cover image Final Cut

Final Cut

Lisa Haddock. Naiad Press, $10.95 (189pp) ISBN 978-1-56280-088-8

In her second outing (after Edited Out), lesbian newspaper editor Carmen Ramirez finds intolerance in the heartland. Frontier City, Okla., is Bible-belt country--not the easiest place to be openly gay, even on a university campus where Carmen and her grad-student lover, Julia, have managed to carve out a life for themselves. The normally faithful Carmen finds herself in a difficult situation, however, when an old friend, Antoinette (Toni) Stewart, comes back into her life. What begins as a simple romantic dilemma turns into something much uglier when Toni is murdered. The prime suspect, a combative man in their lesbian and gay group, pleads with Carmen to find the real killer. Although not convinced of his innocence, Carmen reluctantly agrees. When the body of a gay man turns up close to where Toni was found, it seems likely that someone is targeting lesbians and gays. Haddock does a credible job with the feisty Carmen's complex character, but other cast members are stiff, either too abrasive or too good to ring true. (Oct.)