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A review by stubbornjerk
Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't even know how I found this one but when I recommended it, I didn't think I'd like it so much. I've never really been much for noir, a bit too gritty, a little too hopeless. The funny thing about putting a mindful queer eye on the proceedings is that it tends to bashing all the hopelessness out of things, which is pretty amazing.
This book did that, with Detective Willowjean Parker assisting Detective Lillian Pentecost on the case of Abigail Collins' murder. It covered topics like violence against women, homophobia during the 50s, poverty, and a lot more. It's not a hard book to read, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
It was definitely worth the read. Not as pulpy as I thought it'd be, but definitely a little cartoonish on some fronts. I mean, c'mon, a traveling ex-carnie bisexual detective? Think about it.
Though, I do think more thought put towards POC could have been considered, since this tackled a lot of things that touches on the lives of POC at the time. I pointed this out in my notes but I'm pretty sure that at the time the case is set in, Japanese people were in internment camps and the most we get of mentions of non-White American goings-on was mostly to point out that this was post-World War II.
I would have hated seeing anything mishandled, but to say that these things weren't relevant during the time this was set in, especially in a city like New York, it will have been impossible to miss it even in passing. I was reading along to the audiobook (Kirsten Potter's reading was fantastic despite minor hiccups), so I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any indicators that any of the cast of characters were POC. Almost all of them were some shade of white, though I'd love to imagine that Graham Hollis wasn't.
This book did that, with Detective Willowjean Parker assisting Detective Lillian Pentecost on the case of Abigail Collins' murder. It covered topics like violence against women, homophobia during the 50s, poverty, and a lot more. It's not a hard book to read, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
It was definitely worth the read. Not as pulpy as I thought it'd be, but definitely a little cartoonish on some fronts. I mean, c'mon, a traveling ex-carnie bisexual detective? Think about it.
Though, I do think more thought put towards POC could have been considered, since this tackled a lot of things that touches on the lives of POC at the time. I pointed this out in my notes but I'm pretty sure that at the time the case is set in, Japanese people were in internment camps and the most we get of mentions of non-White American goings-on was mostly to point out that this was post-World War II.
I would have hated seeing anything mishandled, but to say that these things weren't relevant during the time this was set in, especially in a city like New York, it will have been impossible to miss it even in passing. I was reading along to the audiobook (Kirsten Potter's reading was fantastic despite minor hiccups), so I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any indicators that any of the cast of characters were POC. Almost all of them were some shade of white, though I'd love to imagine that Graham Hollis wasn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia