Works by
Jessica Thomas
(Writer)

Alex Peres Mysteries

• Caught in the Net (2004) -- Winner 2005 Golden Crown Literary Society Goldie Award for  Outstanding Mystery
  She's intelligent. She's witty. She lives in Provincetown and she's got a great dog. Pretty good credentials, one would think. So how come private investigator Alex Peres is single...again? When a sneaker washes up on the cold winter beach, Alex and her four-legged partner, Fargo, are sent on an unlikely adventure. But that's nothing compared to the one-on-one thrill ride of a new relationship.
  
  From the moment Janet Meacham walks into the Wharf Rat Bar, Alex's usually stable world rocks like never before. Just as work and love seem to settle down, that sneaker comes back to kick Alex right between the eyes.
  
  Alex would do anything for Janet -- remodel her bachelor household, clean out the closets and even make Fargo share the bed. But if she can't figure out where that sneaker came from, Alex may not live long enough to enjoy the happy-ever-after ending she's finally let herself believe in.

• Turning The Tables (2005)
  Something evil stalks Commercial Street on a festive Halloween night. Only in the cold light of morning does word spread of a gay man's murder. Beset with her own worries, Private Investigator Alex Peres trusts local law enforcement to investigate. But when the detective-in-charge turns his attention to Alex's friends, she agrees, reluctantly, to do a little poking around of her own. It doesn't take her long to find more questions than answers.
  
  Greed, passion, hatred, fear: which human failing explains the crime? Just as matters begin to make sense, a second killing sends Alex spinning in unexpected directions. If she doesn't think fast, she may not be able to save a third victim: herself.

• The Weekend Visitor (2006) -- Finalist 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery
  The latest Alex Peres mystery begins with a mini-mystery currently providing cocktail party conversation to many of Provincetown's gay community: are young, beautiful, sexy, Irish Maureen Delaney and 40-ish plain-jane Mary Sloan lovers or is Maureen simply a boarder? Opinion is about evenly divided, with numerous snickers and snide remarks. But titillation rapidly turns to united outrage when word gets out that Maureen has been attacked by an unidentified man after leaving a local bar.
  
  Maureen's attorney retains Alex to investigate, but far from clearing up the mystery, Alex seems to fall ever deeper into it. Why did Maureen delay seeing a doctor until all DNA, drug and alcohol tests are iffy at best? Only one test is certain: Maureen is pregnant, not from the night of the attack, but some two months earlier…

Other

• Murder Came Second (2007 release)
  Broadway's bad-boy genius, Paul Carlucci, has chosen Hamlet for his latest production ...and, oh, yes - he's made it a musical! To the delight of some and despair of others, he has chosen Provincetown's amphitheatre for his opening gala.
  
  The cast are billeted in various B&B's around town. Staying next door to Alex Peres and her lover Cindy is Terese Segal, an "embedded journalist" busy digging up dirt on the players. When Terese is killed, no one is especially surprised or grief stricken. But the play must go on - and does. In true Shakespearean tradition, the stage will be strewn with bodies of the guilty, and the moment of vengeance begins. But suddenly Alex realizes that the wrong people are falling down and moaning all too realistically.
  
  Someone is not shooting blanks.