The Two-Bit Tango

Nell Fury Mystery #1

by Elizabeth Pincus

When ex-private investigator Nell Fury is hired by Olive Jones to find her missing twin, she finds herself involved in a world of shady real estate deals, prostitution, pornography, and corrupt politicians.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Lesbian

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Elizabeth Pincus is a film critic and the author of the Nell Fury detective novel series.

Reviews

[Megan]

Nell Fury is a struggling PI whose office is in a warehouse in a not-so-good part of San Francisco. When a woman hires her to find her missing twin, who she thinks might be in trouble, Nell has visions of paying the rent and maybe even getting her car fixed. And make no mistake, Nell is kind of a stop-at-nothing gal; in the course of this book, she gets shot and wrecks at least three cars. When she has a case, she intends to solve it to the end. But naturally there are people who don’t want Nell to succeed.

Nell is an engaging character; not too snide or too blasé, too hard-boiled nor too bouncy, and not butch enough to get more than a second glance. I would go as far as to say that we might use Nell Fury as our standard lesbian PI, to which all others can be compared. Some, like Peta Fox’s Jen Madden, are better, but most are worse. And Nell is still a beloved character even though Pincus has not published anything in almost 20 years.

As it happens, I was reading Kira Chase’s The Wrong Corpse at the same time I was reading this one—another book dealing with twins. Nell's story is the better of the two. Both involve money, power, and murder but The Two-Bit Tango is conceived, plotted, and written more professionally. Spinster’s Ink, who published this book in 1992, did a good job proofing, editing, designing, and formatting the book.

It’s hard to say that there was anything outstanding about it, but it was entertaining all the way through, with enough thrills and entertainment to give it a real identity. Give this one however many stars you want. More than three, certainly. But also put it—and the Nell Fury series as a whole—down as a classic, a lesbian PI novel that should be on the shelves of any aficionado.

Note: I read what appears to be the second printing of this paperback, which probably contained few, if any, corrections from the first printing.

Another 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.

[Deana Fagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel has well developed characters, in fact so well developed that I did not realize it was the first book in the series. It is an interesting take on the hard boiled detective genre with San Francisco playing a big part in the story. You want to know more about Nell, who is bright, tough and able to remain friends with former lovers in the 90s lesbian society.

[jules revel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun private detective novel. Good plot. Interesting characters. Lots of SF / Bay Area atmosphere.

[Karla Huebner]

I enjoyed revisiting this San Francisco lesbian mystery by a fellow NWU activist. Like most mysteries, it's not great literature, but it gives a fun look at a place and period familiar to me--San Francisco around 1990--and brings back fond memories of the author's book party at Modern Times (I'm pretty sure it was Modern Times) complete with cake. Whether the party was for this book or the sequel, I don't recall, but on to the sequel, as these days I'm much too tired to read anything very demanding in the evening (that is to say, unfamiliar books).

[Elizabeth Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great gum shoe detective novel. Enjoyed the plot and storyline.