Renee James

Coming Out Can Be Murder

Against all odds, Bobbi Logan, a statuesque transgender woman, has become one of Chicago's most celebrated hair stylists and the owner of one of the city's poshest salons. She is finally comfortable with who she is, widely admired in her community, about to enjoy the success she deserves. Then her impossibly perfect life falls apart. In the space of a few weeks, the Great Recession drags her business to the brink of failure, her beloved ex-wife needs help in facing a terrible tragedy, and a hateful police detective storms back into her life, determined to convict her of the five-year-old murder of John Strand—pillar of the community—and a sexual predator. As the detective builds an ever more convincing case against her, both of them will be shaken by revelations—about themselves, about their own deeply held secrets, and about the bizarre ritual murder of John Strand.

A Novel

A Kind of Justice

Winner of the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year, Indie Fiction "If he had killed me tonight, he'd be sleeping like a baby in an hour. I should be scared by that thought, but mostly I'm angry. Not stomp-your-foot angry. Get even angry. Put a knife in his gut and turn it angry." A beautiful young transwoman is brutally murdered. The media looks on blindly, the police go through the motions, but the victim's hairdresser goes ballistic. Bobbi Logan is so outraged by these events that she commits two bold and courageous acts: She comes out as a transwoman herself, sending her career as a hair stylist into a gut-wrenching tailspin, and she begins searching for her friend's murderer, an investigation that brings her into the vicious web of a powerful, seductive predator who is as charming as he is ruthless. Originally published under the title Coming Out Can Be Murder, the book tells the chilling story of revenge when a suspected killer lives beyond the reach of the law. Bobbi Logan's bruising search for truth and justice takes her into the pulsating streets of Chicago's Boystown neighborhood, the colorful world of high-end hair styling, and the city's vibrant transgender community. Fast-paced and unsparing in hard details, Transition to Murder is a fresh, original portrayal of the life of a transwoman who is searching to discover her own "self" even as she searches for a killer. Renee James is an award-winning journalist, as well as a writer, editor and licensed cosmetologist. She has been active in the Chicago transgender community for many years.

Transition to Murder

From Jodi Picoult: "You've most likely never met a narrator like Bobbi. Tough, tender, funny, full of heart--and a transgender woman." A successful businesswoman and community icon, Bobbi has survived rape, gender transition, and countless acts of bigotry. Now, she's past being the victim. She won't run from her tormentor--she will hunt him down.

Seven Suspects

"You've most likely never met a narrator like Bobbi. Tough, tender, funny, full of heart—and a transgender woman." — Jodi Picoult Bobbi Logan is a successful businesswoman and a celebrated hairdresser. She is a witty, articulate woman who has survived rape, gender transition, a murder investigation, and countless acts of bullying and bigotry to get where she is—and she's made enemies along the way. Now one of them is stalking her. With each passing day, the threats become more brazen, more violent, and more personal. No one knows who here stalker is or why he's after her, but he's getting closer every day. Bobbi is intimidated but she has vowed to never be the victim again. She accumulates a list of six suspects, and with courage and persistence, she hunts them down, one by one—stalking her possible stalkers. But as she confronts those men who may want to do her harm, the number seven keeps haunting her—there must be a seventh suspect. And when she finds him, Bobbi's world implodes.

Renee James

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