What do you think?
Rate this book
Frankie Richmond #2
BabyFace
Second in the sparky crime series featuring Tamla Motown-loving barrister Frankie Richmond
Barrister and sometime detective Frankie Richmond has never been any good at saying no – a fatal weakness that always leads to big trouble.
In Birmingham for a child abuse inquiry, Frankie reluctantly agrees to fill in at a corpseless murder trial for one day only. But walking away from a juicy crime brief was never going to be easy. Especially when the defendant’s girlfriend, who begs her for help to prove his innocence, is Frankie’s idea of gorgeous.
Soon she knows far more about the Birmingham underworld – and the leather sofa business – than is sensible for someone who’s off the case. Add to that a spot of breaking and entering, joy riding and bullet dodging and Frankie needs to track down the real murderer fast – if there’s been a murder at all.
Frankie’s chaotic approach to crime solving whistles along to the strains of Joe Cocker and the Four Tops in this follow up to Motown murder mystery Good Bad Woman.
Barrister and sometime detective Frankie Richmond has never been any good at saying no – a fatal weakness that always leads to big trouble.
In Birmingham for a child abuse inquiry, Frankie reluctantly agrees to fill in at a corpseless murder trial for one day only. But walking away from a juicy crime brief was never going to be easy. Especially when the defendant’s girlfriend, who begs her for help to prove his innocence, is Frankie’s idea of gorgeous.
Soon she knows far more about the Birmingham underworld – and the leather sofa business – than is sensible for someone who’s off the case. Add to that a spot of breaking and entering, joy riding and bullet dodging and Frankie needs to track down the real murderer fast – if there’s been a murder at all.
Frankie’s chaotic approach to crime solving whistles along to the strains of Joe Cocker and the Four Tops in this follow up to Motown murder mystery Good Bad Woman.
- GenresFiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
30 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Woodcraft
9 books9 followersElizabeth Woodcraft was born and grew up in Chelmsford. She became a mod at 13, worked in the Milk Bar at 15, and danced to the music of Zoot Money, Georgie Fame and Wilson Pickett on Saturdays. This is the world reflected in the stories in A Sense of Occasion.
She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister.
During her time at the Bar she represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights.
She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface (Harper Collins). Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way.
Throughout her life, Liz has been writing, plays and stories, and she has always kept a diary. Her book A Sense of Occasion, published in 2014 is a collection of short stories about 4 working class girls living in the 60s. Her latest novel, Beyond the Beehive, continues the story of best friends Sandra and Linda, in the year 1965.
She is an occasional newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Essex and recently appeared in the BBC East show ‘Living in ’66 – Pop, Pirates and Postmen,' talking about life as a mod girl in Chelmsford. She taught BBC Radio 6 DJ Steve Lamacq how to do the mod jive.
With her partner, she divides her time between Paris and London.
She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister.
During her time at the Bar she represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights.
She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface (Harper Collins). Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way.
Throughout her life, Liz has been writing, plays and stories, and she has always kept a diary. Her book A Sense of Occasion, published in 2014 is a collection of short stories about 4 working class girls living in the 60s. Her latest novel, Beyond the Beehive, continues the story of best friends Sandra and Linda, in the year 1965.
She is an occasional newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Essex and recently appeared in the BBC East show ‘Living in ’66 – Pop, Pirates and Postmen,' talking about life as a mod girl in Chelmsford. She taught BBC Radio 6 DJ Steve Lamacq how to do the mod jive.
With her partner, she divides her time between Paris and London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 10, 2021
2.5 stars
June 18, 2020
Yay. The second and last (at least so far) novel in the Frankie Richmond series is as good as the first—maybe better. This one finds barrister Frankie pining from the defection of torch singer Margo Baron. Luckily, she has a real case to take her mind off things. It is a class action suit against a juvenile home that abused its young residents. But when her courtroom questions start hitting too close to home, people start dying.
This is kind of a unique book in that the mystery, or rather the case Frankie is advocating for, is both interesting and important. Yet she also gets embroiled in a second case—this one involving the murder of a sleazebag, or maybe a couple of sleazebags. Come to find out, one of the witnesses in this case was a resident in the same juvenile home that she is investigating in her other case. And he has secrets.
And then, of course, there is Yolande. Like Margo in Good Bad Woman, she is a siren and Frankie is immediately smitten with her. But is Yolande using her like Margo did in the previous book: Quite frankly, my dear, Frankie doesn't care. Call me crazy, but call me.
Babyface is not just another mystery. It is an interesting, full-length, well-rounded novel filled with interesting characters, riveting mysteries, reprehensible crimes, and office intrigue. In fact, the relationship between Frankie and the other barristers and clerks and solicitors in her chambers are quite as interesting as the other facets of the novel. And all tie in in some way to the plot. As with Good Bad Woman, this novel takes us into the fascinating and complicated British legal system. And for those of you who like courtroom drama, Woodcraft has Frankie spend much more time in the halls of justice than in the first installment.
There is something special about the two Elizabeth Woodcraft novels. Many things, maybe. The only disappointment was the cover (I read the mass-market paperback published by HarperCollins in 2003). It is hard to recommend this book or this series highly enough. Put both of these fine novels very near the top of the genre.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
This is kind of a unique book in that the mystery, or rather the case Frankie is advocating for, is both interesting and important. Yet she also gets embroiled in a second case—this one involving the murder of a sleazebag, or maybe a couple of sleazebags. Come to find out, one of the witnesses in this case was a resident in the same juvenile home that she is investigating in her other case. And he has secrets.
And then, of course, there is Yolande. Like Margo in Good Bad Woman, she is a siren and Frankie is immediately smitten with her. But is Yolande using her like Margo did in the previous book: Quite frankly, my dear, Frankie doesn't care. Call me crazy, but call me.
Babyface is not just another mystery. It is an interesting, full-length, well-rounded novel filled with interesting characters, riveting mysteries, reprehensible crimes, and office intrigue. In fact, the relationship between Frankie and the other barristers and clerks and solicitors in her chambers are quite as interesting as the other facets of the novel. And all tie in in some way to the plot. As with Good Bad Woman, this novel takes us into the fascinating and complicated British legal system. And for those of you who like courtroom drama, Woodcraft has Frankie spend much more time in the halls of justice than in the first installment.
There is something special about the two Elizabeth Woodcraft novels. Many things, maybe. The only disappointment was the cover (I read the mass-market paperback published by HarperCollins in 2003). It is hard to recommend this book or this series highly enough. Put both of these fine novels very near the top of the genre.
Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.
August 2, 2011
On the one hand this is an often hilarious romp through a world of pedaloes, dodgy nightclub singers and sweaters even your mother would reject as too naff. On the other hand it is hopelessly convoluted and occasionally glib. It felt a little like trying to unpick a horrendous knot in your i-pod headphones, and it takes ages and gets worse as you go along until you think it may actually be three different pairs of headphones.....then you realise it is only the one....but once you get it unpicked the flipping things only work in one ear.
The best thing about the book as far as I'm concerned is central character Frankie, barrister, feminist, lesbian, housework-hater and wearer of black linen trousers. Reassuringly human, rather scatty and prone to offering to do things for her friends and then forgetting, she has a tremendously wry sense of humour and it is impossible not to like her. The insight into the world of the barrister with its arcane traditions is fascinating too.
On the debit side, I was often confused as to whose side we were supposed to be on, and career criminal Danny seemed a little too suave and erudite for a guy who has spent most of his life in the nick. I think it would be fair to say that Frankie gets herself into a career-threatening mess of her own free will, and I sometimes found her actions difficult to sympathise with. I wondered whether it would have worked if the central character was a straight male barrister - would we have accepted his brain being turned to mush by a tarty blonde? I thought possibly not, so is it OK if the central character is a lesbian? Not being one it's hard for me to comment, but it felt a tiny bit sexist - something even Frankie herself may have disapproved of!
The best thing about the book as far as I'm concerned is central character Frankie, barrister, feminist, lesbian, housework-hater and wearer of black linen trousers. Reassuringly human, rather scatty and prone to offering to do things for her friends and then forgetting, she has a tremendously wry sense of humour and it is impossible not to like her. The insight into the world of the barrister with its arcane traditions is fascinating too.
On the debit side, I was often confused as to whose side we were supposed to be on, and career criminal Danny seemed a little too suave and erudite for a guy who has spent most of his life in the nick. I think it would be fair to say that Frankie gets herself into a career-threatening mess of her own free will, and I sometimes found her actions difficult to sympathise with. I wondered whether it would have worked if the central character was a straight male barrister - would we have accepted his brain being turned to mush by a tarty blonde? I thought possibly not, so is it OK if the central character is a lesbian? Not being one it's hard for me to comment, but it felt a tiny bit sexist - something even Frankie herself may have disapproved of!
January 24, 2012
I still found the British legal system confounding, but I learned that Buck's Fizz is a mimosa, and a pedalo is a paddleboat. Being Canadian, you wouldn't think there'd be such a language difference! And hey, wait a second, why doesn't the British pub down the street call it a Buck's Fizz? Oh, I guess it isn't really a British pub :)
Oh, and I couldn't find the book anywhere in Canada, that's what took so long to find it. Finally ordered it from the UK -- worth it.
Oh, and I couldn't find the book anywhere in Canada, that's what took so long to find it. Finally ordered it from the UK -- worth it.
Read
August 6, 2011The story of an intelligent woman who falls in the trap of following her heart and not her head, which lands her in all sorts of trouble, criminal and the like,
I loved this book, it kept me reading the whole way through.
I loved this book, it kept me reading the whole way through.
February 21, 2015
The jury's still out on this one.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews