Angel Food and Devil Dogs: A Maggie Gale Mystery [Paperback]

Liz Bradbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2008

One of Curve Magazine's 2010 top 20 Lesbian Mysteries!

Golden Crown Literary Award finalist in both the Debut Novel and Mystery categories.

OutSmart Magazine - Houston: "Well plotted and fun, this book might be the best first novel of the season...(I)t's perfect."

Rainbow Reviews:  "FIVE STARS (R)ich in romance, long-term love and genuine affection... (A) multilayered mystery certain to captivate all readers..."
                                                                   
Lesbiatopia Book Reviewer Cynthia Rodriguez: "(A) classic mystery 'who-done-it' combined with some imaginative, amazingly sensual, erotic lesbian romance...We can all use a little "Maggie" in our lives."

---As private detective Maggie Gale works to prove the innocence of a mentally challenged pinball wizard who has been arrested for murder, she's called to Irwin College to discuss the suspicious suicide of a gay professor. There, Maggie shakes hands with the attractive Dr. Kathryn Anthony, who smiles at her with a faint but unmistakable touch of lust. Maggie's humorous and caring friends and family support her as she works against escalating danger, and toward escalating romantic encounters with Kathryn.  --- Angel Food and Devil Dogs is the "A" book in the alphabetical Maggie Gale Mystery Series.

Gaydar Magazine: "It's both a classic who-done-it style mystery and a hot lesbian romance. Who could ask for anything more!?!" 

Mysterious Reviews and Hidden Staircase Mystery Books: "Maggie Gale is a multi-dimensional character who takes her job and her relationships seriously...Her developing relationship with a college faculty member, Dr. Kathryn Anthony, is sweetly told, and even better for the book, is an integral part of the mystery."

Valley Gay Press Book Review, MaryEllen Elizabeth: "FIVE STARS AND HIGH PRAISE for Liz Bradbury's Debut Lesbian mystery/romance Angel Food and Devil Dogs -- Read and become a part of this highly stimulating, brilliantly written novel. You won't be disappointed!"

Editorial Reviews

Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: Boudica Publishing Inc. (May 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980054915
• ISBN-13: 978-0980054910
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #987,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book of the summer. I loved it!, June 9, 2008

By 

G. Uhl "Allons-y, ... and don't blink." (PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Angel Food and Devil Dogs: A Maggie Gale Mystery (Paperback)

I loved this book. Even though it is early June, I am convinced that Angel Food and Devil Dogs is going to be my favorite summer read.

I enjoyed spending time with the characters in the book. Some characters I felt I had known for ages, and others I grew attached to as the clever mystery whodunit played out. It's a smart book with poetry, academia, architecture, and antiques - all the necessary lesbian staples. My favorite parts were the steamy scenes with Maggie and Kathryn. It is really hot stuff.

Along with the dead bodies and girls kissing, the book is laugh out loud funny at times. I don't want to give any of the book away but basically, for me, the story was a perfect balance of what makes an enjoyable reading experience. It was exciting to read the fine print at the end of the book which claims there is another Maggie Gale mystery in the works. Keep them coming!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read - But A Couple Flaws, May 23, 2009

By 

Robin L. McLaughlin (Seattle, Wa.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Angel Food and Devil Dogs - A Maggie Gale Mystery (Maggie Gale Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)

I only rated this book 3 stars (I'll get to why in a minute), but I don't want that to be misleading. Angel Food and Devil Dogs was a very enjoyable read and Liz Bradbury shows a lot of promise as a fiction author. I'd have no hesitation about buying another one of her books.

Normally I do fairly long reviews, but I think for this one it's easiest to just say I liked the primary and many of the secondary characters. I liked the mystery plot. I liked the romance. The overall writing was very good and I truly did enjoy reading this book. With a few adjustments I'd have had no problem giving it four stars.

There were two main issues with the book that caused me to subtract that star though. The first issue is the big one and at times it had me pulling my hair out in frustration. In a detective novel the obvious goal of the detective is to cleverly gather clues and information as she investigates. But Maggie doesn't seem to mind letting all sorts of obvious questions go unanswered, over and over and over again. In almost every single interview during her investigation the interviewee made comments that were just begging for follow-up questions. But Maggie never asked them! She'd just go on to something else or indicate they were done, leaving me flabbergasted at what she hadn't asked.

The solution is one of two things. Either write it so the person being interviewed doesn't make the sorts of comments that anyone with any common sense would have to ask about in more detail, or write more detailed investigational interviews. It's possible the author thought going on too long in an interview is boring to the reader. But it's the job of the author to make it not be boring. Mystery readers like this stuff, so don't think we'll be bored!

The other main issue is technical and it alone would not have caused me to downgrade by a star, but it's significant enough to mention. The book really suffered from lack of copy-editing. There were dozens and dozens of places throughout where words were dropped from sentences. It was always obvious from context what they were, but these kinds of mistakes should be caught. The other biggy is that Bradbury seems to be having a passionate love affair with commas. I can understand this because I suffer from the same affliction, though not to that degree. Someone needs to get her to just step away from the comma key. ;)

Unless you're a punctuation obsessive or feel that interviews with suspects are the only critical part of a mystery novel I can in good faith recommend Angel Food and Devil Dogs to those who enjoy both mysteries and romances. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next one.

Kindle specific note: The Kindle edition is formatted pretty well. I only noticed a couple small errors. Though there really needs to be a couple spaces between the chapter headings and the first paragraph in the chapter.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Mystery, Great Romance...Can't wait for the next one!, October 29, 2010

By 

Mystery Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Angel Food and Devil Dogs: A Maggie Gale Mystery (Paperback)

This is a real complex figure-out-the-clues mystery! No last minute pulled-out-of-a-hat solution that you, as the armchair detective, could never have figured out. Anyone who thinks that just skipped ahead to get to the hot romance part, which was delightful by the way. After all, the mainstream mystery novel groups Mysterious Reviews and Hidden Staircase Mystery Books both rated it four magnifying glasses. There are clues, and you can find them, but you might be too caught up in the story to try.

I you are tired of the same-old same-old you read in way too much formulaic Lesbian lit, this book is for you. This is thoughtful, intelligent writing with interesting story lines, well developed primary and secondary characters, a hot romance that makes sense and satisfies, and a real mystery.

Re the comment by another reviewer about the characters being critical of other Lesbians who are not out. -- Huh? -- In both very minor references Maggie isn't critical of people who aren't out, she's critical of people who are both gay and homophobic. One has committed federal immigration fraud to cover up her sexual orientation, even though she has no reason to hide it. The other mentions two Lesbians who spew vitriolic hate language about GLBT people because they are so frustrated by their own internalized homophobia. And yes, both mentions are important to the plot.