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Feminist Mystery Reviews BLUE GENES Reviewed by Harriet Klausner Private Investigator Kate Brannigan is suffering through what must be the worst week of her life and when one considers that the feisty detective has had some tough ones in her previous cases that says a lot. It starts with the local paper announcing her lover's death in its obituary column. Things seem to pick up after that low when two musicians (loosely speaking) want to hire her to find out who is trashing their band by destroying their live shows. She accepts the job expecting this to be a relatively easy case requiring her to make the Manchester music scene. However, friends start to bombard her with their decisions or problems, turning her week into a disaster. Her business partner, Bill Mortensen, abruptly announces that he plans to sell his half of the business so he can move to Australia. He would like Kate to purchase it, but she cannot afford to buy it. Her best friend Alexis, a crime reporter, asks Kate to investigate the death of her gynecologist who helped her lover become pregnant. She also wants Kate to steal the medical records before they have the baby taken away from them. Alexis knows that Kate has a different sense of justice, one that balances the scales better than the law does. As Kate investigates both cases, she wonders what is the next disaster waiting to descend upon her. Kate Brannigan is a great private investigator for readers who enjoy strong (in your face) female detectives. The fifth book in the series is an excellent read because of Kate, the fond tour of Manchester (which obviously author Val McDermid knows well), and the weirdness of the two cases and the secondary characters. BLUE GENES is a fabulous book, but clearly not for everyone. Too bad because Kate is great.
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