Midnight Rain by Peggy J. Herring

Publisher:              Bella Books


Peggy J. Herring should be considered a major author today. Not a major lesbian author, but an author to everyone. Not only does she write an excellent story, but also each book she publishes shows an improvement in style and storytelling ability. Unlike some authors, she is not stuck in a formula that appears in her books one after another until you can predict what the story is going to be before you open the cover. Her latest offering to prove this is Midnight Rain. 

Men are attacking women in San Antonio, much as they are in every US city, but San Antonio suddenly has a difference. An unknown avenger, who identifies herself only as Kate the Lesbian, is rescuing the women. KTL, as the press dubs her, is the rescuer that everyone hopes will show up to save him or her at the last minute when there is trouble. Clad all in black and driving a sleek black sports car, she appears out of nowhere, confident, in control of the situation and toting a big gun. Once she stops the assault, she makes sure the women are cared for, the police called and then she takes the men away. The police seem more concentrated on the fact that she is kidnapping the men than that she is saving the women; however, the women know she has changed their lives and left an indelible print on each one. Most of the book is about how four of the women join forces to find Kate to thank her for what she has done. Then they unexpectedly find themselves able to thank Kate by rescuing her from the police who are hunting her and the news media, which is searching for any evidence about her.

Although the women discover that Kate apparently has a preference for helping lesbians, this should not be considered a "lesbian" novel. This is a book about women bonding. It is about women joining together to be stronger and to overcome devastating fear. This is not a brooding, dark book, however. It contains numerous humorous episodes as the women come to know each other, feel attractions they sometimes cannot explain, and especially when they employ a curandera, a type of wise-woman or seer, to help them. One of the group insists on referring to her as "the witch" and finds herself banned pouting to another room during an important meeting because she is "blocking the flow." Secondary characters are few in this book, but they are interesting, especially the curandera.

People often say they couldn't put a book down. This book is so compelling that you keep thinking about it. This review was driven by a need to write about this book. If you read it, you will probably find yourself thinking long afterwards: This was a really great story.