Warning: SPOILERSI don't ask much from my light reading. When the heroine has the emotional stability of a two year old and can only find solace in her boyfriend's manly arms, I shrug and keep turning pages. When her best friend is engaging in reckless behaviors typically seen in psychopaths, I barely pause. When a painfully stereotypical love/hate relationship between two main characters is given way too many pages to unfold, I roll my eyes but keep going. It's light reading, after all, and I was perfectly happy with this book despite these issues, at least until the heroine walked into a drag bar. This book spent an incredible amount of time insensitively portraying gender nonconforming behavior, primarily concerning the art of drag performance. Laurie portrays drag queens in an unappealing and pathologizing light, even allowing characters to describe it as a 'perversion'. I'm not claiming to be an expert on drag and the culture around it, but even a layperson can tell that Laurie uses outdated, pathologizing terminology to describe drag queens. MAJOR SPOILER: she goes so far as to imply that being discovered as a drag queen is enough reason to resign from office or even commit murder! This portrayal of drag queens is completely unacceptable from a book published only 5 years ago, and ultimately brings what I would have called a 4 star light read down to a one star disappointment that I would rather throw in the trash than force on another reader. I find this lead female to be pretty lame, not completely weak, but she doesn't grow. She becomes more and more involved with rough and dangerous cases but she still charges first cries and whines later. She doesn't learn to protect herself mentally (you know grow as a physics, or not break down when she sees something bad) nor physically (she doesn't learn self defense or even any weapon training, hell she doesn't even carry mace but she complains how the kid who ran off to class, has his head in the clouds since he doesn't act worried, but neither does she) my favorite line in this book----I nodded and took a sip, then wiped my eyes. “You must think I’m pathetic,” I said.----My automatic thought was "why, yes I do! damn she is physic!!"The only reason I give this book/series a 2 stars and not a 1 is because I do like the physic part but after a few books its the same song and dance with no growth. the whole book had "meekly" "my cheeks flushed" in each chapter, come on that's not strong that's a week embarrassed virgin maiden type. I think the author could have done better with building this character in each book instead of leaving her the way she is, always apologizing and crying, its very annoying and make me want to burn my book. So my final though "WASTE OF MONEY"
What do You think about Doom With A View (2009)?
Light and fun series--definitely an edge-of-your-seat mystery.
—fillebete
Love the book , can't wait for the next one.
—JiAhUi
