I was scrolling on Instagram one day a few months ago, as one does when they’re supposed to be working, and saw Jenifer Prince’s cover for this book. It’s absolutely perfect for the story Erin Hall wrote. When we say covers matter and indie authors should definitely invest in cover artists and designers, this is what we mean. I bought this book because the cover is by one of my fave artists. Both cover and novel are reminiscent of the girl detective stories I loved as a teenager, only the girls are all grown up now, holding their own in a world that tends to overlook them and go for Philip Marlowe types.

Set in San Francisco in 1943, Dear Sylvia, Love Jane looks at the war some powerful people—in all eras—go to against “vice mongers”, aka queer folks, often for political clout, revenge, money… Molly Malone is a brilliant private investigator, who, as a woman—and a lesbian—hides behind her actor friend James when new clients want to meet “the detective”. Sylvia Owens is one of these clients, convinced her ambitious politician husband Carl is devising an evil plan for the city, that also probably includes killing her.

At a time when knowing the secret knock is the only way to enter a queer bar, being out is unimaginable. Recognition of kinship happens through stolen and perilous looks and touches, and community only exists in carefully hidden spaces. As she uncovers a conspiracy to “clean” the city of these spaces, Molly is confronted to all sorts of dangers and moral dilemmas.

As far as I can tell, this is Hall’s debut novel and it feels extremely promising. It has debut novel flaws, such as repetitions, but it doesn’t take much to overlook them. Molly is very easy to love and root for. I love how she takes responsibility for her mistakes, her determination, her sense of what is right, what needs to be done. I hope we’ll get many more of her adventures. Since Molly is the one telling the story, I didn’t get as much of a feel of who Sylvia is but I imagine we’ll get to know her better in future books.

Striking the right balance between light writing and endearing, witty characters on one hand and heavy topics on the other isn’t always successful, yet Erin Hall found it.

Read Dear Sylvia, Love Jane:

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