LIGHTNING IN THE BLOOD

When the police arrest schizophrenic lesbian poet Anka Stiffel for beating her lover, fledgling sculptor Amanda Owen, nearly to death after Amanda tossed her out, Anka's lawyer calls Kevin Sweeney and Joop Wheeler, of G and H Investigations (don't ask), to establish her innocence. Boston Irish Kevin and southern gentleman Joop get to spend lots of time in the lesbian community of Hobsbawn, Massachusetts, and meet such interesting people as Charles Lowell, the husband who won't divorce Amanda because it would cost him $90,000 a year, and Amanda's latest host, Stephanie (Stevie) Gibbs, whom Joop develops an endearingly foolish crush on. But nobody gets any more interesting, or more closely connected with each other, as this pleasant, unmysterious debut winds down. Politically correct without being stuffy, self-righteous, or suspenseful.