The Wombat Strategy

Book excerpt: Running a pub in the tiny Australian outback town of Wollegudgerie doesn’t offer much fun or future to knockabout Aussie dyke Kylie Kendall. So when the father she never knew leaves her 51 percent of his Los Angeles-based detective agency, it’s bright lights, big city for Kylie. Not so happy about her arrival is her partner in the business, the beautiful, enigmatic Ariana Creeling, who wants to buy out Kylie and gives her a decidedly chilly reception in sunny California. But the two women soon have other matters besides their bickering to attend to. A psychiatrist to the stars whose “slap, slap, get on with it” approach has made him a celebrity, hires them to investigate the suicide of a successful but almost universally reviled film director. Concerned for his reputation, Dr. Deer would much prefer a finding of murder. As the sparks between Ariana and Kylie fly, the City of Angels has turned out to be much more difficult and dangerous than Kylie had imagined. Originally published by Alyson Books 2004.