Everything You Have Is Mine (Lauren Laurano Mystery) [Hardcover]

Sandra Scoppettone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1991 | Series: Lauren Laurano Mystery

The debut of the Lauren Laurano murder mystery series.
Lauren Laurano is surely not the first gay P.I. in New York City, but she is in a class by herself. When she's on a case she becomes obsessed by it. Lovely, shy Lake Huron has been raped but refuses to talk. Before Lauren can learn more, Lake is killed, and as Lauren moves closer to the truth, her own life is enangered and she discovers a family's past can't always stay buried....
"Powerful...Ms. Scopettone has created an original and daring private detective."
THE NEW YORK TIMES

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lauren Laurano, Manhattan PI and former FBI agent, is 40ish, feisty, quick-witted and gay. In her engaging debut she solves a complicated case that begins with the rape and subsequent murder of a young woman named Lake Huron, who ran a computer dating service. To find out if Lake's rapist was also her murderer, Lauren must untangle the victim's knotted family ties and determine why her relatives all lie about their relationships to one another. The threat to Lauren, announced in an attack on her in her office, sparks anxiety and anger in psychotherapist Kip Adams, Lauren's lover of more than a decade, with whom she shares a Greenwich Village brownstone. Scoppettone ( Some Unknown Person ) evokes palpable Village scenes as Lauren's search takes her back to the unbridled '60s, when a fatal legacy of jealousy and deception was spawned. After another murder, the unmasking of several false identities, the mastering of basic PC technology and tense confrontations with Kip, Lauren sets herself up as a decoy to capture rapist and murderer. A lively pace, convincing characterization (Lauren, Kip and their circle of mostly gay friends are especially clearly drawn), colorful scene setting and sensitive observations about complications among families ordinary and unusual far outweigh the overwrought elements of the plot; readers will want to follow Lauren on her next case.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Hired to find the second-date rapist of a beautiful New York woman of means, private detective Lauren Laurano (a lesbian with a social conscience) must soon look for the woman's murderer instead. As she struggles through a sticky web of family relationships to reach the unsuspected killer, Lauren becomes a computer ad dict, jeopardizes her own safety, and reveals a realistic sketch of contemporary life in the Village. The author imbues her concerned heroine--who often refers to other fictional female sleuths--with a certain feckless charm and scatterbrained wit that both endear and entertain. A winning combination.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T); 1st edition (March 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316776467
• ISBN-13: 978-0316776462
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,188,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent; highly recommended, October 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Everything You Have Is Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

I discovered this book when it was very favorably reviewed in the Sunday New York Times. The reviewer described it as the first mainstream mystery featuring a lesbian which would appeal to everyone (regardless of sexual preference). Since it took place in Greenwich Village (where my office was temporarily located at the time), and I guess I was a little curious about the lesbian lifestyle, I bought it.

It was excellent. Despite having always considered myself very thoughtful and broadminded, I was surprised at how many problems gays face that would never have occurred to me.

I also loved the Village setting. My office was temporarily located there at the time, and the book mentioned sites which had hitherto confused me (e.g., a large unmarked building which always had people coming and going turned out to be the Gay and Lesbian Center).

In short, apart from the mystery, it provided an excellent glimpse into a very different world. I highly recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good mystery, August 20, 2002

By 

S. Calhoun "rhymeswithorange" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything You Have Is Mine (Lauren Laurano Mystery) (Hardcover)

It's always a gamble to pick up a book by a new (to you) author. This is especially true with lesbian mysteries as I have found that there are alot of hits and misses in this genre. All in all I found this first installment of the Lauren Laurano mystery series to be enjoyable.

Lauren's life and her relationship with her partner, Kip, is disrupted when Lauren finds herself obsessed with a new case. Venturing for the first time into cyberspace (an interesting look back at the infancy of the internet) while searching for Lake's rapist and following up leads even when the individuals who employed her are the main suspects Lauren won't stop until she gets answers to the questions that are nagging her.

Besides the outdated technology, Scoppettone spends too much time describing the fashions worn by each character. In addition her descriptions of how long time passes ("two months later the elevator arrived") can get annoying after two or three references. I must admit that these are small flaws I found in this book and I will still continue reading the remainder of the books in this series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even if you don't like mystery novels...., April 7, 2011

By 

Peter (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everything You Have Is Mine (Kindle Edition)

I grew up reading Sandra Scoppettone's young adult novels and followed her when she began writing mystery and suspense for adults. EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS MINE was originally published after a long period of silence from the author (little did I know that she was writing and publishing under the pseudonym "Jack Early" during those "silent years") so I was very excited when I heard a new Scoppettone book was being released. How excited was I? So excited that I rushed to the nearest bookstore and bought a copy of EVERYTHING YOU HAVE IS MINE the very day it was published! This book has all the twists, turns, and surprises you'd expect from a great mystery. But even if you don't like mystery novels, you're going to love this book's in-depth characterizations, its witty dialogue, its portrait of pre-9/11 NYC, and the sometimes sardonic, often laugh-out-loud first-person voice of detective Lauren Laurano.

As I said, I well remember my anticipation as I waited for this book to be published in 1991...even hurrying off to the bookstore after work to get a copy the first day it was published. How the world has changed. Now all you have to do is click the "order" button and the book will appear almost intantaneously on your Kindle. How's that for instant gratification? Try it!