INTRODUCTION TO SYDNEY SLOANE SERIES
Family Dynamics Have Always Baffled Me
The Sydney Sloane series was first conceived back in the late 80s and early 90s when gay books, from mystery to psychology, spiritual to erotica, all found purchase on a small shelf in the bookstores labeled GAY STUDIES.
One. Little. Shelf.
I was in my 30s and understood that who I was and how I lived my life were different from the characters I was reading about in gay fiction. It was a time of standing up loud and proud in the gay and lesbian community – but that wasn’t who I was, nor who many others like me were.
Back then I lived my life as I saw fit with no desire to challenge anyone for my right to do so. I had also wanted to write a book which I would title Homophobic Homosexuals – a series of interviews with everyday people who happened to be gay and united in the struggle of accepting ourselves.
Whereas some people felt the need to be in your face, others would tell their families they were dating Steve whose real name was Lucy, and others just lived without asking permission.
But the bottom line then, as it is now and has always been, is that we are just people. No one has ever created a new emotion.
We all experience anger, passion, joy, insecurity—perhaps from different triggers, but we all comprehend the emotion. With that in mind, I wanted to create a book, character, series, whatever it was going to be, that would cross the divide between gay and straight readers. I mean who, looking for a mystery, would ever think to go to the GAY STUDIES shelf? Gays! And that would only be by accident or quietly being directed there.
To achieve my mission, I needed something that would bridge the gap between gay and straight readers.
And it was right in front of me: FAMILY.
Everyone has family, no matter what it looks like: large, small, good, bad, complex (okay, that’s everyone), supportive, destructive. No matter what their gender, race, religion, or sexual identity, everyone can, in their own way, relate to family.
And so, Sydney with her own complex immediate family unit, and her extended family of friends, and further extended family of associates and acquaintances, finds herself repeatedly immersed in investigations where the thread that connects is family.
I hope you enjoy the series which may be expanded upon in the future. There are 24 different types of family members that I had listed once upon a time. Who knows? One day you might just find Relative Strangers at your local bookstore on the mystery shelf, not the GAY STUDIES shelf.
BOOK 1: Brotherly Love
Shamus nominee for best first novel.
Private investigator Sydney Sloane had always had a troubled relationship with her brother. Even before David's long list of fraud, theft, and con jobs forced him to flee the country, they had never quite managed to get along. When he was reported killed in an explosion more than a decade ago, Sydney was never sure that this wasn't simply another one of his con games.
Now, staring up at her from the newspaper is a photo of one Noah Alexander, a recently escaped prisoner accused of brutally murdering two innocent people. A photo that bears an uncanny resemblance to Sydney's long-dead brother, David.
Needing to learn the truth about her estranged brother's death – and life – she begins to investigate and finds herself in the middle of a tangled web of deceit, treachery, and revenge.
BOOK 2: Sister’s Keeper
The return of P.I. Sydney Sloane, in the Lambda Literary Award-nominated sequel to the much-praised Brotherly Love.
On the night that Sydney Sloane and her sister, Nora, attend a star-studded celebrity affair as the guests of their childhood friend Zoe Freeman, Zoe is killed in an accident.
Things begin to look more complicated when Zoe's apartment is trashed but nothing is stolen, and Sydney discovers a set of documents bearing Zoe's picture, but a different name. Confused by the signs of a double life led by someone she thought she knew so well, Sydney begins to look into the death of Zoe Freeman.
Quickly she uncovers a number of clues – an abusive ex-husband who is now missing, a secret bank account and large, unexplained transactions, and a vindictive catering rival – but nothing quite jells. Then Zoe's best friend is bizarrely murdered and Sydney's own life is threatened – time is running out for everyone involved.
BOOK 3: Father Forgive Me
Lambda Literary Award Winner 1997 & Shamus nominee.
"The world needs more heroes like Sydney Sloane…"
— Tom Savage, author of Precipice
A young man is found dead of a heroin overdose on a Hudson River pier – while his wealthy father is stumping for political office. But the boy's sister swears he had never used drugs. An investigation to prove Peter Long's death was not a suicide, however, could prove to be a fatal mistake. PI Sydney Sloane delves deeper into a perfect family's darkest secrets.
BOOK 4: Mother May I
Deftly plotted and written ... Author Lordon captures New York with a sure and convincing touch that adds atmosphere and interest. Private investigator Sydney Sloane is a real character, moving among real people in a real city. This one you'll enjoy!
— John Lutz, author of THE EX
You'll ask more than "Mother May I" when you read this book. In fact it's a mother of a book!"
— Rita Mae Brown
Dr. Michael Callahan stands accused of his wife's murder by insulin injection. Without an alibi, and as a diabetic, he's the #1 suspect in the case. Private Investigator Sydney Sloane is hired by the murdered woman's elderly grandmother to clear the good Doctor of the charges. But he resists any help.
This highspeed adventure takes Sydney from New York City to The Hamptons and back, in search of the wayward doctor and his secrets. All the while, she's never quite sure if she's trailing the murderer or if the real one is still on the loose. In the end, she's ultimately forced to confront her own mortality as never before.
BOOK 5: Say Uncle
Sydney has to prove that her Uncle Mitch couldn't have committed arson and murder. Though they had once been best friends, he has become a stranger over the years, and Sydney finds herself questioning if she hasn't finally taken on a case she can't possibly win.
BOOK 6: East of Niece
It was supposed to be a nice, quiet, romantic vacation in the French Riviera…
Sydney has sworn never again to do detection work for family or friends, but when her niece, Vickie, asks for her help, Sydney puts her holiday on hold to hunt for her elusive nephew-by-marriage, Gavin Mason, a man she has never met and a man who is wanted for questioning in the suspicious accidental death of his parents.
In East of Niece, Sydney finds herself in a country where she has no jurisdiction, no contacts, no clout, no grasp of the language, and no sense of direction. A wary traveler, at best, Sydney now runs the risk of a prolonged stay in the south of France in a well-appointed jail cell.
BOOK 7: Son of a Gun
Old friends. Old secrets.
After a lifetime of shielding friends and family from the truth, Sydney's college chum, Peggy Dexter-Cannady, knows that it is her fault when her husband is shot and her daughter Lucy — Sydney's god-daughter — is kidnapped. She knows and there is nothing she can do to stop it.
There are no simple solutions in Son of a Gun. The clues are buried in history long forgotten, but time is quickly running out for Lucy as her mother's past is painstakingly excavated.
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