“Casey Jones joins the ranks of smart and gutsy heroines. The South will never be the same. Don’t miss her.” –Janet Evanovich‘WE ENDED LUNCH CRABBIER THAN THE CAKES…’ So notes wisecracking detective Casey Jones, and you know right away you’re in good hands. Casey’s as beautiful, badass, big, and big-hearted a private eye as ever wrestled a perp to the ground. And don’t think she can’t– she … ground. And don’t think she can’t– she mentions her 170 pounds of pulchritude every chance she gets and shows it off to expert advantage in numerous encounters both personal and professional.
First the professional—need we mention she’s tough as a Florida gator? Pick a fight with her at your peril. Next the personal. She’s the old-fashioned kind of private eye who can love with the best of them, but when it comes to lust she’s in a class by herself. Fortunately for the reader, she’s downright hilarious on the subject. (As well as almost all others.)
As the title itself attests, Katy Munger’s Casey is the direct descendant of Archie Goodwin, Rex Stout’s famous leg man, whom mystery fans will remember as perhaps the most accomplished wisecracker in all of detective fiction—until this doll came along, that is!
Though Casey’s riotous narration makes the whole series a laugh-a-minute to read, Munger herself usually has something deadly serious up her sleeve.LEGWORK’s about crooked politicians, crooked business deals, old grudges, ancient crimes, and everyone’s favorite, dysfunctional families. Set in the Raleigh area, it sports an Old South patina of patrician families gone rogue and murder behind the antebellum columns, all deriving from one of Casey’s “babysitting” jobs, this one for a politician with a corpse in her car. (Casey babysits–read “bodyguards”–because, due to a tiny prison sentence once upon a very bad husband, she doesn’t actually have a private investigator license.)
But she’s got a PI to work for and wouldn’t you know, he’s Munger’s wicked idea of who Nero Wolfe would be if he were a slob instead of a portly epicure. Both weigh a sixth of a ton, but instead of Chef Fritz’s fine repasts, Bobby D. dines on Little Debbie snack cakes, Hostess treats, and especially Krispy Kreme doughnuts, his favorite and Casey’s– which you are guaranteed to crave by the time you get to “The End”.
LEGWORK (and the rest of this fine series) will appeal to fans of all female sleuth mysteries—private eyes like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski, Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan, Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone, and Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum.
But let’s not forget their tough and witty male antecedents—if you ever flipped over Philip Marlowe, Spenser, or of course, the immortal Wolfe and his buddy Archie, you’ll fall in love with their kid, Casey.
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I enjoyed the book. Appreciate that there was no bad language. A little sex but nothing explicit. Fun read.
This female detective in training has a healthy libido. It was refreshing to hear her thoughts about some of the beefcake men in the story. Plus she was sharp as a whip. Fun read
I am hooked on the character Casey Jones. Years ago I read Nero Wolfe mysteries so I am familiar with him and Archie!
Cassey is a funny P.I. who clearly enjoys her work almost as much as fashion and men.
enjoyable read, entertaining and funny
Silly – could not get in to it.
This book was okay, but I’m glad I didn’t purchase it. Too much time was spent with the character going over and over and over the characters who might have murdered the man. Kept reading hoping it would get more interesting, and was glad when I was done with it.
Dialogue was spoken with spunk! Loved it!
A fun read with good twists and characters.
sassy character
Was spellbindingloved it.
Good story, I bought a bundle in the series after I read it. This first one needs some better proof reading though. So does the second, which I am reading now. But I like the storylines.
I enjoyed it very much.
Wonderful new character. Have already purchased the second one.
I love the sassy humor. A fun read with a great not-to-perfect heroine.
Way to many filler words, two or three pages of descriptions of things that arent important
In many ways this is a straightforward detective story, very good but not exceptional; however, the main character, a particularly gritty but appealing female non-private investigator, is what keeps the reader most engaged. An enjoyable book that will particularly appeal to persons familiar with the setting in the Triangle, NC area.