Too Darn Hot

by Sandra Scoppettone

Book Overview

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 wrappers, so I had a bunch of clients for awhile. Just cause people saw my... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345478126
• ISBN13: 9780345478122
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Hollywoodized hard-boiled PI story

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

Funny and True to the Era

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.

"TOO DARN HOT" by Sandra Scoppettone

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 Is Back

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!

gripping private detective tale

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