I had a buy one paperback, get one 50% off coupon at Boarders, and figured I would take advantage of their Chapter 11 status. Notorious Pleasures (A Hoyt Matey) was the first paperback (mass market, thus the cheaper of the two) and India Black (a trade paperback, and the full priced option). It was an on sight purchase, the author's first book, impulsive but when I opened the book and saw that the first line was, "My name is India Black and I am a whore." I knew then and there I would get my moneys worth.The concept is simple, the madam of a successful high class brothel has a client die in the arms of one of her employees (in addition to his Queen Victoria outfit and switch) and has to dispose of the body. Unbeknownst to her he is an employee of her Majesty, carrying valuable information in his dispatch case about British troop movements. In return for disposing of the body one of his fellow intelligence agents, the dark and mysterious Mr. French (we can only presume an ancestor of the one from Family Affair, a pity India Black wasn't named Mrs. Beasly) blackmails India into finding the now missing case.
Set in Victorian London the scene yo-yo's from luxury to squalor, brandy at the fireside to a sleigh ride through a blizzard. India is a hilarious guide through her misadventures, and only a portion of that humor comes from her occupation. Her role as a madam and a former whore puts her in an odd limbo and often her shifting position works to her advantage. There are a few borderline scandalous scenes, though she does warn in the Prologue that if you are prone to fits of vapors you should shove off. Its sexy and fun, not raunchy and cheap. The sexual tension between India and French (we're not yet sure of his Christian name, I'm not sure even Carol Carr knows, she states on her blog that it never occurred to her readers would be interested in her character's pasts) keeps things fresh and interesting. The sexual tension between India and the rest of the world makes for plenty of hi-jinx.
This is my pick for the new author to watch. Its a promising concept that has the potential for longevity and a wide variety of permutations in the future. While there are a growing number of Victorian mystery series on the market it stays away from either the aristocracy or the gutter, giving a rare glance at the extensive middle class that we seldom see. THink a much more vamped up Dickens. Carr explains her situations well, and never takes it too far, again a temptation. She is also not overtly politically correct, she tells it like it is without trying to backpedal on 150 years of political incorrectness. Not since Pretty Woman has being a hooker be so chic.
