Calendar Girl

RRP £6.99

Paperback, 224 pages

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Reviews

(Rated 4 out of 5)

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.

(Rated 5 out of 5)

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 Saz as I did. An utterly gripping read Ð exciting, tender, loving and oh, so real.