Every town has a closet, and Port Diablo is no exception. Closets hide many secrets - loneliness, fear, prejudice, rage, homophobia... When Tony, a young cop, loses his temper, he punches open the door to that closet. At first Tony doesn't appreciate the full import of what's he's done or realize that someone admires him for doing it. But soon Tony will discover that someone close to him has embarked on a gay-bashing spree. Tony will be forced to choose - which side is he on?
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
From 2003 to 2007, Janet Rhodes was a contributing writer to Bay Area BusinessWoman, a monthly newspaper reaching 30,000 readers in five San Francisco Bay Area counties. She has interviewed dozens of leaders in the Bay Area, including authors, artists, political activists, celebrities, and entrepreneurs whose expertise ranged from menopause to parking meters. She is also the co-owner of BratCat Productions, which provides copywriting and editing services to local businesses. She has served as the publicity chair for the Professional Women's Business Exchange and has done presentations on copywriting at several business networking groups. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Pitzer College in Claremont, California. She has honed her fiction-writing skills by attending numerous classes, workshops, writers' groups, and conferences, including the UC Berkeley extension and Squaw Valley Community of Writers. While writing Chocolate and Cabernet, she mined her personal experience for story material. A resident of the Bay Area since 1978, she has been involved in a Buddhist meditation group, attended the Castro Street Halloween celebration, provided care to the elderly, and encountered violent crime. She was raised in a conservative religious family in rural Wisconsin and takes delight in the Bay Area's mingling of cultures. She now lives in Contra Costa County with her husband.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent first novel,
By Lori Hope "Author • Speaker • Con... (San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Chocolate and Cabernet (Paperback)
This imaginative book represents a laudable and successful effort to create a believable world that I would never have otherwise entered. The descriptive and lively language as well as the very different kind of plot carried me through and kept me entertained, curious, and intrigued, and there were times I couldn't put the book down. Kudos to Ms. Rhodes for courageously tackling a terribly difficult subject with grace and sensitivity and for opening my eyes to characters who have deepened my understanding of complex situations and choices, and have opened both my heart and my mind. An excellent first novel.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Page Turner,
This review is from: Chocolate and Cabernet (Paperback)
This was the first novel I read by the author Janet Rhodes, and the novel was a page turner. I thought each of the characters were well developed and provided deep insight into how they feel about the issue of homosexuality and homophobia. I could not wait to get to the end of the book, to see how the story ended. This was a good read and I would recommend it for a nice Summer activity.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chocolate and Cabernet is an interesting first novel,
By Laura Strathman Hulka (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Chocolate and Cabernet (Paperback)
Chocolate and CabernetJanet Rhodes 978-1448617449 2009 Review by Laura Strathman Hulka Chocolate and Cabernet is the first mystery novel by writer Janet Rhodes. A cop whodunit, it deals with uncomfortable subject matter, including, sexual bias and homophobia. The main protagonist of the book is Tony, a young cop with a temper. His partner has a dangerous secret, and despite Tony's best intentions, he is swept up in the need to keep the secret from the police department of fictional Port Diablo. Even though in our time, more and more people are accepting of same-sex relationships, there are plenty of folks out there who take gay bashing to an extreme. Janet Rhodes story is about such people. It is a bit difficult to understand why a woman would write about a male homosexual relationship, when it is an intensely private subject matter, and the experiences, emotions and understanding of men in such relationships is also compellingly confidential. Janet Rhodes tries hard, though, to make the reader live the happenings through the eyes of the gay men involved. However much her voice is empathetic and perceptive I don't feel the cause of the liberation of homosexual couples is well served by this mystery format. Part of that is the "preaching to the choir" element, as anyone uncomfortable or downright prejudiced against homosexuality is not likely to pick up this book to read. Nonetheless, Janet Rhodes seems compelled to express herself via this medium, and this strategy may well pay off for her in future writings. Ms. Rhodes prose is tight and well voiced, however, and her characters fleshed out to be three-dimensional and believable. A unique perspective and a brave storyline draw the reader into the tale, and certainly allow the characters many opportunities to express their distinctive viewpoints and feelings. The overlapping love stories, both homosexual and heterosexual, move the story forward to an unnerving but dynamically moving dénouement. This reviewer recommends that the reader check out Janet's website, at http://www.bratcat.com/ to get a better sense of Ms. Rhodes writing history, and perhaps an enhanced impression of her personality and her interest in being a different voice in the literary world. Chocolate and Cabernet is self-published by Janet (and husband Michael) and is hopefully only the first of her mystery titles to explore difficult subjects with sensitivity and honesty.
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