The Monarchs Are Flying: A Novel [Paperback]

Marion Foster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the isolated, conservative Ontario village of Spruce Falls, TV reporter Leslie Taylor is arrested for the murder of her one-time lover, Marcie Denton, who, after their breakup, married an abusive man she had been trying to leave. Harriet Fordham Croft, a robust, older, divorced Toronto lawyer who has bouts of inexplicable loneliness, is called onto the case by Marcie's sleazy husband: he wants to be sure that Leslie is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But Harriet, attracted by Leslie's courage and forthrightness, suspects that the community's hostility to lesbianism has resulted in her being railroaded. After Leslie fires her scummy local lawyer, Harriet agrees to represent her and, in firm fashion, proves her innocence and gets the murderer to confess on the stand during the trial. Upon Leslie's release, Harriet realizes that she has fallen in love with her client, and the two make their first tender overtures. As a mystery, this book fails. (Not enough information is given until the end for the reader to speculate satisfyingly about other murder suspects.) As a feminist narative, it's passable.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Firebrand Books; First Edition edition (October 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932379338
• ISBN-13: 978-0932379337
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,206,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lesbian, Wife Abuse, and a Small Town, August 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Monarchs Are Flying: A Novel (Paperback)

One of the things I often dislike about murder mysteries is that they involve characters that I can't relate to (i.e. too NYPD Blue or even worse L.A. Law). This is a compelling story of a lesbian living in a small town who is falsely accused of murdering a former girlfriend who has since married a violent wife abuser. Did I mention it takes place in a small town (the people in it are small and narrow-minded) where being a lesbian in their eyes makes her guilty. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider and was made to feel like one.