The Monarchs Are Flying by Marion Foster

Title - The Monarchs Are Flying
Author - Pen Name Marion Foster - Susan Shea
ISBN - 978-0932379337
Genre -Mystery
Rating - 4.00

Gay/lesbian/bi-sexual/transexual folk have, in our society, always been on the margins. GLBT folk have been legally discriminated against in the workplace, in housing opportunities, religious institutions, the legal system, as well as dealing with homophobic people in other aspects of society. In Monarchs Are Flying , Marion Foster paints such a picture of homophobia in a small conservative northern Ontario town..

TV reporter Leslie Taylor is arrested for murder of her ex lover Marcie Denton, who, after their break up marries an abusive man whom she had been trying to leave. Harriet Croft, an older divorced lawyer, is called on the case by Marcie's husband who want to be sure that Leslie is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But Harriet is attracted to Leslie's courage and after Leslie fires her local lawyer, she agrees to represent her and prove her innocence.

I rated this book highly because Marion Foster in her writing gives the reader a very good sense of what it is like to live in a small community where homophobia is present. Perhaps what is even more important is her ability to demonstrate how internalized homophobia is destructive to the GLBT person. Leslie decides early in the novel to plead guilty even though she is innocent because of her own sense of guilt over who she is. The plot of the novel is standard and straight forward and moves along well. As a mystery the book is average. As a character study in growth and development, Foster's insight is excellent.