cover image GOOD BAD WOMAN: A Frankie Richmond Mystery

GOOD BAD WOMAN: A Frankie Richmond Mystery

Elizabeth Woodcraft, . . Kensington, $22 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-7582-0258-1

The personal and professional lives of "working class lesbian barrister" Frankie Richmond collide in this noirish debut from British barrister Woodcraft, who provides a bleak view of abused women and the legal system that too often fails to protect them. Frankie defends lovely, rebellious Saskia Baron on a drunk and disorderly, but it soon becomes clear that Saskia is involved in a far more serious crime—though it's Frankie herself who faces a possible murder charge when the body of the creep who's been trailing Saskia turns up in a North London park with Frankie's car license plate beneath him. Frankie's falling for vulnerable nightclub singer Margo, who blows hot and cold, complicates her search for the elusive Saskia. The torching of the trailer where Saskia lies low and an incriminating credit card planted in Frankie's flat, as well as an unreliable car and a bank overdraft, add to the barrister's woes. Her love of pop songs, particularly Motown, helps buoy her spirits, as does her cheery single mum, whose success at romance stands in such contrast to her own. Relationships—between colleagues, friends and lovers, old and new—overshadow the detective work and account for all the story's surprises. Once Saskia no longer fears talking, the killer's identity and motive are out in the open, and the climactic confrontation with the menacing villain follows true to formula. In future outings one trusts the author will develop more skill at plotting as she hones her portrait of her rueful heroine. (Sept. 3)

Forecast:The dust jacket with its cigarette-smoking blonde in the foreground and full-figured female in low-cut scarlet dress in the background says it all. A blurb from Val McDermid will also cue feminist readers.