
The Adventures of Isabel
An Epitome Apartments Mystery
Candas Jane Dorsey(Author)
Pushkin Vertigo (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 5. August 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-78227-739-2 (ISBN)
Description
Unique crimes call for unique detectives
When a good friend's beloved granddaughter is murdered, our ambisexual downsized-social-worker and her cat, Bunnywit, are enlisted to help solve the case. For the police, Madeline is just one more dead sex worker - so it is down to our hero and her friends to uncover what happened to her (though not the cat. The cat mainly sulks.)
With humour, sarcasm and a good dose of irony, our protagonist swaggers through the mean streets of a Canadian city tracking down leads to get the bad guy. Aided by a love of mystery fiction the gang dives deep into the underbelly of city life.
What at first seems an average street killing is actually the surface of a grandiose and glittering set of criminal schemes...
When a good friend's beloved granddaughter is murdered, our ambisexual downsized-social-worker and her cat, Bunnywit, are enlisted to help solve the case. For the police, Madeline is just one more dead sex worker - so it is down to our hero and her friends to uncover what happened to her (though not the cat. The cat mainly sulks.)
With humour, sarcasm and a good dose of irony, our protagonist swaggers through the mean streets of a Canadian city tracking down leads to get the bad guy. Aided by a love of mystery fiction the gang dives deep into the underbelly of city life.
What at first seems an average street killing is actually the surface of a grandiose and glittering set of criminal schemes...
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 *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pushkin Press
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
235 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78227-739-2 (9781782277392)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2021
Pushkin Vertigo
€8.39
Available for download
Person
Candas Jane Dorsey is the award-winning author of science fiction novels Black Wine, A Paradigm of Earth, Machine Sex and Other Stories, Vanilla and Other Stories, and Ice and Other Stories. This is her first mystery series. She is a writer, editor, former publisher, community advocate, and activist living in Edmonton, Alberta.