I’ve been MIA, I know, as far as new books for a while. A combination of heavy workload and some health issues have kept me sidelined, but I promise that is about to change.
I also wanted to offer heartfelt thanks for a wonderful reader review of my second Patsy Conroy novel, Shadowland.
Here is that review on Amazon:
“A Clever, Innovative Twist on the Buddy-Cop Story
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
Shadowlands is the second in the series about Patsy Conroy, transgender private investigator. Shadowlands not only builds on Diane Woods previous book in the series (Goethe Street,) it takes the genre into exciting new territory. Patsy is in the middle of murder and mayhem, trying to get at the dangerous instigators behind a complex plot to discredit not only her client, but her very existence. Patsy finds herself in the middle of a national and international effort involving both domestic and Russian agents and virtually all levels of law enforcement, including the FBI and the DHS. The story is hard hitting, with more than one painful casualty, including someone close to her. It is also a timely story, pulling no punches about the venal motivations of the cowardly and hateful political and social forces attacking trans people.
In a delightful new approach, Diane Woods has offered her readers what appears to be an entirely new twist on the buddy-cop story. Patsy’s ‘partner’ is an artificial intelligence presence; TARA. TARA could easily demolish the Turing Test – leaving a dazed tester to wonder just what the h*** TARA could be? A few years ago, an AI like TARA would be accepted only in a science fiction story. With all the recent advances in technology, TARA does not seem all that far-fetched today, albeit with some careful guard rails that Ms. Woods has built in. The positive effect on the story is that it speeds along the narrative and takes the reader into some surprising, dramatic events. It is a wild but satisfying ride.”
It is so gratifying when a reader really gets one of my modest little efforts, and responds with such enthusiasm and encouragement.
Stay tuned, dear readers.
Transgender Tales 