The Book Grrl: female protagonist

Showing posts with label female protagonist. Show all posts

Friday, August 21, 2015

My Review of 'No Game For a Dame'

REVIEW: NO GAME FOR A DAME
AUTHOR: M. Ruth Myers

Maggie Sullivan is a female hardboiled private eye, who (in the grand tradition of the genre) is tough as nails, yet has a heart of gold beneath the steely exterior. In this first novel of the series, she’s hired by a wealthy man to check up on his daughter’s beau. Next thing she knows, some goon barges into her office and trashes it. Then, warns her off the investigation.

Needless to say, Maggie smells a rat. Mainly because the subject of the investigation is such a … nebbish. What danger could he possibly be associated with?

The answer to this question is the key to solving her client’s problems, as well as protecting various people who are at risk – including the nebbish beau.

I read this on my Kobo and it was a real “page-turner”. Or “finger-flipper”, if you will.

And did I mention that the story takes place in the Depression Era “radio days”, when private eyes were tough men who wore fedoras and packed a punch? This makes Maggie’s job even tougher, of course.

I so loved this book. Maggie Sullivan is my new favorite female private eye. She’s like Honey West before television!

Friday, July 3, 2015

My Review of ‘Ruin Falls’

REVIEW OF RUIN FALLS

by Jenny Milchman

When Liz Daniels and family take a trip to see her in-laws, this alone is most unusual. Her husband, Paul, who’s kept his distance from his parents gets this sudden urge to vacation at their farm.

However, when Paul takes the extraordinary step of staying at a motel overnight, this is truly out of character for him. Paul is rigidly anti-consumerist and won’t abide his children eating anything but health food. No pesticides, no additives, no sugary treats for his kids. And Paul, being an expert in living off the land, has visions of doing so completely someday.

But that is just the set-up of Liz Daniels’ nightmare – the disappearance of her two children. Taken by Paul himself.

Once that’s established, the cops dismiss the matter as a “domestic dispute,” and Liz is left on her own to solve the problem.

What transpires is a story that’s way more than one of eerie suspense and page-turning thrills. It is a story of a woman who always deferred to and depended upon her husband’s strength and larger-than-life persona, who must come into her own.

In the face of self-doubt and loneliness, Liz is forced to deal with her stoic father-in-law, Paul’s fawning students, and a dangerous adversary in order to dig out the whole truth behind her situation.

To her credit, Liz co-owns a business. However, she hasn’t been the “take charge” partner, leaving that role to her friend Liz, who has her own troubles.

Not only is the story well-plotted and characters fully formed, but the setting is described in rich detail, without slowing the pace.

I highly recommend this book.