Loud Pipes Save Lives by Jennifer Giacalone

This makes for a sweet couple of scenes, but it is a very minor part of the book. It turns out that they are likely both asexual–that word isn’t used, but the text is explicit that neither of them is interested in any sexual acts. But they’ve never pursued anything romantic. They are partners in the force, and they act just like a couple.

One aspect I wish we could have spent more time on is the romance between Lily Sparr and Miri. Instead, we have to sit with the grey areas and complexity. It doesn’t have a catharsis of the good guys beating the bad guys and everyone riding off into the sunset. This adds to the noir atmosphere: there are no clear winners, and justice is murky and undefined. They are often complex and flawed–there are no perfect people here. It’s a shame to spend so little time with them, because this a diverse, interesting cast! The motorcycle club in particular is made up of many women of different races, nationalities, and orientations, and there are multiple major characters with disabilities. The POV shifts also lessened the suspense, because we see almost everyone’s perspective. Sparr seems like she should be the main character, but I didn’t feel like I really knew her. The frequent POV shifts also made me feel less connected to the characters, because I didn’t spend much time with any one of them. On top of the POV characters, there’s just a large cast in general: I found myself having to search my ebook multiple times to remember who people were, and some characters felt like they could have been cut out with no consequence for the plot. I lost track of how many points of view we get in this story–at least seven? By the fifth point of view change in a row with no repeats, my head was spinning. There are political machinations, family secrets, romances, and, of course, a motorcycle gang (sorry–motorcycle club).

There are a lot of pieces to this story, and it demands the reader keep track of a large cast and their relationships and dealings. The real mystery–and the reason Sparr has been relocated–is to investigate the seemingly closed case of her father’s death. We’re soon given the points of view of these women, though, so the reader is fully informed of what’s really happening. From the beginning, I was pulled in with the writing, which reminded me of an old noir mystery: Sparr’s partner is described as a “blond, butch slab of a woman.” This isn’t exactly a mystery, though: Sparr is moved to another district to try to track down the motorcycle club that has been beating down acquitted rapists and abusers. Loud Pipes Save Lives is a thriller with a noir feel, following a New York cop, a vigilante women’s motorcycle club, and the many people tangled up in the ensuing investigation. It lay serene as they all loved and teemed and scrambled and strove.

Loud Pipes Save Lives by Jennifer Giacalone