Ghost Motel

Janet Money, formerly the sports editor of the Woodstock Daily
Sentinel-Review, is a freelance writer and editor in London, Ontario.

Jackie Manthorne, author of Bar Stories and Without Wings, both
short-story collections, turns her hand to lesbian mystery in Ghost
Motel, and proves a deft talent at the genre. This is the first of a
planned series featuring Harriet Hubbley, “down-to-earth dyke from
Montreal and self-appointed sleuth.”

In Ghost Motel she is on her way to a vacation in the gay mecca of
Provincetown, Massachusetts, when she meets an innkeeper. The next day
Gertrude Cashin is dead, and Hubbley is drawn into the mystery of
Cashin’s life history and untimely end. Meanwhile, Hubbley is dealing
with turmoil in her relationship with Judy. Their machinations around
monogamy and what their relationship has meant will ring true to many
and make the lead character even more appealing to readers.

More local color from Provincetown would have added to the atmosphere
in the novel, but there is little to fault in Ghost Motel. The mystery
is stock genre; but this series promises to be different, not just
because it is Canadian-written, but also because it has some depth of
character and interesting plot. Manthorne is a talented writer who, to
her fans’ delight, is also prolific. This reviewer is looking forward
to the next volume in her series.