Fast Women [Paperback]

Jennifer Crusie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

When a down-on-her-luck divorcée meets a determined-to-dominate detective, they find out that falling in love can be murder...

Nell Dysart's in trouble. Weighed down by an inexplicable divorce and a loss of appetite for everything, Nell is sleepwalking through life until her best friend finagles a job for her with a shabby little detective agency that has lots of potential and a boss who looks easy to manage.

Gabe McKenna isn't doing too well, either. His detective agency is wasting time on a blackmail case, his partner has decided he hates watching cheating spouses for money, and his ex-wife has just dumped him...again. The only thing that's going his way is that his new secretary looks efficient, boring, and biddable.

But looks can be deceiving and soon Nell and Gabe are squaring off over embezzlement, business cards, vandalism, dog-napping, blackmail, Chinese food, unprofessional sex, and really ugly office furniture, all of which turn out to be the least of their problems. Because soon, somebody starts killing people. And shortly after that, they start falling in love...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Emotionally numb from her divorce 18 months earlier, Nell Dysart is about to waken with a vengeance. When she takes a job as office manager for McKenna Investigations, she's determined to reorganize, redecorate, and revamp the stuck-in-the-'50s surroundings, but she runs smack-dab into senior partner Gabe McKenna, the immovable object to her irresistible force. Gabe likes the dated ambiance just fine and doesn't want a thing changed, but he soon learns that nothing in his life is going to stay the same now that Nell has arrived.

Rough and gruff, but with a heart of gold, Gabe is just what Nell needs to jump-start her hormones. Nell's formerly dull life is suddenly wildly active, for not only is she lusting after Gabe (and vice versa), but there's also a case of embezzlement to uncover, a dog to steal, and bribery to investigate. And, oh yes, there are those very cold, very dead bodies in the freezer.

Fast Women has well-rounded characters, an interesting mystery to resolve, and author Jennifer Crusie's trademark humor. In addition, Crusie gives readers a little something extra in her exploration of the emotional stages of divorce, the viability of marriage, and the value of self-honesty--all of which add up to an excellent fictional tale layered with a thought-provoking look at contemporary culture. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A detective agency may be a sure setting for mystery and adventure, but in Crusie's latest (after Welcome to Temptation; Crazy for You; Tell Me Lies), a likable cast of characters also find sex, love and empowerment. At 42, recently divorced Nell Dysart starts a new life by becoming a secretary for Gabe McKenna, a gruff private investigator … la Sam Spade; McKenna runs an old-fashioned family business in German Village, Ohio, with his cousin and partner, Riley. The new job provides distraction for Nell, and with the support of her china-collecting former sisters-in-law, Suze and Margie; her son, Jase; and a stolen dachshund named Marlene, she gets back on her feet. Gabe is less than thrilled with Nell's sassiness, and they clash over her attempts to clean and redecorate his office. But where there is friction, there are also sparks, and as bull-headed as Gabe and Nell are, they finally acknowledge their mutual attraction. To make things more complicated, Gabe's biggest client is the Dysart clan, Nell's former in-laws, and the history between them becomes confused with present investigations of embezzlement and bribery when Nell discovers the title to a Porsche and a bag of diamonds in her boss's office. After more than one character is found stuffed in a freezer, Gabe, Riley, Nell and Suze set out to solve a 20-year-old murder case. Crusie's snappy dialogue and skillful plotting more than make up for some uneven pacing and one-dimensional villains. The novel's provocative title says too little about this entertaining romantic caper, which will satisfy fans and new readers alike. Agent, Meg Ruley. Author tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; Other Printing edition (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312980159
• ISBN-13: 978-0312980153
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (158 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #718,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Crusie was researching her dissertation on the differences in the way men and women tell stories when she got sidetracked into writing romance novels.

Her first book was published in 1993 (which pretty much finished off any hope of her getting that PhD) and her twenty-second book, Maybe This Time, came out in August of 2010, all of which she considers a minor miracle, especially since she is also a New York Times, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestseller and a two-time Rita award winner.

Jenny is currently working on her new Liz Danger mystery series. She is a very happy woman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-aloud funny, May 15, 2002

By 

HeyJudy "heyjudy" (East Hampton, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fast Women (Paperback)

I was reading FAST WOMEN at the beach--yes! it's a beach book--and I was laughing so hard that other women, total strangers, kept stopping by to see what I was reading with such enjoyment.

I've read all of Crusie's novels. While all of them were good (obviously, or I wouldn't have bothered to keep buying them), FAST WOMEN is in a class by itself. Either Crusie has matured as an author, or her editors finally are allowing her to tell her tales as she sees fit.

FAST WOMEN also could have been named SMART WOMEN. For a change, the heroine and her friends are middle-aged, and sort of battle-scarred by life--exactly as most real people are, too.

This is a fast-moving story, with mystery...ex-husbands... retribution...true love...and great sex. The novel is compelling and all's well that ends well. In the process of getting to that end, yes, you'll have some good laughs.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical contemporary romance., April 28, 2001

By 

mirope "mirope" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fast Women (Hardcover)

Jennifer Crusie is one of those writers I buy the second she comes out with a new book, and this was no exception. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. For Crusie fans, it's not as good as "Welcome to Temptation" (what could be?), but it's better than "Tell Me Lies." Crusie's trademark writing is as good as ever - hilarious dialouge, hot love scenes, well-drawn cast of leading and secondary characters, fast-paced plot. Nevertheless, this is something more than the usual contemporary romance. I thought that the mystery at the core of the plot was exceptionally good. They are usually so predictable in romance novels, but this one had some twists that kept me guessing. Second, this book is really a pretty good study of the emotional chaos created by infidelity and divorce. It takes a very honest look at the various stages women go through, including the immediate post-divorce insanity. While all of this makes for a well-rounded book, serious romance novel addicts will be disappointed that there isn't more focus on the relationship between the two lead characters.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FAST WOMEN; fast read., July 26, 2001

By 

Kay Lewis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fast Women (Hardcover)

A fairly common complaint is that FAST WOMEN is not WELCOME TO TEMPTATION. Personally, I think that's a good thing. True....TEMPTATION is an excellent book. So is WOMEN. They're very dissimilar, thank heavens. Frankly, I get tired of the "cookie cutter" characters when an author finds a format that's selling and refuses to stray from it. Crusie gets edgy and isn't afraid to break away from the pack and FAST WOMEN reflects that break.

Nell Dysart has been dumped by her husband of 22 years and with the help of her two sister-in-laws, is groping for a new life. Due to a few twist and laughable turns she finds herself working for a couple of detectives in their antiquated office that she immediately decides to update,(the office, not the detectives) but not before she has innocently managed to create even more damage. By the time she has made changes in the office she has also dug through the tough shield that the #1 detective, Gabe McKenna has shrouded himself in.

Crusie developed a novel that is pure feel-good entertainment and serves up plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud. As an added bonus the reader gets to try and figure out the mystery that is brewing throughout the book. It's not heavy reading, but who wants that on lazy hot summer days? If I want to dig into WAR AND PEACE again, I'll save that for those long, dreary winter months. Until then, I'll grab every Crusie book as fast as she can turn them out.