The Killer Wore Leather

By: Laura Antoniou

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audie Award Finalist, Erotica, 2014

Mr. Global Leather has been murdered!

In the Grand Sterling Hotel of Midtown Manhattan, home of the huge annual leather/BDSM/fetish ball and contest known as Mr. & Ms. Global Leather, last year's male winner lies dead on the floor of his suite, wearing only very frilly, bright yellow panties. Cormac "Mack" Steel made a lot of enemies in his year wearing the studded leather sash, not the least being his co-winner, Mistress Ravenfyre. But she is not alone - there are over 3,000 attendees at this year's fetish-festooned event from all over the world, some of whom might have had some very personal issues with the corpse.

Enter Detective Rebecca Feldblum of the Midtown East Precinct. Assigned to this doozy of a case because, as one of New York City's only out lesbian detectives, her lieutenant seems to believe these are "her people". Shocked, amazed and alternately puzzled and amused, Detective Feldblum must navigate a world of doms and subs, masters and mistresses, pups and trainers, leather, latex and lingerie, and discover who murdered the late Mack Steel - and, she hopes, do it before the weekend is over and everyone goes home. In the process, she will discover more about the sexual underworld than she ever really wanted to know, and more about her own past than she could have ever imagined.

Written in the classic spirit of Sharyn McCrumb's Bimbos of the Death Sun, The Killer Wore Leather is both an engaging mystery and a humorous glimpse into the world of modern, pansexual international leather/BDSM contests and conferences. Only Laura Antoniou could write The Killer Wore Leather. In addition to being the author of the best-selling Marketplace series of erotic novels, she has over 20 years of experience teaching, speaking to, and occasionally skewering the alt-sex communities around the world. With a wicked sense of humor, insider information and a twisted imagination, she crafts a spicy melange of mystery and mayhem!

The Killer Wore Leather is a deliciously tongue-in-cheek murder mystery set at a leather convention, allowing listeners into this private world of personalities and peccadiloes. It's the kinkiest game of clue ever, with a sex toy as the murder weapon, and every leather man and woman lacks an alibi. Cleverly crafted and highly humorous, Antoniou is at her wicked best in this pause-resistant fetish fest. Laura is the best-selling author of the classic BDSM series The Marketplace, which has sold more than 400,000 copies and been translated into five languages.

©2013 Laura Antoniou (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Murder Most Foul at the Global Leather Convention

Antoniou is the author of the top-notch "Marketplace" erotica series. With "The Killer Wore Leather," she's branched out into mystery-erotica, and--humor. And this book is hilarious--not a compliment I dole out easily. Antoniou writes a tight little mystery with all the gratification of a jigsaw puzzle. She peoples it with an S/M community that she skewers with all the love and familiarity of a close family member.

What if Raymond Chandler was more explicit with his implied S/M? What if Agatha Christie's Miss Marple was a demanding bottom? (“That’s SLAVE Marple to you!”) What if Chandler and Christie wrote their books with the humor of Steve Martin? We don’t have to wonder “what if?” We only need to listen to this book.

Narrator, Lauren Fortgang gives an especially excellent performance. Each character has a clear "voice," but it never sounds gimmicky.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Interesting stoy about the leather community

Would you consider the audio edition of The Killer Wore Leather to be better than the print version?

Never read print version

What other book might you compare The Killer Wore Leather to and why?

Not because the stories are similar but they are both about murders and are very well done. "Punishment With Kisses" by Diane Anderson-Minshell a well d done book about kinky and wild behaviors. Good ending too.

What about Lauren Fortgang’s performance did you like?

Excellent narrator, she brings characters to life even the men and emotions are well played.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were lots of laughs, and a few heart tugs, but it was an interesting murder mystery. Especially for the genre it's written for.

Any additional comments?

I'd like to see more well written books in the kinky, gay, lesbian, erotic, area. This one on a scale of 1 being the worst and 10 being the best was a 7.5

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Must Love this Author

Would you try another book from Laura Antoniou and/or Lauren Fortgang?

Absolutely not on author. Gads I wrestled over keeping this book at the point of no return and what a waste of listening time it has been for me. I have an 1 hr 10 min to go and I am up to 1.5x speed to finish! The biggest disappointment is that the reviews said it was great, one reviewer agreed with me, awful. I own 3 other reads by Ms Fortgang yet to be heard so the jury is out until I hear them.

What was most disappointing about Laura Antoniou’s story?

The reviews said this was clever, and I beg to differ. If it had been humorous in the truest sense, then ok, but it wasn't that either.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The reader did a good job, but I did have to use 1.5 speed to get through it

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Killer Wore Leather?

I personally would not even give it a try. This was 14 hrs of what???

Brilliant narration adds to the superb story

I thoroughly enjoyed this story.. the humour, satire and even some of the more serious points underneath. I loved reading the book when it came out and listening to it just brought it more to life. The narration is fantastic ...completely entertaining... lots of accents and each character recognisable. a great read and a great listen.

lot going on in this story

the premise of the story may be interesting but it's way too complicated and way too entwined with too many characters and hard to understand what's going on. I would not recommend this book.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Thanks for the laughs

It doesn't get any better than Laura Antoniou. She truly loves this community and this novel proves it. She's pulls pieces from this conference and that and if you've been to any number of conferences you can pinpoint what came from where. She gets deep into Bootblacks which is awesome and truly sexy (damn I adore a good Bootblack). This novel is outstanding in that it leaves you hanging, wondering who did it up to the end. Bravo Laura, love you, love your writing style and love this wonderfully, kinky community.

Not what I expected

Narrator, was great. Story was interesting and a little haphazard but good enough to finish.

A great performance of a fun and well written book

What made the experience of listening to The Killer Wore Leather the most enjoyable?

The Voice Actor does a great job bringing the different characters to life. I enjoyed her voice work immensely and I am usually not fond of female readers. (My owns stuff around the voices lulling me to sleep and I mostly listen while driving)

What did you like best about this story?

It is a great story in a world I am all to familiar with. Laura A. Did a great job crafting the characters and environment and I really enjoyed the book in general

What does Lauren Fortgang bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voice work and energy she brings to the voices is perfect.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If only I could. Not enough time but I find myself listening to sections I have already read to enjoy them at another level with Lauren's voice.

for anyone who has run a non-work conference

I love and care about all the characters. well written and excellent plot too!

utterly hilarious.

a tongue in cheek look at the pageantry behind fetish events. The authors knowledge and previous books culminate in a very funny parody. it's not particularly titillating but it's not meant to be. just pure comedy.