Murder by Tradition (A Kate Delafield Mystery)

Murder by Tradition is an excellent title with multiple shades of meaning. The plot is believable and well executed. The characters have behaviours and beliefs that correspond. A Super Read ,it is indeed.

Katherine V. Forrest, in her Kate Delafield series manages to present a tight, taut mystery along with a political statement, which she doesn't present in a heavy-handed manner. The two just seem to blend seemlessly and if you want to ignore the message (if you can), then you can simply enjoy the mystery. Kate and her dullard partner, Ed Taylor, investigate the murder of Teddie Crawford, a very "out" gay man. In fact, even he calls himself a queen. Teddie was stabbed about 40 times, which indicates to Kate that it was more than just a simple robbery. The first half of the book describes Kate and Ed cornering the killer. The fact that the killer, himself, was hurt badly is a big help to Kate as well as the description given by one of Teddie friends, Gloria. Watching Kate using her interrogative skills to trap this man is very tense, especially since she knows that without a confession all they have is circumstantial evidence. As good as the "law" part of the story is, the "order" part is really more fascinating and suspenseful. Kate has found out that the killer's attorney is someone she knows slightly but someone who knows her secret. Throughout the trial, she wonders how he will try to bring it out and taint her testimony. Sadly, no matter what the outcome of this fictional trial, Forrest shows that gaybashing is alive and well in these United States.

In the Delafield series, this book ranks as one of the most, if not the most, meaningful stories. It didn't have the love scenes I so deeply enjoy reading but the story line more than made up for that. Excellent reading!

I read this book in one afternoon. I was drawn in by the emotion of the killing as well as the trial. I found this book to display the court system at it's weakest and loved the heroine, Kate. I loved this book. I just found the Kate Delafield series and can't wait to read all the books in this series.

_Murder by Tradition_ is an excellent fictionalized account of an actual, brutal, premeditated murder of a gay man, for no reason other than the fact that he was gay. The story is very well told and I didn't want to put the book down from beginning to end. The first half is devoted to the discovery of the facts of the case and of the identity of the killer. The second half the story of the trial. The suspense is not in discovering the identity of the gaybasher, but in whether or not he will escape punishment. The victim was stabbed 39 times and bled to death, but the killer has deep wounds on his own hands and claims he was defending himself from a gay man who tried to force him to have sex. There were no witnesses. Can Detective Kate Delafield discover the clues that will convince a jury of what really happened?