Danger
in High Places: An Alix Nicholson Mystery by Sharon Gilligan is the first
in this series about a lesbian photographer and amateur detective. This one
finds our heroine in the high stake world of Washington politics where
reelection at any cost is the name of the game and everyone wears a frozen
smile.

Danger
in High Places is set in the politically charged world of Washington, DC.
Alix Nicholson is a professional photographer and author of photographic social
essay books. She has come to the Nation’s Capital to photograph the people and
events surrounding the displaying of the AIDS Quilt. The displaying of the
Quilt is part of a campaign by AIDS activists to gain additional funds for
HIV/AIDS research. During the reading of AIDS victims’ names, a woman gains
access to the microphone and decries the insufficient funding of research for
breast cancer. She is dragged off the stage kicking and screaming and the
litany resumes. Alix seeks out the female protester and learns that Sandra is a
former nurse who used to work with female cancer patients before she lost her
job due to her furor for her cause. Broke and with no hopes of finding another
position in her chosen profession, she has come to Washington to self-immolate
herself in a final desperate act of protest. Alix is deeply moved by Sandra’s
story and offers the penniless woman food and shelter. After a night of
emotionally wrenching love making, Alix awakes to find Sandra gone. Desperate
to prevent Sandra from completing her mission, Alix infiltrates the “All-out
AIDS Alliance” (3A’s Out) in the guise of an independent news reporter in an
attempt to gain entrance into the events surrounding the Congressional debate and
late night fundraising activities. Finally, having found Sandra outside the
fundraiser hotel, Alix confronts her and Sandra relents, but less than an hour
later, Sandra’s broken body is found at the base of the hotel, an apparent
suicide. Alix’s heart is as broken as Sandra’s body over Sandra’s meaningless
death and verbal betrayal. When Alix is pushed down a steep escalator in the DC
Metro, she becomes convinced that Sandra had not changed her mind about
committing suicide. As Alix digs deeper into the mystery of Sandra’s death, she
discovers that no one is quite who they pretend to be. With all the masks and
lies, who can Alix trust?

The plot and characters in this
novel are well drawn. The character of Alix is very complex and portrayed with
a full range of intense emotions. She is grappling with her grief over the
deaths of Sandra and Brian, her former darkroom assistant, who died of AIDS.
(It is out of solidarity for his illness, that she came to the quilt display in
the first place.) Her physically injuries sustained throughout much of the
novel, are symbolic of her emotions wounds. Darlene “Mac” MacDowell and her
boss, Representative Hallie Shepard, are interesting as they walk the straight
and narrow as “silent lesbians” who dare not “come out” in a world where to do
so would be political and professional suicide. In contrast are the organizers
of the Alliance, the physically weak AIDS ridden, Hector Ortiz and his boss,
the tough fighter, Rico Rivers, who see “being out” as the best means to power and
money. Also of interest is Police Sergeant Littlejohn, the former lover of Mac,
who is still infatuated by her and still confused why she dumped him. Finally,
I cannot help but comment on the usage of Washington sites. The Hilton Hotel
and other establishments along Connecticut Avenue NW do exist, as does the
DuPont Circle Metro Station, and doggone it if I did not fear falling every
time I rode that long, deep escalator into the bowels of Washington. This book
really brought back memories!

Sharon Gilligan is the author of
two Alix Nicholson mysteries Danger in
High Places (1993) and Danger! Cross
Currents (1994). She has one previous novel, Faces of Love (1992). Gilligan is a member of Women of Mendocino
Bay (WOMB) and is working to produce a newsletter entitled, WOMB with a View. Gilligan currently
lives with her partner in Northern California, the setting for and Danger! Cross Currents.

Danger
in High Places: An Alix Nicholson Mystery by Sharon Gilligan is a better
than average entry into the lesbian mystery genre. The characters and setting
are very realistic. The suspense holds steady throughout the book. I would recommend it.

© 2002 Su Terry

Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a Licensed Minister of the
United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in Library Science at
Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Interests in Mental Health: She is interested
in the interplay between psychology, biology, and mysticism. Her current area
of research is in the impact of hormonal fluctuation in female Christian mystics.

Categories: Fiction