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11th out of 18 books
—
19 voters
The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (Nancy Clue & Cherry Aimless #1)
by
Mabel Maney
Nurse Cherry Aimless’s first vacation from her hectic career in a big-city hospital takes her to visit her spinster Aunt Gertrude in thrilling San Francisco. Wistfully trading her starched white cap and dress for a bright yellow poplin frock with a flared skirt, young Cherry takes to the highway, never imagining the gay adventures that await her. Imagine her surprise to le...more
Paperback, 180 pages
Published
November 30th 2005
by Cleis Press
(first published 1993)
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I should start by saying I have never read a Nancy Drew book, so I don't think I can fully appreciate this parody. I was supposed to have read this book for my Queer Theory class in college. It is a lesbian spin on the series with the new detective being called Nancy Clue.
From the other reviews I read, it sounds like this is a faithful parody. It is silly, cheesy fun. The heroine is innocent and clueless, and she breezes through this mystery in heels and summer frocks. I appreciated all the str...more
From the other reviews I read, it sounds like this is a faithful parody. It is silly, cheesy fun. The heroine is innocent and clueless, and she breezes through this mystery in heels and summer frocks. I appreciated all the str...more
This book hits so many of my reading kinks it's not even funny. For one, it's a gentle, but loving, poke at the Nancy Drew novels I inhaled growing up. For two, it's a fun satire on 1950s culture (you can spend the whole book playing "spot the unnamed celebrity"). For three? It's just fun! Nurse Cherry Aimless is a delightful and darling heroine, and her exploits with her cadre of lesbian adventurers in the wonderland of San Francisco are a blast to read.
I think what really made this book work...more
I think what really made this book work...more
This is an extremely clever lesbian parody of the traditional 1950's novel featuring Cherry Aims, senior nurse. I read the 1950's versions that were my mothers, and always felt let down that Cherry or Nancy Drew was into guys. Reading Maney's books on Nancy Clue and Cherry Aimless give me the childhood stories (in cheeky adult format) that I always craved at 12. Thank you, Mabel Maney!
The two criticisms I have of Maney's books are that many of the characters have experienced sexual abuse, and th...more
The two criticisms I have of Maney's books are that many of the characters have experienced sexual abuse, and th...more
As a big fan of Nancy Drew and feminist, a friend recommended this to me. I remember holding up the book, reading the first chapter, and going, "Give me ... two hours and I'll have this read."
Sure enough, I gobbled up this book. It's an amazingly quick read, especially if you're familiar with the books being spoofed.
The only complaint I have is that it... well, wasn't smutty enough for my tastes! This is more of a social commentary on the genre, tame enough to give your teenage daughter (if you'...more
Sure enough, I gobbled up this book. It's an amazingly quick read, especially if you're familiar with the books being spoofed.
The only complaint I have is that it... well, wasn't smutty enough for my tastes! This is more of a social commentary on the genre, tame enough to give your teenage daughter (if you'...more
This book was hilarious. I loved how everyone was gay. I loved how Cherry's mom was totally clueless about her son's "roommate". I loved how "Doris Day" was outed in this book. I loved every single page.
This book is obviously a spoof of the Nancy Drew series. It's supposed to be comical and I thought it was. People are are seeking eroticism from this are in the wrong section of the store.
I say read it with an open mind, not expecting anything at all. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If yo...more
This book is obviously a spoof of the Nancy Drew series. It's supposed to be comical and I thought it was. People are are seeking eroticism from this are in the wrong section of the store.
I say read it with an open mind, not expecting anything at all. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If yo...more
I am a nurse, and own a complete set of the Cherry Ames books. The set I read as a girl in the 70's were read by my mother in the early 50's. Cherry Ames seems cliched today but when the books first were published during WWII the idea of an independent career girl more interested in being a nurse than marrying a doctor was quite unusual. This is a very funny parody, but should not undermine the gently subversive message of the original books.
A spoof on the Nancy Drew/Cherry Ames mystery books of the 1940s and '50s, but it's just too much. Maney lays it on so thick, I couldn't enjoy it. When I was a kid, I was an avid reader of the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Donna Parker and Trixie Belden mystery stories and I'm here to tell you, they were nowhere near as corny and bad as Maney makes them out to be.
I have just restarted reading these three books with my wife. I love how cheeky they are in innocent yet slightly sexual in that girls first crush you make be blush kind of way. This book is an easy read and a wonderful change if you would like to get away from the day to day gay/lesbian book.
Maney writes "The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse" in a campy sort of way without making the story super-predictable (a malady in mystery fiction). Get to know Cherry Aimless and you'll agree that nurses are not all that bad--things get more and more interesting as you follow the series.
This wasn't a literary masterpiece in terms of beautiful writing, but once I realized that it was a calculated and accurate parody of a Nancy Drew book (hey, it's been 15+ years!) set in a revamped America where everyone is a lesbian, it was SO MUCH FUN to read.
I'd recommend this for people who read Nancy Drew as kids and are in the mood for a silly quick read.
I'd recommend this for people who read Nancy Drew as kids and are in the mood for a silly quick read.
A funny little lesbian romp. Probably would have been more amusing had I read any of the Nancy Drew books that this was parodying.
I read this years ago and found it to be much in the era of the original Nancy Drew's. It's very tongue-in-cheek.
Funny, adorable, addicting. A little anti-climactic in the romance department but delightful in every aspect.
The mystery in this book was pretty fantastical and out there, but that's what made it so 50s. It's not like any of those mysteries were really 'plausible', but they were always fun, and always campy. Just like in this book. It really feels like a book from that era, where what Nancy Drew (or in this case, Clue) was wearing was just as or even more important than what mystery she was actually solving. The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse also brought all that homoeroticism full circle and gave it a...more
Fun fun fun! If you ever read serial fiction as a kid, you'll enjoy the Mabel Maney books.
fun, silly, sexy, exciting, and utterly immersible. I love the whole series!
this is a really funny take-off of the Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames books!
Well-written crime spoof although the joke wears thin by the end.
A parody of two of my favorite series from my teen years. It was fun.
Absurd, ever-so-proper and yet ridiculous fun!
Aug 08, 2011
Elizabeth
added it
A pitch perfect parody -- very amusing.
A great fun quick read.
Charming. A classic parody (it got the details, tone, and structure right) with some swoony romance thrown in.
lots of fun. :)
Adorable!
This is the first in the series featuring the ever-perky Cherry Aimless and the famous girl detective, nancy Clue. I'd definately read this before THE GOOD-FOR-NOTHING GIRL FRIEND, because it introduces the main characters and sets up the story for the other title. They have fun with the conventions of the story, making most of the characters gay or lesbian, but it's a gentle fun. It can get a bit silly a times, but never nasty or trashy. Good entertainment reading.
hell yeah - i will never get sick of terribly written lesbian fiction. especially when the characters have names like cherry aimless and cassie case and nancy clue! i'll be hanging out with my right hand tonight ...
I don't get it. Even AFTER she cuts all her hair off she's still constantly 'running her fingers through her unruly curls'
Another campy romp through 1950s girl-sleuthing with Cherry Aimless and Nancy Clue. While the gay stereotypes are all present and accounted for, the hilarious situations and dialogue is enough to keep you turing the pages. The meticulous descriptions of the clothes the characters wear, along with the penchant for the primary characters to creelingly ogle other women just adds spice to this quick, harmless read.
May 19, 2008
Angela
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lesbians with a sense of humor.
Recommended to Angela by:
No one.
This series is a favorite of mine. The setting is fetchingly 50s and 'normal people' are queer while the odd ones are straight. It made me laugh out loud every time I picked it up. If you are a queen or like queens....read it. It's sure to put a smile on your face!! Great therapy! It is a spoof of Nancy Drew style mysteries!
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