The Adventures of Isabel

Reviews / Votes

The Adventures of Isabel is a winner! The narrator's voice alone is worth your time - which will be brief. It's a page-turner -- S.J. Rozan, author of PAPER SON Candas Jane Dorsey's terrific mysteries are what would happen if Raymond Chandler and Frank N. Furter collaborated on cozies and the heroine were a pansexual private detective with heart, smarts, and a T-shirt saying MASCARA IS THE NEW NOIR. There's female bonding, sex (lots of it), and a cat or two. You'll scream with laughter, you'll checkmark phrases. And then, if you're a nice person and love your friends, you'll put these books in their hands and insist they read them too. -- Sarah Smith, author of the New York Times Notable Book THE VANISHED CHILD Think Patricia Highsmith on helium -- Mark Sanderson * Sunday Times Crime Club * A gloriously queer, camp crime caper full of drag queens and sex workers and one particularly sullen cat. This book is a breath of fresh air to both detective fiction, and queer fiction -- Waterstones Brighton, Indie Book of the Month When you title your book after an Ogden Nash poem it's had better be funny, fortunately this is. The observations on human nature, prejudice, closed minds and gender issues are wicked, sharp and thought provoking... The characters are compelling, fresh and entertaining, particularly Dorsey's ambisexual proto-detective, the feisty, sarcastic and endearing lead. Bunuel and Dorothy B Hughes meets Malcolm Pryce. Quick fire plotting, snappy dialogue and a love of hardboiled crime make this really entertaining * Crime Time * Gloriously witty noir -- Waterstones Any fan of the wiseass wisecracking hardboiled detective genre will find much to enjoy in Candas Jane Dorsey's The Adventures of Isabel-though the timeworn classics never offered such wildly out, gender-juggling characters. Kudos for updating this approach to the mysteries of human relationships -- Riva Lehrer, author of Golem Girl: A Memoir A little Hammett, a little Hiaasen, a little Lot 49, this is the first book in a series that demands to be read with writerly intention... The author seeks to shake the reader out of submission and into a clearer vision and examination of the underpinnings of the genre - the real crime and grime and meanness of the streets on which it's set. The laughs are thrown in for free -- Janice MacDonald, author of the RANDY CRAIG MYSTERY SERIES Smart and razor-sharp, with unforgettable characters and a plot that won't let you go until the last page. You're going to love it! -- E.C. Bell, author of the MARIE JENNER MYSTERY SERIES [An] exceptional series launch from SF author Dorsey, a droll mix of mystery and metafiction...Fans of unconventional mysteries will be richly rewarded * Publishers Weekly, starred review *