permeates the whole book. Imagine an alternative lifestyle Rockford Files. Lauren has a real feel for the neighbourhood. She's funny, witty (rather than merely cynical), and posesses a deep fear of insects, computers and guns. A likable character and a good deal more fun than most eyes. Heck, she even gets along with her parents (well, mostly).

Good for her, and creator Sandra Scoppettone, who wrote several other novels under the pseudonym of Jack Early, including one book featuring Fortune Fanelli, a private eye who also has close ties to his neighbourhood .

NOVELS

• Everything You Have is Mine (1991)
• I'll Be Leaving You Always (1993)
• My Sweet Untraceable You (1994)
• Let's Face the Music and Die (1996)
• Gonna Take a Homicidal Journey (1998)

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.