Avon Books, 1998.
Overview: Suave Norwegian-American ex-police detective Aud Torvingen literally runs into trouble on a dark and stormy night. (Well, Griffith is too good of a writer to use that phrase, but it's night and there's a bad storm). The trouble she runs into takes the form of a sexy art dealer named Julia Lyons-Bennet, who is running from the scene of a murder. The victim was a friend and colleague, and she is determined to find those responsible. She enlists Aud's help, and Aud takes on the challenge without quite knowing why. (It can't hurt that Julia is sexy, though...) As the case unfolds, the reader also gets to learn more about the reasons for the hardened ex-cop's emotional and physical defenses.
My reaction: Griffith somehow manages to make a gripping story based around a character that on the surface seemed to be a very familiar one. Sure, her attitude vis-a-vis her wealth rubbed me the wrong way sometimes, and her willingness to bend rules about mistreating suspects when she was a cop (and encouraging rookie cops to follow in her footsteps) made me really uncomfortable, but I felt like her gradually emerging backstory made me understand both of those things, even if I didn't like them.
That said, I really enjoyed the mystery at the center of the case. Refreshingly, Griffith didn't cycle through suspects ad nauseum; instead, she keeps the reader's interest by having Aud deal with dangerous henchmen, while all the while wondering what she's missing.
While I had mixed feelings about the conclusion, I would recommend this book--I'd even venture to say that those mixed feelings are one of the reasons I'd recommend it! The Blue Place held my attention even through the occasional eye-roll, and stands out both in terms of writing quality and character complexity in the genre. Go read it! (PS: the cover art is exactly how I imagine Aud--pretty impressive!) One caveat: I think that Griffith's Ammonite is a stronger book, but when I compare Blue Place to some truly terrible companions in the lesbian detective genre, I decided it does deserve a "recommended" rating.
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