Seattle

MURDER IN THE COLLECTIVE
Published under the name Barbara Wilson
Seal Press, 1984
ISBN-10: 1878067230
ISBN-13: 978-1878067234

First published in 1984, Murder in the Collective was an immediate hit, not surprisingly given its title, among lefties and feminists. Along with Katherine V. Forrest's Murder at the Nightwood Bar and Sarah Schulman's The Sophie Horowitz Story, the mystery featured one of the world's first lesbian detectives, Pam Nilsen. Pam and her straight twin sister Penny had inherited a printing company from their parents, which they turned into a contentious collective. A satiric look at politically self-conscious Seattle, the mystery proved to have staying power as an involving read that grappled with an international story with ties to the Marcos regime in the Philippines, and was equally popular in England and Germany. Murder in the Collective marked the first of three mysteries featuring Pam Nilsen as a reluctant sleuth and skeptical feminist. The series contributed to various acrimonious discussions in the women's community regarding prostitution, S/M, and sexual politics, the idea being that in mysteries, all voices and perspectives could be heard in the course of an investigation.

From The Armchair Detective:
Murder in the Collective is an ambitious effort to use conventional form and traditional narrative devices to examine contemporary social and political concerns from a nontraditional perspective. Pam Nilsen is a lively and welcome addition to the affirmative action sorority of feminist detectives.

From Booklist:
The narrative is engrossing, evenly paced, and refreshingly unique.