Female Superior Position [Hardcover]

Susan C. Bakos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1994

Take an erotic, earthy, riotous journey through the bodies and hearts of America with outspoken heroine Carolyn Steel. Millions of men and women read her monthly erotic advice column in Playhouse Magazine. But Carolyn's status as the Superlady of Sex proves dangerous when she receives death threats.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Carolyn Steele, sex columnist for Playhouse magazine, appears as an "Easily Orgasmic Woman" on the Olive Whitney talk show. When Elizabeth Thatcher, her antagonist and spokesperson for Women Worried About Wantonness Among Women, nearly chokes her on-air, Carolyn atttains instant high-profile notoriety--and increased visibility as a target for the unknown assailant who is threatening--and sometimes killing--women in porn. Dubbed the "Superlady of Sex" (even though she's been chaste for seven months), Carolyn endures such indignities as hate mail, stink bombs and paint thrown on her fur coat as she sets about reviving her sex life with a fanciful array of partners and practices. Suspecting a recently fired Playhouse staffer, a lesbian transsexual bodybuilder, as the killer, Carolyn and her feminist porn-purveying cohorts follow a trail marked by panty-sniffing, penis-piercing and other preoccupations to ferret out the unsurprising villain. With occasional cleverness and encyclopedic coverage of sexual mores, Bakos devotes more attention here to depicting graphic sex than to telling a story.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Who better to write a comic whodunit about an erotic advice columnist for a men's magazine than Bakos, former writer of Penthouse magazine's notorious Forum letters column? Possibly a novelist with a bit more experience in suspense, criminal titillation, and a storyline for a private dick that doesn't come equipped with batteries. To paraphrase Bakos: She's wearing the pants of a good mystery writer, but she's not quite filling out the crotch. Still, the text is funny and original as it chronicles a liberated woman's struggle for good sex and survival in the 1990s. The talk-show sequence that opens the book is a wonderful pastiche and typical of its strengths: On an Oprah-like program about women who enjoy sex too much, Carolyn Steele, a New York reporter who pounds her beat in black miniskirts and four-inch heels (with tasteful matching underwear), is attacked by a member of WWAWAW, Women Worried About Wantonness Among Women. Meanwhile, a serial killer is murdering the aging porn queens of Manhattan, many of whom belong to Steele's support group, Women In Pornography. Three-hundred-pound Madame Zelda is found boiled red in her hot tub; Tiffany Titters, the porn star who ran Goddesses and Sluts seminars (to help women release their sensuality), is strangled; Tanya Truelust is pushed off a fire escape. And someone is sending death threats to Steele, who has enough to worry about because none of the three men she's dating is sleeping with her. Steele's odyssey to find the killer and a decent integrated relationship is mixed with letters from her readers (``Dear Superlady of Sex'') and her sound advice to them. Bakos's characters are colorful, the funny stuff is funny, the sex is both stimulating and educational, the wisecracks are out and running. Only the crime writing needs a serious goose. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 313 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821745824
• ISBN-13: 978-0821745823
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,868,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Crain Bakos, dubbed "our most peripatetic sex journalist" by Publishers Weekly, has interviewed thousands of men and women about their sexual behavior and attitudes. She is the author of The Sex Bible, and has also written numerous magazine articles for publications such as Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Men's Health, and Penthouse. She lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great, exciting Read!, March 19, 2004

By 

Christy (Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Female Superior Position (Hardcover)

I picked up a copy of FSP from a used bookstore and I couldnt put it down! Id love to see more of her fictional work.

I felt it had a great mix of humor, suspense and mystery just a great all around who done it story.