Book Review: Thicker than Water by Lindy Cameron

I got Lindy Cameron’s name off the ‘Crime’ suggested reading list for the Australian Women Writers: 2012 Challenge and searched for a book of hers through my local library catalogue. It came up with Thicker than Water, which is actually the third in her series featuring former cop and now PI Kit O’Malley. Cameron assumes that the reader has some familiarity with Kit and so doesn’t go in for explanations of her character in the book, unlike author Janet Evanovich who has narrator Stephanie Plum give a potted history of herself at the beginning of each book, but this doesn’t detract from the book once you get your head around the vast cast of characters and get into the narrative. Then it is off at a fast but enjoyable pace in and out of Melbourne crime families, long running disputes, red herrings, dead ends and all sorts of enjoyable bits and pieces. I also really liked that although the body count was high, for once it wasn’t all women and there wasn’t a whisper of blame that any of deceased had somehow brought their deaths upon themselves, except for maybe the predominant dead character who had a long list of people who might have been interested in his demise.

Things this book offers:

Kick arse female primary character, who happens to also be a lesbian.
Kick arse female characters both lesbian and not lesbian of all ages.
Lots of Bechdelicious moments.
Lots of lesbians talking about something other than being lesbian (not sure what the Bechdel equivalent of this is).
Lots of women who are just friends.
Well fleshed out characters both female and male.
Lots of hot lesbian sex scenes written for the female gaze.
A complex plot and a really good fictional Melbourne underbelly.

Like most crime novels there are moments when you wonder if the police really would allow a non-cop that much access to information, but I think that is more a genre thing than a failing of this particular book. Because really how would most crime fiction go if you didn’t get an idea of what the police were thinking?

I really enjoyed this book and I will go looking for more of Lindy Cameron’s work for my bookshelves.

This is my fourth review for the Australian Women Writers: 2012 Challenge and I have actually finished reading the 10 book minimum that I set myself, although I haven’t finished Carpentaria yet although having read other reviews of this I will persevere and I think I’m getting a hold on it. I have also started ‘The Hand that Signed the Paper’. Cracking read so far, but I’m only a few pages in. Damn this need to sleep!

I have read:
Indigo Girls by Penni Russon (YA)
2. Fleeced by Lisa Thompson (Chicklit)
3. All that Happened at No. 26 by Denise Scott (Non Fiction, Bio)
4. The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers by Delia Falconer (Literary)
5. The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (Literary)
6. Gone: 25 of the world’s most chilling and bizarre kidnappings by Wendy Lewis (Non Fiction)
7. The Children by Charlotte Wood
8. Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks (YA)
9. The Old School by PM Newton (Crime)
10. Thicker than Water by Lindy Cameron (Crime)

Related Posts:

• Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading and Reviewing Challenge by Mindy
• Book Review: The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer by Mindy
• 10 minutes of Bechdel-Wallace fail by tigtog
• The Bland Perfection of Token Women by tigtog
• Fleeced – short book review by Mindy