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Faye Quick #2
Too Darn Hot
I’d had two murders since last spring, solved them both. The first one was prime and it got a lotta attention in the fish wrappers, so I had a bunch of clients for awhile. Just cause people saw my name in the paper they figured I was the best (which I might be). Not bad for a twenty-six-year-old gal from Newark, New Jersey.
It’s the middle of World War II, but not all the killing is happening overseas. In a sweltering New York City summer, scrappy steno-turned-sleuth Faye Quick–kicked upstairs when her boss ships out–takes on a new case that would make even the most experienced P.I. sweat bullets.
It all starts with a beautiful woman. Heartbroken Claire Turner turns on the waterworks in Faye’s office, begging for help in finding her beau, Private Charlie Ladd, gone missing while on leave from Uncle Sam’s army. But when Faye busts into Charlie’s hotel room, she doesn’t find anyone–anyone alive, that is.
But where’s Charlie? Because the corpse in the hotel room might not be him. And that leads Faye to wonder if the unfortunate stiff was Charlie’s target practice.
In a case with more twists, starts, and stops than the Third Avenue El, Faye learns that some shocking truths are hidden behind the fog of war–a personal war being fought on the home front.
Brimming over with big band music, hairdos in snoods, and unfiltered smokes–the same irresistible 1940s detail that made This Dame for Hire such a treat–the second adventure of indefatigable Faye solidifies her status as one of Sandra Scoppettone’s most appealing characters. Too Darn Hot is sizzling fun readers are sure to make Quick work of.
It’s the middle of World War II, but not all the killing is happening overseas. In a sweltering New York City summer, scrappy steno-turned-sleuth Faye Quick–kicked upstairs when her boss ships out–takes on a new case that would make even the most experienced P.I. sweat bullets.
It all starts with a beautiful woman. Heartbroken Claire Turner turns on the waterworks in Faye’s office, begging for help in finding her beau, Private Charlie Ladd, gone missing while on leave from Uncle Sam’s army. But when Faye busts into Charlie’s hotel room, she doesn’t find anyone–anyone alive, that is.
But where’s Charlie? Because the corpse in the hotel room might not be him. And that leads Faye to wonder if the unfortunate stiff was Charlie’s target practice.
In a case with more twists, starts, and stops than the Third Avenue El, Faye learns that some shocking truths are hidden behind the fog of war–a personal war being fought on the home front.
Brimming over with big band music, hairdos in snoods, and unfiltered smokes–the same irresistible 1940s detail that made This Dame for Hire such a treat–the second adventure of indefatigable Faye solidifies her status as one of Sandra Scoppettone’s most appealing characters. Too Darn Hot is sizzling fun readers are sure to make Quick work of.
291 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Scoppettone
53 books77 followersAlso wrote as Jack Early.
Sandra Scoppettone first emerged as one of the best hard-boiled mystery writers using the name Jack Early for her first three novels that included A Creative Kind of Killer (1984) that won the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America for best first novel. She had started writing seriously since the age of 18 when she moved to New York from South Orange, New Jersey. Scoppettone in the 1960s collaborated with Louise Fitzhuh and in the 1970s wrote important young adult novels. The Late Great Me depicting teenage alcoholism won an Emmy Award in 1976. Her real name was revealed in the 1990s with the start of a series featuring PI Lauren Laurano. Scoppettone shares her life with writer Linda Crawford.
Sandra Scoppettone first emerged as one of the best hard-boiled mystery writers using the name Jack Early for her first three novels that included A Creative Kind of Killer (1984) that won the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America for best first novel. She had started writing seriously since the age of 18 when she moved to New York from South Orange, New Jersey. Scoppettone in the 1960s collaborated with Louise Fitzhuh and in the 1970s wrote important young adult novels. The Late Great Me depicting teenage alcoholism won an Emmy Award in 1976. Her real name was revealed in the 1990s with the start of a series featuring PI Lauren Laurano. Scoppettone shares her life with writer Linda Crawford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 29, 2010
I have really enjoyed this series and I'm really disappointed to see that despite this one, the second, having been published in 2006, there hasn't been a third one yet. What's up with that?
Faye Quick, P.I. is back. The case is a missing boyfriend. The time is world war two. The setting is a sweltering NYC. While Faye battles heat on the subways tracking down suspects and clues, the case just keeps getting more complicated. A missing boyfriend leads to a dead body, a ransom demand, a jilted lover, angry parents, and even a shot neighbor. Plus, it looks like.. just maybe.. Faye has been scammed by her most recent client. To make matters worse, her love life starts hurting because she is too busy chasing suspects and her new boyfriend doesn't want to take a back seat.
Great and fun read. I enjoyed it. I like picking up a mystery in which the heroine isn't doing the horizontal mambo with her partner or a suspect. Nice change. Love the 40s lingo too, words like "swell" add a great touch. The only thing I hate and I hated this in the last one too is the way people talk at times. Evertime the heroine said "ya" or "yer" I pictured some gum smacking ditz. It just doesn't fit. Still a real good read tho.
Faye Quick, P.I. is back. The case is a missing boyfriend. The time is world war two. The setting is a sweltering NYC. While Faye battles heat on the subways tracking down suspects and clues, the case just keeps getting more complicated. A missing boyfriend leads to a dead body, a ransom demand, a jilted lover, angry parents, and even a shot neighbor. Plus, it looks like.. just maybe.. Faye has been scammed by her most recent client. To make matters worse, her love life starts hurting because she is too busy chasing suspects and her new boyfriend doesn't want to take a back seat.
Great and fun read. I enjoyed it. I like picking up a mystery in which the heroine isn't doing the horizontal mambo with her partner or a suspect. Nice change. Love the 40s lingo too, words like "swell" add a great touch. The only thing I hate and I hated this in the last one too is the way people talk at times. Evertime the heroine said "ya" or "yer" I pictured some gum smacking ditz. It just doesn't fit. Still a real good read tho.
December 5, 2018
Really good sequel, although it doesn't stand on its own as the backstory in the other title would be a huge help in understanding this one.
I'm not one who guesses mystery resolutions early on, so this one had me surprised at the end. I wish there were more of this series, but the author wrapped up things here so that it was a logical place to stop, or could have been continued had she and the publishers come to an agreement.
Only negative note would be that the theme of anti-Semitism was handled in a rather clunky manner I thought.
I'm not one who guesses mystery resolutions early on, so this one had me surprised at the end. I wish there were more of this series, but the author wrapped up things here so that it was a logical place to stop, or could have been continued had she and the publishers come to an agreement.
Only negative note would be that the theme of anti-Semitism was handled in a rather clunky manner I thought.
February 6, 2011
Book on Tape - wonderful voices with the 1940's slang(lots of slang) fun book to listen to. Enjoyed listening probably better than the read would have been due to the great voices, slang and NY accents.
May 27, 2020
Hilarious! I love a murder mystery with humor, that is not a "cozy". At first the NY 1940's working class slang was a little off-putting. But once I got used to it, it just fit the main character, and worked. Faye (love the name because it's my middle name) is a character! She has taken over her boss's detective agency while he is away fighting in WWII, and doing a good job of it. She is clever and figures things out on her own, although willing to ask for help when she needs it. She is inquisitive, plucky, and bold. True to the time, she is often mocked for being "a girl detective", and kept out of police situations a male detective would have access to, but she doesn't let these things deter her. Go Faye!
The plot revolves around her client Claire hiring Faye to find her missing boyfriend, Private Charlie. Then Charlie becomes a kidnapping victim and Charlie's friend, Private David is found dead. Faye tries to figure out what is really going on as more people disappear and others are shot. Some people she interviews seem suspicious, others uncaring, but everyone is keeping secrets. It's a good thing that Faye has some great friends to help her out including her policeman boyfriend and another policeman friend, her friends in the local stores, and her office manager. What a great cast of characters! A very fun book to read.
The plot revolves around her client Claire hiring Faye to find her missing boyfriend, Private Charlie. Then Charlie becomes a kidnapping victim and Charlie's friend, Private David is found dead. Faye tries to figure out what is really going on as more people disappear and others are shot. Some people she interviews seem suspicious, others uncaring, but everyone is keeping secrets. It's a good thing that Faye has some great friends to help her out including her policeman boyfriend and another policeman friend, her friends in the local stores, and her office manager. What a great cast of characters! A very fun book to read.
May 5, 2021
In a sweltering New York City summer, scrappy steno-turned-sleuth Faye Quick - kicked upstairs when her boss ships out - takes on a new case that would make even the most experienced PI sweat bullets." "It all starts with a beautiful woman. Heartbroken Claire Turner turns on the waterworks in Faye's office, begging for help in finding her beau, Private Charlie Ladd, gone missing while on leave from Uncle Sam's army. But when Faye busts into Charlie's hotel room, she doesn't find anyone - anyone alive, that is." "But where's Charlie? Because the corpse in the hotel room might not be him. And that leads Faye to wonder it the unfortunate stiff was Charlie's target practice." In a case with more twists, starts, and stops than the Third Avenue El. Faye learns that some, shocking truths are hidden behind the fog of war - a personal war being fought on the home front
May 30, 2022
At first the female detective's way of talking in this book threw me for a loop. Then I got used to it and started enjoying the interactions thoroughly.
This was a good solid mystery. Set in New York City during WWII, the flavor of those days came through really well. The author did a great job of dropping various historical and cultural references throughout.
A good solid read. Recommended for those who like more traditional mysteries, detective stories and the like.
This was a good solid mystery. Set in New York City during WWII, the flavor of those days came through really well. The author did a great job of dropping various historical and cultural references throughout.
A good solid read. Recommended for those who like more traditional mysteries, detective stories and the like.
January 23, 2022
I never knew I liked the "hardboiled detective" genre until I met Faye Quick! It was good enough that I didn't need to have read the first one to understand this one, which is good, because I haven't (but will now!). I listened to this and it was way better than reading because of the accents, etc.
July 21, 2009
I think I liked this a little better than the first one, This Dame For Hire. Maybe I was more accustomed to Scoppettone's use of the language of the day.
These are light mysteries, part humor, part noir. She takes over her boss' private detective business while he goes off to fight in WWII.
Here she is hired to find a soldier on leave who may have been kidnapped. Then a dead body is found in his hotel room. It ain't him.
In the previous book, Faye had heard stories from a friend about what is happening to the Jews in Germany. She discounted it and thought it was just crazy talk. But here she finds that the Jews aren't just getting killed in Germany.
These are light mysteries, part humor, part noir. She takes over her boss' private detective business while he goes off to fight in WWII.
Here she is hired to find a soldier on leave who may have been kidnapped. Then a dead body is found in his hotel room. It ain't him.
In the previous book, Faye had heard stories from a friend about what is happening to the Jews in Germany. She discounted it and thought it was just crazy talk. But here she finds that the Jews aren't just getting killed in Germany.
August 31, 2010
Faye Quick, steno turned sleuth when her boss shipped out to fight in WWII, has taken over the agency. She had already solved two murder cases when this novel opens.
Taking on a missing person's case at the request of Claire Turner, Quick tries to find Turner's boyfriend, Private Charlie Ladd. Instead, she finds a body that is *not* Charlie and the case becomes filled with twists and herrings.
Most of the characters speak as you would expect, but Faye's speech is filled with stereotypical PI lingo and I found this a bit off putting. She also says "yer" a lot; she's originally from New Jersey and has lived in New York City.
I wanted to give this 3 stars, but am only giving it two because of the way Faye speaks.
Taking on a missing person's case at the request of Claire Turner, Quick tries to find Turner's boyfriend, Private Charlie Ladd. Instead, she finds a body that is *not* Charlie and the case becomes filled with twists and herrings.
Most of the characters speak as you would expect, but Faye's speech is filled with stereotypical PI lingo and I found this a bit off putting. She also says "yer" a lot; she's originally from New Jersey and has lived in New York City.
I wanted to give this 3 stars, but am only giving it two because of the way Faye speaks.
October 30, 2012
A spunky gal detective, zippy 1940s lingo, attention to war detail, and a missing person who perhaps isn't --how can this be anything but a hoot? The war is omnipresent throughout this peppy mystery, from the restrictions on gasoline to the presence of women in so many unlikely fields (elevator operator, anyone?), from soldiers on leave to men returning without limbs. The unexpected twists and turns make for a fun read, while the knowledge of certain characters about what's really happening in Europe --dismissed by Faye as so much foolishness--are a haunting reminder of what was really going on. For a book with some romance, with some good (and not-so-good) family relationships, and with a determined girl PI and her peppy office manager, this can't be beat.
September 11, 2007
A sequel to "This Dame to Hire", there is the stark presence of the Holocaust, only depicted in mention, coupled with the everyday anti-Jewish attitudes that would be set aside once the mass genocide would be discovered. Yet that does have it's limits with the contrast of a hard-broiled novel present.
July 27, 2010
This is a mystery set during WW II where the detective is a young, single woman in New York, and I listened to the audio book rather than reading a hard copy. I don't know if the language usage is authentic slang/dialect from the period, but I got a kick out of it. The story was interesting, with a couple of twists I didn't expect. It's a good light read.
July 16, 2015
#2 in the Faye Quick series.
Faye Quick is hired by Claire Turner to find her missing serviceman boyfriend. A search of the boyfriend's hotel room uncovers a body, but it's a different serviceman and the boyfriend is still missing. The trail twists and turns with a possibly estranged sister and ransom demands for the boyfriend.
Faye Quick is hired by Claire Turner to find her missing serviceman boyfriend. A search of the boyfriend's hotel room uncovers a body, but it's a different serviceman and the boyfriend is still missing. The trail twists and turns with a possibly estranged sister and ransom demands for the boyfriend.
June 27, 2008
Very easy summer read, although a bit predictable. Or perhaps I'm a better sleuth than I imagined! (or just lucked out on this one...)
It was a nice mental break from some of the other, lengthier books I've got on my plate right now. :)
It was a nice mental break from some of the other, lengthier books I've got on my plate right now. :)
June 23, 2015
Scoppettone gives a great twist to the '40s detective genre by making her PI a hard-boiled dame. The pulp-fiction tone and language is a little distracting at first, but Faye Quick is such a great character that you can't help but jump into the story.
April 14, 2007
Not my usual thing, but I ended up loving it! It's like watching a 1940's film noir, complete with tough New York female P.I. written with a New York accent too. A fun quick read!!!
October 9, 2008
2nd in series. Another great listen read by the same person who read the first one. This one is much more complicated and Christie like and has great ambiance related to the World War two era.
April 12, 2009
My weakness: period murder mysteries featuring female detectives. The story was compelling enough, but I was sucked in by the descriptions of 1940s New York and use of contemporary slang/dialogue.
August 17, 2009
A story about a WWII era female private detective. I felt like I was watching a black and white movie. She solves a murder with a little help from her friends.
September 3, 2011
Fun. Felt like the 40's (but what would I know).
July 1, 2024
Okay, so this is definitely a pastiche of private eye fiction from the 1940's, and if you're not already familiar with the genre you may miss some of the ways Sandra Scoppettone is playing with it. Also, even though I had no problem reading Cockney slang in Charles Dickens, seeing New York words like "hadda" and "hafta" in print through me for a loop at first. If that's going to bother you, go for the recorded version.
With those minor reservations, this is a very good read, with an engaging heroine and a real tangle of a plot. It was also instructive to see this smart cookie refusing to believe that what her Jewish shopkeeper friend was telling her about gas chambers in Germany was true. I'll bet that was true to life, in 1943.
With those minor reservations, this is a very good read, with an engaging heroine and a real tangle of a plot. It was also instructive to see this smart cookie refusing to believe that what her Jewish shopkeeper friend was telling her about gas chambers in Germany was true. I'll bet that was true to life, in 1943.
May 16, 2018
This is the 2nd book in the series I've listened to, and I like it even better than the first! I think the character development is engaging and the mystery was confusing enough to really require some figuring out. I like being able to get to the right conclusion and then having it confirmed as the book concludes, so I'm really glad to have listened to this book. The reader is a good fit for the characters, and makes each one "come alive" so it's hard to imagine one reader did all those characters. Looking forward to the book in this series.
October 4, 2021
Faye the PI is back, this time with a kidnapped soldier case that gets very twisty with dead bodies very quickly. I had some suspicions all along, but I didn't quite nail it. As with the first, dropping into the slang is very annoying but it eventually becomes part of the story. This time around, I especially loved Birdie and would love to know more about her--I'm sad there weren't more books that would let us explore that!
Content warning for major anti-semitism.
Content warning for major anti-semitism.
April 25, 2021
A fun book which does fine as a standalone (I hadn't read the first book but became quickly immersed in this one). The main character comes alive in the audiobook version, thanks to its awesome narrator (Laura Hicks).
Looking forward to reading the first book, and hoping that additional adventures will be added to the series in the future!
Looking forward to reading the first book, and hoping that additional adventures will be added to the series in the future!
March 2, 2023
I just love Faye Quick. She is street smart and compassionate. In this second outing our reluctant gumshoe finds her footing and learns to trust her instincts and her friends.
I enjoyed this book so much and I am kind of sad that the author seems to have abandoned Faye.
I enjoyed this book so much and I am kind of sad that the author seems to have abandoned Faye.
September 27, 2025
Another fun mystery by the brilliant Scoppettone set in the 1940s.
December 8, 2025
Sad there are only two of these. At least Faye got her piano...and her man. But poor Birdie never got her intercom...
March 29, 2007
A 'female dick' in 1940s NYC. Funny dialogue, shallow plot.
June 21, 2013
Audio book. Not sure how it looks in print, but the slang and accents are fun to listen to.
December 10, 2013
An enjoyable rollicking read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews