This Dame for Hire: A Novel

(Paperback)

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"I didnt start out to be a private eye. I thought I was gonna be a secretaryget my boss his java in the morning, take letters, and so on. Hell, I didnt get my degree in steno to put my life on the line. It was true I wanted an interesting job, but that Id end up a PI myself . . . it never entered my mind."

New York, 1943. Almost anything in pants has gone to serve Uncle Sam in the warincluding Woody Mason, the head of a detective agency in midtown Manhattan. Left to run the show is his secretary, Faye Quick, who signed on to be a steno, not a shamus. At twenty-six and five foot four, theres not much to Faye, but shes got moxiewhich shell need when she stumbles over a dead girl in the street and takes on her first murder case.

This victim wasnt any ordinary girl. Claudette West was a student at NYU and the daughter of a Park Avenue family. Faye, who lives in bohemian Greenwich Villagewhere no one cares how you lookventures uptown, where people care enough about money to kill for it. Claudettes father is convinced greed was the motive, and that Claudettes working-class boyfriend, Richard Cotten, killed the girl because she threw him off the gravy train.

Faye, however, isnt so sure, not when she learns about all the other men Claudette was secretly seeingfrom her lecherous literature professor to an apparent con artist. For Faye, there are more shocking surprises in store than turns and dips in the Coney Island Cyclone.

Going after the bad guys and fighting a good fight on the home front, Faye is as scrappy and endearing as any character Sandra Scoppettone has ever created, and This Dame for Hires period setting is rendered so real you can hear the big band music, see the nylons and fedoras, and feel the rumble of the Third Avenue El. When it comes to an irresistible detective and a riveting new series, you must remember this: Heres looking at Faye Quick.

Reviews

Advance praise for This Dame for Hire

Like Rosie the Riveter, Faye Quick is another blue-collar woman doing a mans job during World War II, except that Miss Quick is a New York dickSam Spade in lipstick and stockings. Sandra Scoppettones new mystery is a time-warped stroll back through a noir pulp novel, and its a true tour de force.
MARGARET MARON

I love This Dame for Hire. Private investigator Faye Quick is a wonderful original, a unique new voice in crime fiction. And Sandra Scoppettone has captured the lingo and the essence of New York City during World War II.
ANNETTE MEYERS

All the synonyms for quicksnappy, brisk, witty, smartapply to Sandra Scoppettones new character Faye Quick. This dames as likable a New Yorker as youre apt to find outside da Bronx.
LAURIE KING


Sandra Scoppettones fresh and funny This Dame for Hire launches an endearing sleuth who wisecracks, totes a gat when needed, and tells it like she sees it in a superbly rendered World War II Manhattan. Ya gotta love smart-mouthed Faye Quick, and I predict readers will adore her.
CAROLYN HART

Spending time with This Dame for Hire is like time traveling to the 1940sand hearing a great and entertaining mystery on the family radio. Sandra Scoppettone doesnt merely write about New York during World War II, she takes us thereand every minute of the trip is believable and enjoyable. Faye Quick is a terrific, sassy new voice. Lets hope for more of herquickly!
GILLIAN ROBERTS

This first novel in a major new series set in New York City during World War II features a female gumshoe whos a little bit Myrna Loy and a little bit Philip Marlowes younger sisterbut very much her own woman. Funny, tender, historically fascinating, This Dame for Hire has something for mystery readers of every kind.
ED GORMAN


What a voice This Dame has! Its 1943, and the world-weary gumshoe has gone off to war, turning the detective agency over to his gum-snapping, wisecracking secretary. Think Joan Blondell, PI, and youve got the picture. New York is here in all its noir glory, from fancy uptown digs to bohemian Greenwich Village. I hope to see a lot more of Faye Quickshes irresistible!
S. J. ROZAN

Faye Quick is a terrific character--honest, forthright, and funny. And seen through her eyes, New York City in 1943 is a great place to visit.
NANCY PICKARD

Author Bio

SANDRA SCOPPETTONE has written numerous other novels, including three under the pseudonym Jack Early. Most recently she created the five-book series of mystery novels featuring New York private eye Lauren Laurano. Scoppettone lives on Long Island in New York. Visit her website at www.sandrascoppettone.com.