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In an effort to avoid what I knew I should be doing with my life (writing'it sounded so hard), for several years I expressed my creative side by dancing and singing. I belonged to two professional international folk-dance groups. Dancing made for a lousy living, but it was certainly fun. I also sang in a Balkan women's choir. I got to sing the tenor drone, for the most part. My first book, ONE BRIGHT MORNING, was published by HarperMonogram in 1995. What's more, it won the HOLT Medallion for Best First Novel. It was a good start, but my career has been . . . rocky, is the best word for it, I guess. Publishing's a brutal business, but I've got more persistence than brains so the publishing gods haven't killed me yet, although they seem to be trying awfully darned hard, curse them. In September of 1996 my herd of wild dachshunds and I moved from Pasadena, CA, to Roswell, NM, where my mother's family settled fifty years before the aliens crashed. We love it here. No smog, no crowds, no money, but I had no money in California, either, and you don't need so much of it here.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Set in Los Angeles, the late 1920's. Mercedes "Mercy" Louise Allcutt had been born into a family of Boston Brahmins. Though Mercy need never fear of ever being poor, she wants to do more with her life than simply be a meek and proper wife to a man ... much to her blue-blooded mother's dismay. This is one reason (among many) that Mercy ended up moving to L.A. to live with her sister, Chloe, and her (Chloe's) husband, Harvey Nash, who owns and works at his own moving-picture studio. (Hmm, Mercy is absolutely correct when she states, "The English language suffers from severe pronominal deficiencies.") Considering the option of writing mysteries in her future, Mercy craves experience. Therefore, Mercy has been the secretary for a private investigator name Ernest "Ernie" Templeton during the past couple of months. Mercy has been in a wee bit of trouble (that Ernie considers out-and-out danger) once or twice, but Mercy is determined to continue earning some money on her own and learn the ways of the "real" world.
On one September morning, Ernie's best friend, Detective Phil Bigelow, shows up at the office. Ernie and Phil were to meet at nine o'clock, but Ernie never arrives. By the afternoon, Mercy is worried and heads to the home of Mrs. Persephone Chalmers, the client that has hired Ernie to find some stolen jewelry. Upon entering the Chalmers' residence, Mercy discovers Persephone's body at the foot of the stairs and Ernie, bound and gagged. When the police arrive to investigate the crime, Ernie is the prime suspect. Phil, being Ernie's close friend, is not allowed to lead the investigation. Worse, the lead is assigned to Detective O'Reilly, who would enjoy nothing more than pinning the crime on Ernie. And no matter how many times (or how loudly) Ernie tell her to keep out of it, Mercy is going to find the true culprit.
***** FIVE STARS! I love how the author writes this series. Each case is told from the rich/privileged secretary's point-of-view. Imagine yourself sitting in a lovely room, having tea with Mercy (the secretary), and listening as Mercy tells you all about the case. This is exactly how the story sounds in my mind. All the personal opinions and off-the-subject comments that Mercy would utter to you during the conversation is included.
The story is set around 1926. In keeping true to Mercy's brother-in-law owning a movie studio, the author has given cameo appearances to some well known celebrities, such as John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. Doing so makes the tale more real, in my opinion. The characters, as well as the plot line, are well developed. I can find nothing lacking. The entire story flows smoothly with bits and pieces of the era tossed in for extra spice. And though her mother is a snob, Mercy is not. Oh Mercy is prim and proper, but her thoughts and actions had me grinning several times. If you are looking for a classic-style mystery to test your wits on, look no further. Alice Duncan's stories simply burst with flavor. Excellent! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
On one September morning, Ernie's best friend, Detective Phil Bigelow, shows up at the office. Ernie and Phil were to meet at nine o'clock, but Ernie never arrives. By the afternoon, Mercy is worried and heads to the home of Mrs. Persephone Chalmers, the client that has hired Ernie to find some stolen jewelry. Upon entering the Chalmers' residence, Mercy discovers Persephone's body at the foot of the stairs and Ernie, bound and gagged. When the police arrive to investigate the crime, Ernie is the prime suspect. Phil, being Ernie's close friend, is not allowed to lead the investigation. Worse, the lead is assigned to Detective O'Reilly, who would enjoy nothing more than pinning the crime on Ernie. And no matter how many times (or how loudly) Ernie tell her to keep out of it, Mercy is going to find the true culprit.
***** FIVE STARS! I love how the author writes this series. Each case is told from the rich/privileged secretary's point-of-view. Imagine yourself sitting in a lovely room, having tea with Mercy (the secretary), and listening as Mercy tells you all about the case. This is exactly how the story sounds in my mind. All the personal opinions and off-the-subject comments that Mercy would utter to you during the conversation is included.
The story is set around 1926. In keeping true to Mercy's brother-in-law owning a movie studio, the author has given cameo appearances to some well known celebrities, such as John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. Doing so makes the tale more real, in my opinion. The characters, as well as the plot line, are well developed. I can find nothing lacking. The entire story flows smoothly with bits and pieces of the era tossed in for extra spice. And though her mother is a snob, Mercy is not. Oh Mercy is prim and proper, but her thoughts and actions had me grinning several times. If you are looking for a classic-style mystery to test your wits on, look no further. Alice Duncan's stories simply burst with flavor. Excellent! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you haven't yet met Mercy Allcutt, Alice Duncan's heroine of the Angel Flight series, listen to me, you really, really DO want to meet Mercy. The spunky, but proper, daughter of blue-blood Bostonians turned loose in the speakeasies, opium dens and (gasp) barber shops of Roaring 20's Los Angeles is a true delight. I love the way Alice has turned the stereotypical dumb blonde sidekick/girlfriend of a hard-bitten detective on its head in creating Mercy. I'm wondering whether or not Alice has created a new subgenre in this hard-bitten cozy.
Oh, yes, and all you animal lovers--just wait till you meet Rosie, the miniature black poodle. And then there's streetwise, 12-year-old Barbara Ann, And did I mention Ernie Templeton AKA Sam Spade? All great characters.
Oh, yes, and all you animal lovers--just wait till you meet Rosie, the miniature black poodle. And then there's streetwise, 12-year-old Barbara Ann, And did I mention Ernie Templeton AKA Sam Spade? All great characters.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read a lot of noir, and crime fiction, so Duncan's book was like a sorbet cleansing the palate. Oh, there is a crime, and Mercy Allcut is a stubborn, untiring secretary-investigator, hoping someday to get her own license. Meanwhile, her boss keeps telling her to stay out of the investigation, but there is little chance of that. There is plenty of tension, leavened with humor and a very believable description of Hollywood life as Mercy and her family experience it. As in her other books, Duncan sets a scene beautifully, and helps us enjoy the ride. And I didn't guess the culprit because there are plenty of candidates. The book makes me smile.
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