In 2nd Fiddle by Kate Calloway, private investigator Cassidy James returns for her second outing, this time dealing with the fallout of a high-profile kidnapping. When a wealthy local businessman’s daughter is snatched, the police are quick to focus on the obvious leads, but Cassidy suspects there is a more intimate betrayal at play. As she digs into the family’s polished veneer, she finds herself entangled in a web of blackmail and old grudges. On a personal level, Cassidy is still grappling with her own grief and her evolving identity, all while navigating a tension-filled dynamic with the women in her orbit. The novel maintains the series’ signature atmospheric Oregon setting and the steady, methodical pacing of a traditional procedural.
This sequel solidified the Cassidy James series as a mainstay in the lesbian detective genre. While the first book established the character, 2nd Fiddle proved that a lesbian protagonist could carry a long-running franchise similar to her straight counterparts like Kinsey Millhone or V.I. Warshawski. In the early 90s, recurring queer characters were rare; by continuing Cassidy’s story, Calloway helped build a “lesbian world-building” where the protagonist’s sexuality was a constant, lived-in reality rather than a one-off plot point. It reinforced the idea that lesbian readers deserved their own genre heroes who could solve crimes and navigate complex romances across multiple volumes.
