Not A Girl Detective (A Cece Caruso Mystery #2)

Susan Kandel

Avon, 2005

Agent: Sandra Dijkstra

"I spent my entire youth idolizing Nancy Drew. I'm pushing forty now, but some fantasies die hard."

Besides her beloved collection of vintage designer clothing, there is nothing Cece Caruso cherishes more than her childhood memories of Nancy Drew. Her near obsession with the fictional teenage sleuth led her to become a professional biographer of classic mystery writers. And now that she's working on a book about Nancy's pseudonymous creator, "Carolyn Keene, " Cece's in heaven.

At the L. A. home of another rabid Drew-ophile, Cece finds a treasure trove of useful memorabilia, including one unique and somewhat shocking collectible. Later she finds a dead body -- and a puzzle that would sorely test the skills of her spunky girlhood heroine. Now she'll have to channel her former idol and unmask a murderer, and the killer may be coming for Cece next.

Accolades:

Finalist for the 2005 Southern California Booksellers Association Book Award

Reviews:
“The passion of her sleuth, Cece Caruso, for vintage shoes and clothing is one of the more entertaining quirks in a wide field. But Kandel also takes care to provide some intellectual stimulus for Cece, a biographer who tends to get caught up in the lives of her subjects.”
— New York Times
 

“Here’s a cool, refreshingly tart summer read.”
Parade Magazine
 

“A funny, original, well-plotted murder mystery.”
Entertainment Weekly
 

“Fact-filled and funny: a worthy successor to Cece's bright debut.”
Kirkus Reviews
 

“Kandel delivers on the promise of her first Cece Caruso mystery, I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, with this equally zany and engrossing riff on southern California culture past and present….Readers will be anxious to know whose bio she’ll tackle next.” 
Publishers Weekly