Fast Women

Title: Fast Women
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Chicklit  (Contemporary Romantic Comedy with some Suspense)
Publication date: 2004 edition
ISBN: 0-312-93279-0
Page Count: 417 (+ 20: excerpt of Bet Me)

Rating:
Reviewer: Eveline

Nell(Eleanor) Dysart hasn't yet gotten over her divorce with Tim Dysart. She still hasn't unpacked her china, she doesn't have an appetite to eat anymore, well for nothing else either actually. She's living more like a zombie these days. But Suze, her sister-in-law and also her best friend, sets her up with a job at a detective agency. Because Tim was her boss, Nell lost her job together with her husband. On her first visit to the agency she manages to put a hole in the carpet, break the window and destruct the chair. But it's not her fault that this outdated ugly office needs renovation.

Even though she practically broke down the place, Gabe(Gabriel) McKenna is hiring Nell because she is very efficient and well because Jack Dysart asked him to. Ever since his ex-wife Chloe left him (for the second time) his life is no more than coping with clients like Jack, keeping Lu, his daughter, in college and chasing down cheating mates with his partner Riley at the detective agency. And it's not getting any better because Nell keeps telling him what to do instead of the other way around. She wants to change the office, renew the business cards, get rid of some of the old furniture, etc etc.

But a detective agency wouldn't be a good agency without a murder case to help solve, and a real Jennifer Crusie book wouldn't be complete without some excitement so soon they'll have to solve the mysteries of an embezzlement and a murder. And as you can guess, they are indeed in the center of it all!

No author can combine humor, and I mean the laughing-out-loud humor, with sexy dialogues and an outstanding and absolutely exciting plot the way that Jennifer Crusie can. This is my third book (after Crazy for you and the softer romantic comedy Bet Me) and my opinion on this author can only get even more convincing. I love funny stories and characters to fall in love with. But I also like characters that I can hate and a plot that has suspense and mystery in it. Fast Woman has it all! The ending is very satisfying, believe me you're in for a treat at the end. But I'd say you're in for a treat as soon as you have your hands on one of Mrs. Crusie's books.

Other books in the 'Jennifer Crusie 2004' collection: Crazy For You, Tell Me Lies, Welcome To Temptation and Faking It. You can read the first chapters of her books on her website.