Customer Reviews

Too Darn Hot: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a home front story set in the New York of 1943. Back in 1940, Faye Quick had been hired as a secretary for a one-man PI agency. Now, while her boss is in uniform, Faye is keeping the business going. It's the era of the hard-boiled detective and Faye, to her own surprise as much as anybody's, fits in just fine.

Refreshingly, and quite unlike two books on which I've commented recently, author Sandra Scoppettone creates a convincing mid-War New York. But the New York she creates is not, I think, the one that actually existed on the Hudson River. No, her New York is the one that appeared in glorious black-and-white in double features on the screens of neighborhood Bijous, Rialtos and Roxies right across the continent.

Imagine PI Faye Quick as a young Joan Blondell. Here is the way she speaks:

"Yeah, it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. I never could understand why people said that. Did somebody fry one then eat it? Who'd wanna eat a fried egg from the sidewalk? Especially in a city like New York. Maybe I'd try it. Not the eating part, the frying. But then people would think I was more a screwball than they did already....

"I'd had two murders since last spring, solved them both. The first one was prime and it got a lotta attention in the fish wrapper, so I had a bunch of clients for a while. Just cause people saw my name in the paper they figured I was the best (which I might be) and they hired me for everything from finding a dog to solving another murder. Not bad for a twenty-six-year-old gal from Newark, New Jersey."

Faye's words may or may not reflect the speech patterns of New York's Forty-third Street between Seventh and Eighth--her office address--but they are absolutely, authentically pure examples of the brassy, RKO B-picture, big city, tough girl, sub-dialect of the American language. That is the way Blondell talked, the young Lucille Ball, too, and even Ginger Rogers (before Astaire polished off her rough edges.) I love it all.

I think Scoppettone loves it and Hollywood, too. In fact, I suspect that she wrote this book with a big grin on her face. How could she not, considering the names she chose for her characters? Here is a partial list: Arden, Cagney, Collier, Cooper, Cummings, Davis, Duff, Duryea, Glenn, Grahame, Jory, Kilbride, Ladd, Lake, Lupino, Mostel, Powell, Ritter, Ryan, Sidney, Stanwyck, Swanson, Turner and Widmark. If those names mean nothing to you, then rush to your TV set, strap yourself in, and hunker down for a month of remedial study with the Turner Classic Movies--or at the very least, wear a hair shirt during your next visit to your local video store.

The mystery of this book, such as it is, is straightforward and pitched appropriately at the level to be found in the B-movies of the period. The sly Scoppettone (perhaps with a twisted little grin) is fully aware that we in our time are a little more sensitized to some things than Faye Quick might have been in 1943, so we readers are led to draw certain conclusions before Faye does. Part of the amusement of the book arises from wondering when and how she'll catch up.

This is a breezy, brassy book that honorably upholds the traditions of its models from the 1940s. It is true to itself and successful on its own terms. That justifies five stars as far as I am concerned.

I read this in one sitting. I laughed out loud. The NYC setting in war time was perfect. And the mystery had me going. I read a lot of mysteries and I kept thinking I had it figured out and then there'd be a twist. I can't wait for the next one in the series.

I was initially drawn to "Too Darn Hot" by an interest in World War II and its New York setting. While the historical setting plays a prominent role, it is Faye Quick who will capture your imagination. A private eye with a keen eye understanding of the human condition, and a jaded urban sense of humor, she is a natural at her proffession. Just as all "naturals" must, she works hard to perfect and hone her trade. It is extremely clear that without the war transporting men overseas, Faye may have never gotten her shot to move from secretary to private eye. A young twenty-six, Faye is able to navigate the demanding and at times unaccepting waters of the male dominated NYPD. (Law enforcement officers were exempt from military service) Faye has a maturity beyond her years. There is a freshness to her youth, however, as she attempts to sort out her relationship with both her family and a love interest who is uncomfortable with her profession. While completely at ease in her private eye role, her youth is apparent when her insecurity is on display during her first venture to the 21 Club. The dialogue accompanied by her inner thoughts are extremely funny, and maintains the pace of the book.

If your trying to quit smoking, this may be a rough read. Its the price of historical accuracy.

Faye Quick from This Dame for Hire returns in a sizzling noir mystery set in World War II-era New York City, where women are taking over jobs for the men at the front. Faye has taken on running a PI firm and is developing a real reputation as a tough, smart broad.

Faye is hired by Claire Turner, a pretty young woman, to find her missing soldier boyfriend, Charlie Ladd. Faye discovers a body in Charlie Ladd's hotel room when she starts to track him down, and after some investigation, she finds out the body is not Charlie, but his buddy David Cooper.

Claire's estranged sister Lucille claims that she was raped by Charlie and had a baby that she gave up for adoption. Charlie's rich parents rush down from Rhode Island when they hear from Faye that Claire got a phone call from some thugs claiming that they have kidnapped Charlie, and Claire needs to deliver the money. The hot summer weather heats events to the boiling point: Dolores, Faye's nosy neighbor, is shot; the body of a young woman is found behind a fancy sweet shop; and Lucille, Claire's sister, vanishes.

Armchair Interview says: Too Darn Hot is perfect for those scorching summer days at the beach; and Faye is the perfect hot private investigator. There are twists and turns galore, and incredible and quirky characters inhabit Faye's New York City.

This is the second in the Faye Quick series. Ms. Quick takes over for her detective boss during WWII. As always, Sandra Scoppettone has a sharp eye for New York, bringing to life places like Horn & Hardart, as well as the great music of the forties. I like this book even better than the first. Faye seems more confident, and the case she cracks is intriguing. In so many reviews they liken Quick to Ida Lupino, bemoaning the fact there's no one like her now, to play Faye. But maybe there is. I've been trying to think of the new young actors and who would be good. Needless to say, I'm anxious to read the next Quick, quick!

I gave it five stars, basing that in comparison to items currently coming out of the entertainment industry. A novel that I can't put down is good enough for me to rate 5 stars, even if not something that is likely to be around 50 years from now. With one caveat, I listened to the audio book and the reader Laura Hicks was fantastic. A woman of many voices, all highly distinguishable, and colorful. I am not sure if this would have rated better than 4 stars even by my relaxed criteria, had I read the book rather than listened. I won't mention much about the plot, don't want to give any hints to spoil it. You do have to get used to her exaggerated use of 40's popular language. But that is fine, I grew to actually like that. This mystery is much in the style of my favorites, Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, AC, and Stout. She captures the era quite well, unlike most period efforts today which integrate modern popular culture into an such an era piece. She keeps it innocent, devoid of explicit sexual content, as was typical of those times, and which I prefer myself. I think it could have passed as a normal style of writing in the 1940's, or at least come close. She has some pretty colorful characters, such as the secretary, and her elderly neighbor. Faye is new to the game, very intelligent, had a sense of humor and control of her base emotions, and relies on others a bit older and less trusting than she is (she is 26 years old and has not had time to become the cynic she is destined to be should she stay in this occupation). I don't want to say more, as it would give hints as to the solution. No it is not as good as the best of the big 5 I mention above, but it is as good as a number of their novels. I have put in a request on the first in the series, and expect that I will enjoy that also. It will be interesting if she comes out with another novel in this series, I suspect that was her intention, a more experienced, and perhaps more cynical Faye, and one who I suspect will carry a gun.

After Faye Quick left her parents' home in New Jersey, she moved to New York where she became a secretary to Woody Mason of the A Detective Agency. When America entered WWII, Woody enlisted leaving Faye in charge of the business. To her surprise, she liked being a private investigator and solved enough cases to keep the agency afloat.

Her latest case begins when Claire Turner hires her to find her missing boyfriend, Private Charlie Ladd. Faye goes to the hotel where Charlie was staying where she finds a corpse. The body is identified as Charlie's pal Private David Cooper. There is no sign of Charlie anywhere until Claire receives a phone call from an unknown person who insists her boyfriend has been kidnapped and will be returned unharmed in exchange for $100,000. The exchange is not smooth and another dead person is found. Faye has to quickly figure out who is behind the homicides before someone else dies.

The audience will feel as if they are transported back to 1943 NYC due to the realistic tidbits that are cleverly woven into the fine historical mystery to include idioms and slang, and references and items (artifacts?) from the WWII era. The protagonist is a tough independent Jersey girl crossing the Hudson to prove she is also a quick thinker as she connects the dots to try and does solve cases. TOO DARN HOT is a gripping private detective tale with a pulp fiction feel to its 1940s ambience.

Harriet Klausner

2.5/3 stars

I still got a small kick out of the lingo but this one broadcasts the ending even earlier than the first book. I say skip this one.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of period novels and it's great to find a series that takes place during the forties. The story is fast-paced. Faye Quick and the rest of the characters are colorful and engaging. I hope that there are more Quick novels to come.

I love Hollywood and the 1940s. Sandra Scoppettone obviously does too. She does a great job of evoking that era. She's also very good at writing the necessary twists and turns of a mystery. There is humor, strong dialogue, and an interesting story that keeps one reading.

Unfortunately, the ending left me with a bad feeling. Suddenly, the characters turned one-dimensional, and the story became like a bad TV show. The pay off simply wasn't there, and it makes me wonder if I want to read another book by this author. The biggest problem was that after creating a realistic story and characters, the novel became hackneyed and unbelievable. Ultimately a disappointing read after an exciting buildup.