I am reviewing both of Lori Lake's books together, because I want to recommend her heartily. Her characters and her ability to tell an actual story versus a "We've met, let's jump into bed together and then maybe fall in love" type of story is to be commended. There were however a few slightly irritating style issues with her first effort, Gun Shy, that were, thankfully, missing from the second, Ricochet in Time. My fear in reviewing them separately would be inadvertently turning off readers who would very clearly enjoy her work.

Gun Shy is the story of two women and the story is told from each of their perspectives. Jaylynn Savage is a graduating college student, headed for a career in law, while Dez Reilly is the slightly older police officer, a bit naïve, and recovering from a broken heart. The latter leads to one of the most droll descriptions I've read in quite some time, "It was the oldest story in the book: older woman woos the younger, treats her special, gets her in the sack a few times, has fun for about three months, and then when commitment was at hand, it was ‘so long, been nice knowing ya.'"

The two women meet when Dez responds to trouble at Jaylynn's home, and everybody's world begins to change.

Jaylynn decides that law school is out and, police academy is in, while Dez is learning that "I'll never fall in love again" works as well in real life as it does in song: Not at all.

We follow Jaylynn and Dez through the next year, along with their friends, adventures, ups, downs, and more than one misunderstanding.

The story is great and resolution works, but some of the trip seems a little forced as the two continue to manage to misunderstand each other and each other's intentions a few too many times to ring 100% true for me. That, and the author's tendency to use description adjectives in place of names, "The blonde," "The tall woman," "The dark-haired woman," "The rookie," made me a little crazy, but as noted previously, it is a book you should read, and an author you will enjoy.

Gun Shy Looking away she discovered she was glad to be sitting down because she didn't understand why her legs suddenly felt shaky. A feeling of déjà vu struck her, and from out of nowhere a thought popped into her head: she's the one. Ricochet In Time Grace was spooked by the anger and intensity radiating from the young woman. It was all she could do to keep from taking a step backward and fleeing the room. Dani closed her eyes a moment to compose herself, then opened them. A wall had gone up and she looked straight through Grace who wanted to know more, but dared not ask.

Ricochet in Time has none of the drawbacks of Gun Shy and is an equally compelling story.

The book opens as the tragic aftermath of a hate crime ends a relationship in its earliest stages, and the survivor, Danielle "Dani" Corbett, is left to pick up the pieces of her life, bits of which she has left all over the country as she has been running away from her past and problems most of her adult life.

Complicated familial relationships, extended families, friends, legal rights of gay and lesbian couples, the court system, homophobia, and more are all dealt with deftly in this volume, in a manner so natural that at no time does it seem heavy-handed.

Of course, what type of novel would it be without the possibility of a burgeoning romance, and we're treated to that as well as, as Dani meets Grace Beaumont a physical therapist at the hospital that treats Dani for injuries she sustained in the opening incident. I note with a smile that Grace, like Dez in Gun Shy, is also getting over a recently broken heart, apparently a theme Ms. Lake enjoys writing about. "You left me, I was hurt, I found somebody better, and come to think of it that wasn't hard."

Once again we spend time with the author's characters, getting to know them as they get to know each other.

This is a story that both shares important wisdom, as well as provides some entertaining hours of reading.

Read the books in order, and enjoy with me not only the stories, but also the growth of the author.

A sequel to Gun Shy is due out this month (August 2002) and I'll be looking forward to reading it.

Deborah Levinson
Community activist and WebMaven of Gay/Lesbian Issues