- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Serpent's Tail; New edition edition (10 Jun 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1852427124
- ISBN-13: 978-1852427122
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 399,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Stand-up comic Maggie has fallen for "the girl with the Kelly McGillis body", a mysterious woman who can't commit herself. Meanwhile, South London detective Saz is hot on the trail of a woman known only as "September", who commutes between London and New York in a whirlwind of drug smuggling, gambling, and high-class prostitution. A murder brings Saz and Maggie and their respective mysteries together. Smart and sexy, Calendar Girl is a thriller high on attitude and eroticism.
About the Author
Born in London and raised in New Zealand, Stella Duffy is the author of ten novels, over thirty stories, and eight plays. Her novel State of Happiness was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize, and she is currently writing the screenplay adaptation for the feature film production. With Lauren Henderson she co-edited the anthology Tart Noir, from which her story Martha Grace won the 2002 CWA Short Story Award. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4, in sitcoms, plays and quizzes, and is a performer with comedy company Spontaneous Combustion and theatre company Improbable. She is an occasional guest with the Comedy Store Players.
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First Sentence
She had long legs, big brown eyes, great tits and cheek bones to cut bread on. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
She had long legs, big brown eyes, great tits and cheek bones to cut bread on. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm surprised Ms Duffy isn't more famous than she is. I never see her books in people's lists of recommended lesbian fiction but she isn't half bad. The book was a bit predictable but I love the way the wrote the part not of Saz, the main character, but Maggie. Maggie is narrating her own story but it is bitty, deep and poetic. To try and piece together what she is getting at takes time but one soon realises how it is going to intersect with Saz which is a real shame.
The characters are nice and I found myself getting attached to them, especially Saz's friends who are hilarious in their gentle bickering. It sticks to some generalisations that I've picked up from lesbian themed books but one thing I do feel like patting her on the back for is including a couple of stable lesbians in ordinary long-term relationships. Not many authors do that and most stories include players / women who've been hurt etc etc who aren't interested in settling down and so on and so forth. ... a breath of fresh air.
In terms of the plot: Saz is a PI who gets asked by a Mr Clark to help him find a lady he considers a dear friend. Only, he doesnt know her real name, has never been to her house, doesn't know where she works and has no details about her private life! A tough order but Saz takes on the case and is soon calling in favours from various friends who happen to have access to certain channels of enquiry. The mystery takes her to the States and back and soon she is uncovering a crime bigger than a simple missing person.
As I said at the same time we get this almost random and out of place narration from Maggie but once you get the hang of the writing style it is very moving and also very relavent.
Can't wait to get my hands on the next one as have been pleasently surprised to find out there are more in the series. Hope it only gets better.
The characters are nice and I found myself getting attached to them, especially Saz's friends who are hilarious in their gentle bickering. It sticks to some generalisations that I've picked up from lesbian themed books but one thing I do feel like patting her on the back for is including a couple of stable lesbians in ordinary long-term relationships. Not many authors do that and most stories include players / women who've been hurt etc etc who aren't interested in settling down and so on and so forth. ... a breath of fresh air.
In terms of the plot: Saz is a PI who gets asked by a Mr Clark to help him find a lady he considers a dear friend. Only, he doesnt know her real name, has never been to her house, doesn't know where she works and has no details about her private life! A tough order but Saz takes on the case and is soon calling in favours from various friends who happen to have access to certain channels of enquiry. The mystery takes her to the States and back and soon she is uncovering a crime bigger than a simple missing person.
As I said at the same time we get this almost random and out of place narration from Maggie but once you get the hang of the writing style it is very moving and also very relavent.
Can't wait to get my hands on the next one as have been pleasently surprised to find out there are more in the series. Hope it only gets better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
`Calendar Girls' is told in alternating (bar in the middle) characters stories. In one we are reading about Saz Martin and her life as a Private Detective, well that's what she is trying to be although she's avoiding the Enterprise Allowance people like the plague. However a new case has come up that looks to turn her business around, if only things were that easy. John Clark is looking for a woman, a woman he has had dinner with on Fridays on and off for a while, a woman he has lent money to, a woman who has disappeared and a woman who he knows nothing about, he called her `September'. How will she find this woman, where will it take her (New York actually), what was she up to and why has she disappeared?
The other part of the story is told by stand up comedienne Maggie, who meets `the girl with the Kelly McGillis body' a mysterious secretive woman she moves in with and falls in love with, what secrets does she hide? How are Maggie and Saz's stories connected? You'll have to read the book to find out.
This is a great crime novel... hang on this is a great novel. It's intelligent (some mentions of Daphne's Rebecca), in some places witty (Nancy Drew mentions), well paced and most importantly has characters you care about. Some crimes novels just have dead nobody's on a slab in the morgue that you know nothing about and don't really care about, you just want to know who the killer is. I really enjoyed this and have read it quickly as I like the two women so much both of them slightly messed up and flawed and both human stories that made them more real. Now I have found Saz Martin I am looking forward to the next five mysteries she gets involved with and plan on joining her for the thrill.
The other part of the story is told by stand up comedienne Maggie, who meets `the girl with the Kelly McGillis body' a mysterious secretive woman she moves in with and falls in love with, what secrets does she hide? How are Maggie and Saz's stories connected? You'll have to read the book to find out.
This is a great crime novel... hang on this is a great novel. It's intelligent (some mentions of Daphne's Rebecca), in some places witty (Nancy Drew mentions), well paced and most importantly has characters you care about. Some crimes novels just have dead nobody's on a slab in the morgue that you know nothing about and don't really care about, you just want to know who the killer is. I really enjoyed this and have read it quickly as I like the two women so much both of them slightly messed up and flawed and both human stories that made them more real. Now I have found Saz Martin I am looking forward to the next five mysteries she gets involved with and plan on joining her for the thrill.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Premier opus d'une excellente série de 5 pseudo-polars dont le personnage principal personnage est Saz Martin. Je dis pseudo-polars parce qu'ils sont écrits sur le ton de l'humour et Saz est trop intéressée par la chose pour faire une vraie détective. Des pochades délirantes plus que des polars.
C'est gouaillard, méchant, truculent, très drôle, tordu, noir.
Dans ce premier opus donc, Saz est employée par un certain John Clark pour retrouver une femme qui a disparu avec son argent.
C'est une satire féroce des demies-vérités et complets mensonges. La fin est spectaculaire ! Il se passe un truc que je ne peux en tout décence pas raconter ici mais c'est comme dans ses nouvelles, Stella Duffy nous emmène là où on ne s'y attend pas. Elle nous joue un sacré tour. Ça va vite. Ça prévient pas. Une petite merveille. Et le mieux : c'est qu'il y en a 4 autres !
C'est gouaillard, méchant, truculent, très drôle, tordu, noir.
Dans ce premier opus donc, Saz est employée par un certain John Clark pour retrouver une femme qui a disparu avec son argent.
C'est une satire féroce des demies-vérités et complets mensonges. La fin est spectaculaire ! Il se passe un truc que je ne peux en tout décence pas raconter ici mais c'est comme dans ses nouvelles, Stella Duffy nous emmène là où on ne s'y attend pas. Elle nous joue un sacré tour. Ça va vite. Ça prévient pas. Une petite merveille. Et le mieux : c'est qu'il y en a 4 autres !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Calendar Girl review
The book came in good condition, within the time specified. No other problems noted by the buyer. Good product overall.
Published 4 months ago by Hansonline
I fell in love withSaz Martin...
This is one of those rare books that makes you feel grateful for having discovered the author. If you like strong women characters that aren't quite infallible, you'll fall for... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2001 by Fran
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