Publishers Weekly
★ 04/25/2022
Set in 1971, Sue Grafton Award winner Knecht’s excellent third mystery featuring CIA operative-turned-PI Vera Kelly (after 2020’s Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery) finds Vera and her girlfriend, Max Comstock, quietly enjoying their life together in Brooklyn when Max receives a letter begging her to return to her estranged family because her parents are getting divorced. Vera supports Max by accompanying her to Los Angeles, but she quickly discovers how little she knows about the ultra-wealthy family that cut Max off without a cent because of her sexuality seven years earlier when she was 22. When Max vanishes after an acrimonious family dinner, Vera must rescue the woman she loves by mapping a perilous course through the underbelly of California cults. Knecht’s scathing picture of the mental health “cures” of the 1970s is at once bitterly humorous and horrifying. Filled with well-drawn, quirky characters, the novel captures both the hidden pleasures and not so hidden dangers of a closeted existence. This nuanced portrait of gay life in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots thoroughly satisfies. Agent: Soumeya Roberts, HG Literary. (June)
The Star Tribune
"Romantic and thrilling."
The Advocate
"A page-turner."
AfterEllen
"What’s better than a sapphic crime story? Whether it be Killing Eve or Orange is the New Black, lesbians dominate the crime genre with humor and ease. Vera Kelly: Lost and Found takes it one step further: we have a lesbian detective on our hands. Nice!"
Crime Reads
"If you’re not reading [Vera Kelly’s] rolicking adventures from spy-hood to PI-dom, you absolutely should."
Lamda Literary
"A luxurious SoCal caper."
Autostraddle
"An intimate and authentic look at historical queer domesticity. . . . the combination of the quiet character work, fast-paced action, and insight into queer relationships of the past that make this book exceptional."
Historical Novels Society
"Engaging and often funny. . . . The heart of the novel—Vera’s introspections on disappointed family and society’s reactions to a same-sex couple—will resonate with many readers."
Foreword Reviews
"Recasts cozy mysteries through a queer lens. . . . with women occupying center stage, saving each other and functioning as heroes."
Tracy O'Neill
"Once more Rosalie Knecht proves herself one of the finest writers in the genre: brisk, witty, and emotionally intelligent. The much-anticipated return of Vera Kelly turns a tight plot around the failures of family and high stakes love, betrayal and the unlikely adventure toward self acceptance. This novel is a pleasure as wise as it is thrilling."
Parnassus Musing
"Feels both like a classic noir and a wholly original take on the spy novel."
Starred Review Booklist
"Gritty yet romantic."
BookPage
"Fascinating."
The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Weinman
"Concludes the trilogy at the highest possible level. . . . Knecht’s writing, crisp and taut, cuts through the landscape with lacerating swiftness."
iBooks
"Brilliant. . . . A delicious mix of taut mystery, family drama, and queer romance."
AUGUST 2022 - AudioFile
Elisabeth Rodgers is a talented narrator who is highly suited to portraying the strong and resourceful private detective and lesbian Vera Kelly. In this third novel of the series featuring this outspoken but tenderhearted heroine, listeners follow Vera and her female lover, Max, to California, where Max confronts her wealthy family who have disowned her because of her sexual orientation. This work of LGBTQ+ fiction takes place in the 1970s, when cultural values, societal expectations, and technology were very different. Max goes missing, and Vera's search for her is more complicated than it would be today. Rodgers's crisp and perceptive narration engenders suspense as Vera struggles to rescue the woman she loves. Rodgers gives all the characters in the story vivid, distinctive personalities. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-30
A former CIA agent–turned–private detective is forced to go undercover after her girlfriend is forcibly institutionalized.
The third installment in the series opens in 1971 with Vera Kelly adjusting to domestic bliss after Max, her bartender girlfriend, moves in with her in Brooklyn. Formerly a bit of a loner, Vera suddenly has a community. When Max gets a letter from her sister saying their parents are splitting up, she feels compelled to return to Los Angeles for the first time since she came out and her wealthy family refused to accept her sexuality, and she asks Vera to join her. When they arrive in Bel Air, a host of new characters greet them: Max’s stern father now has a much-younger fiancee, and there’s also a friend who lives on the property and has grand plans for spending the family fortune. When Vera wakes up one morning after Max had a fight with her father to find Max gone from the property, she panics, and then a message comes with the worst possible news: Max is in a hospital, which turns out to be a private sanatorium owned by her family. Vera goes undercover, admitting herself as a patient in hopes of rescuing Max, and she’s reminded of her own time in juvenile detention and her strained relationship with her mother. Knecht’s lively prose moves easily between Vera’s experiences with Max’s cold and homophobic family to her memories of being a teenager with a distant and unforgiving mother, effectively creating an atmosphere of danger and uncertainty as Vera and Max work to survive and reunite. Knecht has crafted an intriguing title character, and it's a pleasure to watch Vera allow herself to be devoted to a partner and to trust in the life they have built together.
An immersive encounter with a beloved character.
