Customer Reviews

Woman's Eye

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I've read several collections of mystery fiction, but never one whose contributors (and protagonists) were all women, until now. Edited by Sara Paretsky, the collection first appeared in 1991. Although the book is touted as twenty-one stories of contemporary fiction, it was kind of strange to read pieces without cell phones, GPS systems, and other hi-tech gadgets. So, I'm not sure this collection could still be called contemporary. I guess it depends on your definition.

As with most collections, I found certain stories and writing styles more appealing than others. In fact, I really liked about half of the stories in the collection. The others were okay, and one was a translated piece that didn't work at all. The language was stilted and transitions awkward. Among my favorites were "Benny's Space" by Marcia Muller, "The Scar" by Nancy Pickard, "Murder Without a Text" by Amanda Cross, "Deborah's Judgment" by Maraget Maron, and "Her Good Name" by Carolyn G. Hart. I also discovered great writers I wasn't familiar with such as Liza Cody, Gillian Slovo, and Dorothy B. Hughes.

This collection features all types of protagonists with different jobs and viewpoints, and it was fun to see famous, fictional private eyes in one book. All stories are not created equal, but I'm sure you'll find some standouts in among them.

I picked up this book for 2 authors that I knew -- Paretsky and Grafton -- and enjoyed extensions of their PI characters -- Warshawski and Milhone. Bu...moreI picked up this book for 2 authors that I knew -- Paretsky and Grafton -- and enjoyed extensions of their PI characters -- Warshawski and Milhone. But along the way I found some new authors to read. There are 21 short stories in this anthology (8 of which can also be found on tape (or maybe CD too). Not all of the mysteries are solved by detectives, but all are solved by women. I especially enjoyed PI Kiernan O'Shaughnessy in "Death and Diamonds" by Susan Dunlap, journalist Jemima Shore In Getting to Know You by Antonia Fraser and Annie Darling in "Her Good Name" by Carolyn Hart.