The Clear Case

by Stephanie Edd

Cecilia Le Cleur walks into a waiting room, there to see a private detective. Mel Gance lives across the street from his office in San Francisco, 1947. She takes a seat opposite his desk and tells him about her father and her brother, the dead and the missing.

After straightening his tie, he moves around the city like a librarian, hunting and sorting gamblers, gunmen, and glamour. The more he pursues, the more he's followed. As the city threatens rain, Mel Gance wonders what that fair face has hidden in this clear case.

Genres: Mystery

157 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2014

About the author

Stephanie Edd is an author, artish, feminist, critic, and a good friend. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2010 and remains in the Bay Area, haunting Downtown Berkeley and select parts of San Francisco.

As an avid Trekkie and optimistic weirdo, she endeavors to write stories that help people understand that we don't always have to be serious to deal with serious things and that with empathy, compassion, and thick skin, our human community can achieve camaraderie.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not normally a fan of "noir," because to me it conjures thoughts of grumpy, hard-boiled detectives; hookers with hearts of gold; rain; doin' it with beautiful ladies who are up to no good. The Clear Case is definitely noir, but it turns the genre on its head: the detective, Gance, is a little mopey, but also has a cute cat, and is kind; there is nary a hooker in sight; San Francisco is foggy, I will give it that, but it sets the mood well, and the author is obviously in love with the city; and -- well all right, there is a femme fatale.

Mostly it's the protagonist Gance that makes this a different sort of story. He's interesting and kind and has a sense of humor. He's not a misogynist, but neither is he so "PC" that it takes you out of the story. He also seems pretty handsome, which I can get behind. I also liked his secretary, they were both extremely likable. I didn't like his client, but I'm not sure I was supposed to, so that's okay too.

So it's a very nice mystery (that I didn't solve ahead of time, but I'm not good at that anyway). And I really liked the way the author wrote about San Francisco. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it felt very real (and very wet). Recommended. (It is like the opposite of Altered Carbon , which was also contemporary noir, and which I hated.) (And I solved THAT mystery right off the bat, so maybe I am good at that.)

(Disclosure: I am a friend of the author.)

[Violette Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author does an excellent job of recreating the noir vibe without invoking the hackneyed stereotypes and tropes that usually infest most noir writing.

The women in her novel aren't "dames" who serve no purpose but window-dressing or pointless betrayal. Instead, they're smart, skilled, and altogether human. A refreshing read!