Fancy Anders Goes To War: Who Killed Rosie The Riveter?

by Max Allan Collins, Fay Dalton (Illustrator)

Fancy Anders goes undercover at an aircraft plant to solve the murder of Rosie the Riveter in the first of three thrilling mysteries by Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins, with stunning illustrations by award-winning artist Fay Dalton.

Fall 1942. When her Hollywood private detective daddy is called back to uniform, Fancy Anders is issued orders of her own – answer the phone, make referrals, and keep the place dusted. But the 24-year-old Barnard grad – whose hobbies include shooting, flying and jujitsu – isn’t having any.

At Amalgamated Aircraft, a young female worker chosen to pose for patriotic photos and posters has met with a suspicious “accidental death.” Fancy takes the victim’s place on the swing shift, fitting in well with co-workers very much not from high society circles. With the occasional reluctant help of LAPD homicide cop Rick Hinder, Fancy takes a hammer to the head of a saboteur, sniffs out an enemy within, and sets out to prevent an assassination attempt on President Roosevelt, scheduled to tour the plant and greet the women who work long, hard hours for the war effort.

Portraying the times vividly with his usual historical accuracy, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Max Allan Collins creates a compelling new series protagonist both indelibly of her time, and far ahead of it. Lavishly illustrated by James Bond artist, Fay Dalton.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II

105 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2021

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Ayz · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly, one of max allen collins best books.

real fun stuff.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fancy Anders Goes to War is a private eye story set in the Long Beach aircraft plants during a World War Two. Rosie the Riveter has fallen to her death in the plant, but under what some believe suspicious circumstances. To solve this thorny question comes Society girl Fancy Anders in her pink Packard working undercover in the factory quite a few decades before sexual harassment was frowned on. Collins does a great job of capturing the authentic spirit of the Rosie the Riveter women working for the war effort. An enjoyable short novel starting a new series.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun WWII era detective story

Collins does his homework. This adventure of a young investigator during WWII, plays out like a charming old movie. Great period details, like the drink, Green River. I had to look that one up. Thoroughly likable characters in this quick first installment.

[Blair Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick fun read with likable characters. Looking forward to the next two novellas in the Fancy Anders series!

[Mike Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today, I wanted some light entertainment to get me through a disappointingly rainy August afternoon so I spent three and a half hours listening to an 'enhanced audio' performance of Max Allen Collins' 'Fancy Anders Goes To War: Who Killed Rosie The Riveter?'. It was exactly what I'd been looking for.

It's a delightful confection that sets an improbable story of murder and sabotage involving a cast of characters finely balanced to respect early Twenty-First Century sensibilities, against what seemed to be a reasonably accurate portrayal of women working in a warplane factory in California in late 1942.

Almost all of the interesting characters, good or bad, are women. Almost all the women are exceptionally good-looking, with comparisons being drawn to well-known film stars of the period. They also come from ethnically and socio-economically diverse backgrounds and are comfortable climbing on gantries and riveting and bucking metal together to make warplanes.

The main character, Fancy Anders, (who is, of course, very good-looking) is a twenty-something rich, white, college-educated socialite who wants to work as an investigator in her father's well-connected Confidential Investigations company. He recruits her as a secretary but leaves her in charge when he's recalled to military service setting up an intelligence unit in DC.

When the CEO of Amalgamated Aircraft, a man she's known all her life and who she calls uncle, needs someone to investigate the allegedly accidental death in his factory of the worker selected to be the real-life model for the Rosie The Riveter propaganda campaign, Fancy jumps at the chance to go undercover at his factory.

What follows is a fast, fun, uncomplicated but engaging romp as Fancy, who is not very good at being undercover, tries to find out what happened to Rosie and in the process gets herself into a great deal of trouble.

This was popcorn but the good kind of popcorn with just the right amount of melted butter and salt.

The 'enhanced audio' turned out to mean that appropriate background noises were added to the narration. To my surprise, the sound effects lifted the story by adding a retro Saturday Morning Matinee At The Cinema ambience that I enjoyed.

Gabrielle de Cuir's narration was perfect. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample.

https://soundcloud.com/skyboat_audiob...

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1942 Los Angeles, a young socialite named Fancy Anders finds herself in charge of her father’s famous detective agency when he is called back to active duty. She is only supposed to be a caretaker of the agency, routing incoming cases to other agencies. But when a young female worker named Rose at Amalgamated Aircraft, who had been chosen to pose as a model for a new line of patriotic posters is found dead, Fancy’s suspicions are aroused. Was it an accidental death or was she murdered? Fancy goes undercover at the factory, working as a riveter alongside a diverse group of other women, to get to the bottom of it. But as the story moves along, Fancy (and we readers) soon come to realize there is far more going on here than a simple murder mystery, likely with massive consequences.

Fancy Anders is a great new character and building her into this novella form is a real treat. It’s a tight, lean story and serves well to not only set up Fancy as a well-rounded character but also provides an interesting detective yarn in a cool historical setting. As always, Collins’ proves adept at interweaving a good plot with historical figures including, in this case, no less than FDR.

This is the first novella of three (so far) to feature the adventurous tomboy. She has classical Hollywood beauty mixed with a keen intelligence and over-the-top confidence. Sort of a combination of Phryne Fisher and Nancy Drew. Comparisons to Brenda Starr and Max Allan Collins’ own Ms. Tree would not be out of line. But she is also smart enough to know she doesn’t have the street savvy to go it alone so makes good use of friends and confidants, including LA homicide cop, Rick Hinder. She’s no wallflower to be sure, having lived an adventurous life already.

The novella reads like a prose version of a graphic novel and indeed, there is a wonderful illustration at the beginning of each chapter by artist/illustrator Fay Dalton, known for her James Bond folio work and Titan’s Hard Case Crime graphic novels. The entire package is a wonderful combination of retro noir art in all its forms.

Can’t wait to read more of Fancy Anders!

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well researched short novel captures the lives of WWII Women at Work while providing a terrific mystery yarn that introduces Fancy Anders, socialite and daughter of a renowned detective, who goes undercover at an airplane factory to help solve the suspicious death of a woman that held the job previously. Fancy is a woman before her time, rebelling against the regimented lives of women in the 1940s. She is adventurous and fearless with modern sensibilities. I really liked the tight, compelling mystery plot, the dialog that contains several 1940s pop culture references and slang, and the cast of characters, especially her new friend Lulu. There are a couple other books in this series that I am looking forward to reading. Loved it.

[Fil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. Enjoyed the setting

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4

A short fun private eye novella set in 1942 California following the titular Fancy Anders investigating a suspicious death at an airplane factory.
The illustrations are really great and worth paying for the physical edition on their own I thought.

Hopefully once all 3 novellas have been published a hardback bind up will be done including extra artwork maybe in colour - that would be an automatic buy from me.

Overall an enjoyable tale that passes the time really quickly and a definite recommendation

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it the best book ever? No but it was enjoyable and while relatively short, it did pull in references to popular 1940s culture, the war, the camouflaged manufacturing plants in California and Rosie the Riveter (a literal Rose/Rosie who worked as a riveter). Of course, Fancy is a socialite with far more education and money than her co-workers but manages to hold her own on the assembly line. Naturally, she meets some dastardly folks but that's part of the whole thing for a private detective - isn't it.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Read. Max Allan Collins always comes through with books set in the past. He can write a tight concise book with the best of them. Would make a pretty good movie. Like the characters and the story. It told a solid story set during the Homefront of WWII. Focusing on the people producing our aircraft during the war. Loved Faye Dalton's art. If you have not seen her art in the Folio Society James Bond novels you are missing something.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

WWII has started and Fancy's father is recalled to duty. So he closes his detective agency down and leaves his daughter to man the desk and refer things to others. But her father's friend and her 'uncle' needs help. Problems at a defense plant call for a woman to fit into the workforce and investigate. So Fancy becomes a 'Rosie the Riveter' and has problems from day one. But she uncovers the murderer and also thawarts sabotage.

[Allen Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy...
...Max Allan Collins can apparently write any kind of story - and do it well! A nice retro mystery set during World War II, and pays homage to the women who replaced men on the assembly lines and kept the war effort on track. It was a fun and quick read with a nice little twist at the end featuring a Very Famous person. Good start to a new series - look forward to enjoying them all!

[Andy Rausch · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I must admit that I like Collins' darker, more hardcover novels a lot more -- just my personal preference -- this is an impressive book. Well-written as usual, Collins once again proves that he can write any kind of story and do it well. Also, his detail and research of the time period is impressive, as usual. I actually learned some details about 1940's America I did not know previously.

[Marc Steiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light fun mystery from a master

This enjoyable, jaunty short novel introduces a new character in a World War 2 setting. It is a smooth read and a ton of a light mystery with plenty of historical detail. The accompanying artwork is gorgeous and perfectly accompanies the story.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A WWII novella set in a factory in California. The main character is likable but it is a little short for my liking. This is the first book of three in the series. I have the second book which I will start soon.

Collin’s does a good job with the story and the illustrations add to the whole.

[Jonathan Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, short read. Collins has created a great new female detective.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nobody does historical crime fiction like Collins. This is a fun quick read, a little lighter than some of this other work, but enjoyable just the same

[Marty Solotki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabrielle de Cuir is indeed “de Cuir” for what ails you, and she does a great job narrating this wartime Nancy Drew-type mystery.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Not too deep, not too long. But a fun read. Well worth the time to read. I did enjoy it

[Frank Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little rushed to the conclusion but given it's length, pretty good stuff!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and very enjoyable mystery.

[Dave Schollaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosy Rosie

I loved this book. Max Alan Collins has hit another one out of the park. Even though the story is fictional it was interesting to learn about the experiences that our female workers went through during the war.