Recently released by Murderous Ink Press, Crimeucopia
- The Not So Frail Detective Agency, is a good read. The entertaining
anthology focuses on the female private investigator and does so by way of a
variety of tales set across multiple time periods and featuring women often not
fully appreciated by others. In other words, just like women experience in real
life every single day of the week. In this case, while these ladies may not
have the brawn of a man, they also walk down mean streets and get the job done.
The anthology contains fifteen solid stories from as
many authors. Several tales I personally preferred over others, as you can see
below. No doubt your preferences would vary from mine. There is also no doubt
that you will find lots of good reading here as you would in any of the long
running series of Crimeucopia books.
The tales that resonated with me, in order of
appearance, are:
Steve Liskow’s “Slam Dunk” where Tatiana, known to
all as “Tats” for reasons soon made clear, takes a case where the client is
sure the husband is cheating on her. He plays basketball for incredible money.
AmyLee signed a prenup and she knows the kind of guy she married. But, now she
is pregnant, and wants proof of what he is doing so she make sure that the child
and her have a secure financial future.
It has been decades since she last saw her. Lorriane
coming loudly into her office in Detroit was absolutely not a sight for sore
eyes. She could have gone the rest of her life never thinking about Lorriane
again. In Sandra J. Cady’s “High School Reunion,” she is back in Bonnie’s life and
won’t take no for an answer. She wants to hire Bonnie to look into the death of
her husband, Harvey Harris. He died a few weeks earlier, in a traffic accident,
and the cops are not moving fast enough to suit her as she needs access to his
money. She wants Bonnie’s help and is very willing to use her pollical connections
to make sure Bonnie never works again as a private investigator should she
refuse. It is very clear that in the more than three decades since they last
saw each other that Lorriane has not improved one bit as a human being.
Kathleen Marple Kalb takes readers to the fall of 1987
with her very young private investigator in “Danno and the Babysitter.” Diana
Czednik wants the case. A mutual friend, Gary Bigelow, sent Mark McKinnon to
her. Somebody has been killing men in Shadyside, a gay friendly neighborhood in
Pittsburgh. The cops, to this point, have done less than nothing. Gary, Mark,
and others, have decided it is past time to get some professional help. She’s
willing, but the owner of the agency and her boss, Mr. Kozakevich, does not
want his rookie investigator on the front lines on a murder case and thus in
danger from a serial killer. He severely limits what she can do at the start,
but, before long, she is deep into it.
Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency
has twelve more tales to interest you beyond the three that I highlighted. The
read, as these books always do, showcases a variety of authors with varied
writing styles, characters, time periods, and more. The read is full of
interesting cases. It features female private investigators often dealing with
those who do not understand their capabilities. They soon do, one way or
another, in the very enjoyable read.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/45JBWZQ
My digital ARC was provided by the publisher with no
expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2026
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