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Fedora Walks
In the nineteenth century Charles Dickens wrote his novels as serials; in the late twentieth century Merilee Moss conjures up a new kind of serial fiction: of ghosts, of crime, of satire and of lesbian desire. When the ghostly Fedora interrupts Julie Barnard’s morning coffee in Brunswick Street, Julie’s life is set to change. An out-of-work PI, Julie is seduced by Fedora’s French accent and flamboyant hats, but soon discovers that wearing beautiful hats is a dangerous activity.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 24, 2015
Julie Bernard is a private investigator who has never had a real case. Oh, she once found someone’s lost puppy and located the keys to a friend’s car, but nothing of much moment. So imagine her surprise with a sultry beauty wearing a trilby approaches her in a bar and, in a silky French accent, asks for her help in locating some stolen items. The surprise grows when the case turns into a murder investigation. And to top it off—the silky woman—who calls herself Fedora—reveals herself to be a ghost from the past.
Well, that’s pretty much it. At only 88 pages, there is not really room for much more plot, and maybe that’s a good thing. The truth is, although this is purported to be a comic novel, it is more silly than funny. Don’t get me wrong, it is well-written and even somewhat literary, but it is difficult to understand why Moss wrote it in the first place. I like the characters and the descriptions, but the story is just not there. Nor is there any real investigation. I guess the only real mystery is whether Julie would even get back together with her girlfriend.
Although this is not a book you will find in your local used bookstore—if there are any of those dinosaurs left—it isn’t one you need to look for. If you want to read a book about ghosts, try the Topper series. If you want to read a better mystery set in Australia, look under M for McNab or C for Cameron. Fedora Walks,, despite good intentions, gets no higher than a 2.
I read the first (and probably the only) Spinifex printing of this book.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 1250 other lesbian mysteries by over 400 authors.
Well, that’s pretty much it. At only 88 pages, there is not really room for much more plot, and maybe that’s a good thing. The truth is, although this is purported to be a comic novel, it is more silly than funny. Don’t get me wrong, it is well-written and even somewhat literary, but it is difficult to understand why Moss wrote it in the first place. I like the characters and the descriptions, but the story is just not there. Nor is there any real investigation. I guess the only real mystery is whether Julie would even get back together with her girlfriend.
Although this is not a book you will find in your local used bookstore—if there are any of those dinosaurs left—it isn’t one you need to look for. If you want to read a book about ghosts, try the Topper series. If you want to read a better mystery set in Australia, look under M for McNab or C for Cameron. Fedora Walks,, despite good intentions, gets no higher than a 2.
I read the first (and probably the only) Spinifex printing of this book.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 1250 other lesbian mysteries by over 400 authors.
August 19, 2011
Different.
December 29, 2012
Strange, not really sustentative
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews