Customer Reviews

Detective Agency: Women Rewriting the Hard-Boiled Tradition

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I picked up this book out of curiosity because I write crime novels. When I saw from the index that the authors discussed my books, I could not resist reading those pages on the spot. Had I not been impressed by the discussion of my work, I would not have purchased the book. And I'm very glad I did. The authors have put a great deal of research and thought and analysis into this book, interviewing agents, editors, and authors (I was not among them, and do not know the authors myself). They have clearly done their homework, with nearly twenty pages at the end devoted to listing cited works and contacted people, all of them among the most knowledgeable and admired in the business. This is an impressive work, and one that I think will be much cited by students and writers taking a serious look at a type of fiction that reflects problems of modern society perhaps better than any other. My only caveat is that the book definitely reads more like a scholarly treatise than a book on pop culture. It isn't for those interested in a quick fun look at modern crime novel heroines. But anyone wanting a more thorough and thoughtful examination of the subject could hardly find a better resource. This is an excellent addition to the library of anyone with a deep interest in the subject.