The Black Rubber Dress

Sam Jones #3

by Lauren Henderson

Sexy, savvy sculptor-turned-sleuth Sam Jones attracts trouble like she does men. When her sculpture Thing III is unveiled at a swank reception in the atrium of a London bank, a dead body crashes the party. From there, events take a distinctly dangerous turn. Our rubber-clad heroine hardly suspects that in a few days she’ll be embroiled in a hot affair with a BMW-driving, Kensington-dwelling stockbroker—the shame of it!

Forced to hang out with a pair of spoiled, anorexic rich girls and their unsavory entourage of “friends” as she unravels the facts behind the murder, Sam finds herself unwillingly pulled into a twisted world of drugs, blackmail, and trust funds—one that seems to spell disaster for high society’s darlings. By the end of the week even the usually tough-as-nails Sam is running scared. She needs to get to the bottom of it all—before she turns up dead herself.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Mystery, Chick Lit, Crime, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Romance

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Born in London in 1966, Lauren Henderson read English at university and then worked as a journalist for - among other publications - the New Statesman, Marxism Today, the Observer and Lime Lizard, a much-mourned indie music magazine. Lauren now divides her time between Italy and London and, when not wine-tasting, writes full-time.

Reviews

[Kent Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren Henderson's "Sam Jones" series has long been one of my favorite mystery series. My preference in reading is toward character driven novels (though a good plot helps too ;-). The "Sam Jones" character is a street-wise, female, new-age tart, who works as a sculptor (kind of a foul-mouthed, promiscuous, Liza Doolittle). While I like her smart-ass, sarcastic, come-backs, I'm really enamored with her similes, which are sprinkled through all the books in the series.

"her hands as round and plump as a cupid's on a fresco"
"she was like one of those mosquitoes that blithely ignores even the strongest repellent cream"

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a refreshing read! If you're a fan of Sue Grafton, you'll love Lauren Henderson. Sam (Samantha) isn't a detective per se, but manages to get herself involved in a murder, simply because she cares! How novel is that? I came to like her very quickly and found myself cheering for her at times. This was a quick, easy read...just what one needs on a hot summer day!

[Cheryl Griffin price · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has plenty of events to keep you interested.
it took me only two days to read inbetween seeing to my 3 children, thats how good it is.
would happily go buy more of this authors work if this is anything to go by!

[Marta Acosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all the "tart noir" novels and Henderson's Sam Jones was a favorite character.

[Tessa Nadir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autoarea fost initial jurnalista, apoi s-a dedicat scrisului, fiind celebra pentru seria de romane ce o au ca protagonista pe Sam Jones: "Too many blondes", "Freeze my Margarita", "Strawberry tattoo", "Chained" etc.
"Black rubber dress" a aparut in 1997 si urmareste aventurile descurcaretei Sam Jones, ce isi traieste viata la cote maxime intre dramatism si umor. Avand un atelier de creatii artistice ea confectioneaza un candelabru elegant pentru holul unei mari banci. Este astfel invitata la petrecerea de inaugurare. Acolo va purta rochia neagra din latex pe care o regasim in titlu. Acesta nu va fi insa doar un simplu eveniment ci Sam va da peste un caz de crima intortocheat pe care se decide sa-l rezolve intrand in multe incurcaturi si punandu-si viata in pericol.
Avem de-a face cu o carte apartinand genului chick-lit, amuzanta, aventuroasa dar si cu un iz politist, eroina avand un mister de deslusit. Din pacate mie nu mi-a placut de protagonista ea fiind foarte stridenta, tupeista, adesea nemanierata sau nepoliticoasa. In plus de asta se poarta oribil cu baietii cumsecade, se drogheaza etc. Pe scurt este un "jerk" la feminin si din pacate asta a mai redus din placerea cartii.
Asa cum ne-am obisnuit introducem si aici rubrica neserioasa "Ce invatam din aceasta carte?":
- cand un barbat antipatic te priveste, masurandu-te din cap pana-n picioare este ca si cum un melc urias s-ar catara pe tine.
- cand un tip iti zice: "Asta e ultima oara cand ma mai culc cu tine" este egal cu "Aceeasi ora saptamana viitoare".
- esti intr-adevar usuratica daca te intalnesti cu cineva doar pentru ca te face sa te simti usuratica.
- fetele isi pun in pericol lacul de unghii Chanel doar pentru a-si scoate ochii una alteia.
- intr-o lume a barbatilor daca inca mai esti singura meriti o medalie pentru vointa.
Dupa cum am observat avem parte de portia de ras pe care o asteptam de la genul acesta de carte putand petrece cateva ore placute in compania ei. Si de ce nu, sa urmarim in continuare seria acestor romane cu Sam Jones.

[(bookworms ate my brain) Beffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again I didn't realise that this was a series of books when I picked this one up. Perhaps I would have liked it better if I had read the previous ones in the series. The main character is an artist named Sam, I didn't know what to think of her. The opening paragraph describes her ongoing affair with a man who may or may not be married and who works for the police force. It didn't seem to provide much insight into Sam's character but I kept reading. All of the characters were dreadful in one way or another, maybe it was the author's attempt to humanise them and make them more realistic. The murders of the characters should have been shocking but not really. The death of the security guard was too sudden and over dramatised.
Lots of people were talking to Sam because she was so upset about how her artistic creation had been used during the first murder. I didn't find it acceptable that her feelings were so hurt and her reputation tarnished by the murder when she came across as a callous person who despised most of the people she came into contact with. She was very judgemental of both men and women, but mostly women. I also didn't believe it when she was able to defend herself so easily whenever she was attacked when there was no mention of her taking any sort of training in how to defend herself.
The conclusion was unsatisfying, I guess justice was done but how remains a mystery. I won't be reading anything else by this author.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book in the series after a lukewarm start with the other books. I think I partly liked it so much because I have a fascination for posh people and this kind of satisfied that curiosity. I did think it was a little odd that Sam was so upset with her piece being used tangentially in a murder as it just didn't ring true with the cynical, 'I'm only doing this job for the money because these people are the worst and do not appreciate art' vibe, and yet there was the massive overreaction where the person murdered was pretty much completely glossed over by her feelings about the art.

I also once again felt like Sam got away with far too much research by herself. Guess what, the police don't like civilians interfering in a murder enquiry and they would have done far more to stop her than they did. Also, despite the fact that she almost gets murdered in every book, she still hasn't learnt that's it's probably best to stay out of other people's business.

The next book in this series is super expensive and difficult to get hold of so I'll leave this series here unless the price suddenly comes right down.

[Amanda Larkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series when it first came out in the 90s and adored it. I discovered from the wonderful Lauren Henderson on Twitter that a Sam Jones series is being made and I thought this was a great chance to revisit these brilliant books.

Sam Jones is a product of her time - a sculptor living it up in the 90s fuelled by cocktails and a surprising amount of cocaine - I'd forgotten that. This isn't the first in the series but I started it while stuck at work and it was the one I had in my bag.

It was just as good as I remembered. Lots of sex, murder, and sassy one-liners. I think Henderson is a great writer and it was a huge shame she never got to finish the whole series. I am looking forward to the next one where I'll be starting at the beginning with 'Dead White Female'

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate sassy, smart, independent women. Sam definitely qualifies. I really liked the phrase, "I twisted his balls so hard he'll need a map to find them" when a guy tried to rape her.
Sam is hired to make a huge metal mobile for a major bank, which leads to her attending upscale parties. ( Fascinating scenario!) Then her mobile is involved with a murder. Rich, snotty folk, champagne, drugs, and blackmail are all intertwined in this tale.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really like this, but it is completely mis-sold. The back quote mentions a dominatrix, and even the title implies many things. The main character was a really nice down to earth girl who, yes does do drugs, and yes, is freer in her affections than I would be, but is a good investigator and nice person, helped along with her convenient pet cop and reporter contacts. Maybe the first book is more racy?

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery thriller from the 90s - enjoyable read.

Sam is a sculptor who gets involved with a crowd of yuppies / Sloane Rangers in 1990s London. Murder takes place and she investigates, using her many contacts, and meeting many helpful and unsavoury characters. The Sloanes are stereotypical and there are plenty (too many) descriptions of everyone's clothing. There's plenty of sex included as well. It's a well--told tale, very much of its era. It's enjoyable and engaging.

[Mei · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t too bad; our plucky heroine wasn’t too annoyingly plucky and bad things did in fact happen to not so nice people.

[Paul Close · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting atmosphere, but strained at times. Too many characters sometimes seem interchangeable. The sex and drugs part doesn't add anything to the story, and if anything is a distraction.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 actually as I didn't guess 'who did it'. I liked the edgy, smart Sam Jones but the whole setting is too trendy for me.

[Nefty123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a stretch but nevertheless entertaining. The characters were edgy.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 3.5

PROTAGONIST: Sculptor Sam (Samantha) Jones
SETTING: Camden, UK
SERIES: #3 of 7
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Sam (Samantha) Jones is a sculptor who has designed a contemporary mobile which she has just installed at a bank. And then she starts seeing one of the bankers, Sebastian Shaw, who is definitely at a much higher social level than Sam is. However, he isn't pretentious and they get along well, sharing a bed and recreational drugs. They attend an engagement party at the bank, and the male honoree is found dead of an overdose, with Sam's sculpture fallen down on him. The characters and dialogue were well done; the mystery was a bit dragged out. I do wonder how Sam could be the protagonist of 7 books in a series. She's essentially an amateur who had a personal stake in this case.

[Jeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Sam Jones is one of the most kickass female sleuths I've ever read. (She makes Kinsey and her like look downright ladylike. ) She is also quite alien to my experience, but I enjoy reading about her. In
THE BLACK RUBBER DRESS she sells a sculpture to a respectable City bank and ends up having a steamy affair with (ye gads!) a stockbroker and spending more time than she (or we) would've believed with his upmarket set. When blackmail and murder intrude, Sam is hot on the trail (and in very hot water).

Lots of fun. This is a series I read for the character and the style more than the mystery, and take my word for it, Sam is a character not easily forgotten. Her smart mouth and in-your-face style I enjoy,
likewise her sexual exploits, but I guess I'm still a prude since her casual use (or abuse) of drugs and acohol always make me wince.

[Mark Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before Lauren's more recent successes in the realm of contemporary chick lit, she helped pioneer a genre of fiction in the mid 90's called 'Tart Noir'. Edgy, sassy, exceptionally feminine voices that resonated with attitude and wit, running through the crime genre with the same veracity as chick lit. This sexy thriller gives us some of the best moments from the character Sam Jones (not to be confused with her namesake in the HBO series, Sex in the City) in a rollocking London adventure with great, bitchy and classic characters and a great plotline deep in the heart of the Canary Wharf banking district.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

i've put off reading anything that's supposed to be funny since i threw the first janet evanovich book at the wall in frustration at the protagonist's stupidity. i picked this up in the bookshop and chuckled at the first page though. after a couple of chapters sam jones seems like quite a character but she definitely doesn't seem stupid. so i'm hoping we'll get on.

we did get on. sam's smart, not smart enough not to get caught up in investigating murders of course, but if she was that smart then there would be no book.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more I expect a transition book for the series. The plot is interesting - a banker is found dead under Sam's sculpture at his engagement party. There are many layers to the plot, a bunch of red herrings but ultimately the resolution of the plot is fine.

Sam gets a little wild and dirty with her banker lover while figuring out who used her art to kill a man.

A good instalment of the series. Still fun and quirky although this one tried a little too hard to add a 'Less than Zero' vibe (sex, drug and the high life).

[Stven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story to read. There's something about unabashed hedonism that seems so sincere. The pages keep turning. As a mystery, well, face it, I'm not the kind of reader who sits there trying to puzzle out what happened and who's responsible. I'm happy for the protagonist to reveal that in her own good time if she's personable enough. Sex, drugs, and really not that much rock and roll, but a bit of the bohemian London art crowd mixing with the patrons thereof makes for good clashy kicks.

[Winifred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam jones is a sculptress and she has done a commission for a bank. she goes out with sebastian who works at the bank. the caretaker at the bank is killed and sam wants to know why because he tries to tell her something as he is dying but she cant understand him. She decides to go to the party at the bank to see if she can find any details. Later on the body of the futher soninlaw of the bank is found dead with the sculpture on the top of him,but he has not been killed by the mobile. I was surprised who the killer was.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Jones is chuffed to have sold her giant sculpture "Floating Planet" (aka "Thing III") to big London investment banker Mowbray Steiner, but she's not so excited when a dead body turns up at the unveiling party and she's drawn into the tangle of drugs, affairs, and corruption behind the bank's staid walls. I loved Sam, who's smart and assertive and tough, and Jones provides a tense and intriguing mystery with well-drawn, complex supporting characters.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Jones is a confident, independent, and highly skilled sculptress/engineer whose latest work (a huge metal monstrosity she calls simply "Thing III") has sold *very* well. She becomes embroiled in a murder mystery after her sculpture crushes someone to death. These are pure delicious crack.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whole series before and enjoyed it enormously.

On reread: I love the character of Sam Jones. She's sharp and funny, with an edge that I appreciate now more than I did when I originally read this series.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this way back in the day, and did not realize how many books there were to the series, so I may need to go back and reread them all. Great main character, fun (and a little racy) mystery, love the sculpture back story. Yeah I'm going to end up rereading these.

[Verity W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooooh. So good. So, so good in a no-holds barred gritty but wickedly funny and smart way. This has just been republished by Fahrenheit press and I can totally see why. I have the next one waiting already.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. . . and raises eyebrows on the plane. . .

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, it's chick-lit, but so much fun. As another reviewer said, Best London Detective Series Ever. I've loved all the Sam Jones books that I've read.

[Baileyqueue Queue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series, it's fun and an easy read.