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12 Bliss Street
Nicola is having a really bad day. She’s tired of her job, her boss, and even her San Francisco apartment, which she’s just heard she’s being evicted from anyway. Her life’s only excitement is fueled by fantasy – about the expensive lingerie she wears under her business suits, about a man she sees at lunch every day, a darkly handsome man she calls Chorizo, after the kind of pizza he orders. She’s flat-out tired of her life, and nothing brings it home more than running into her annoying but harmless ex-husband, Scooter, on the way to work.
But if ever anyone learns a lesson in “be careful what you wish for,” it’s Nicola, because suddenly her life seems to be full of excitement. First she gets kidnapped after kickboxing class by two inept teenagers who, it turns out, aren’t your garden-variety ransom kidnappers at all. But before she can resolve this situation, her innocent flirtation with Chorizo turns sinister. Suddenly Nicola’s problem is no longer how to survive her boredom but how to survive, period. All in all, Martha Conway’s debut is a deliciously hip, sexy, and suspenseful crime novel.
But if ever anyone learns a lesson in “be careful what you wish for,” it’s Nicola, because suddenly her life seems to be full of excitement. First she gets kidnapped after kickboxing class by two inept teenagers who, it turns out, aren’t your garden-variety ransom kidnappers at all. But before she can resolve this situation, her innocent flirtation with Chorizo turns sinister. Suddenly Nicola’s problem is no longer how to survive her boredom but how to survive, period. All in all, Martha Conway’s debut is a deliciously hip, sexy, and suspenseful crime novel.
- GenresMystery
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Martha Conway
10 books263 followersMartha Conway's latest novel is THE PHYSICIAN'S DAUGHTER. Her other novels include The Underground River (Simon & Schuster), which was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, and Thieving Forest, which won the North American Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her short fiction has been published in the Iowa Review, the Carolina Quarterly, The Quarterly, Folio, Massachusetts Review, and other journals. She teaches creative writing at Stanford University's Continuing Studies Program.
Martha is one of seven sisters and now lives in San Francisco with her family.
Martha is one of seven sisters and now lives in San Francisco with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 13, 2012
This book was a favorite of mine when I was a teen and it took me years just to find the title.
September 2, 2016
Discover this gem of a mystery
Discover this gem of a mystery that was let down by traditional publishing. Unmarketed and never put out as a paperback, it is finally available as an e-book. I read it when it first came out in hardcover -- and I just re-read and enjoyed it even more. 12 BLISS STREET was nominated for an Edgar Award for First Novel, and it is easy to see why. The writing is fresh and witty with a fast-paced plot entangling the kick-boxing heroine Nicola, her hapless ex-husband Scooter, the gentleman loan shark Lou, and a pair of high-school hackers with one of the most evil but interesting murderers I've ever come across. San Francisco also plays a starring role in this story, and Conway nails it in every detail.
It's especially interesting to re-read this having read Conway's two more recent novels -- the award-winning THIEVING FOREST, set in early 19th-century Ohio, and this summer's release SUGARLAND, another mystery set in Jazz Age Chicago. She is an author of very impressive range able to capture vividly widely differing times, places, and people with authenticity, humor, and insight. I can't wait to see what her next book will bring -- but meanwhile, take a step back and read the other three.
Discover this gem of a mystery that was let down by traditional publishing. Unmarketed and never put out as a paperback, it is finally available as an e-book. I read it when it first came out in hardcover -- and I just re-read and enjoyed it even more. 12 BLISS STREET was nominated for an Edgar Award for First Novel, and it is easy to see why. The writing is fresh and witty with a fast-paced plot entangling the kick-boxing heroine Nicola, her hapless ex-husband Scooter, the gentleman loan shark Lou, and a pair of high-school hackers with one of the most evil but interesting murderers I've ever come across. San Francisco also plays a starring role in this story, and Conway nails it in every detail.
It's especially interesting to re-read this having read Conway's two more recent novels -- the award-winning THIEVING FOREST, set in early 19th-century Ohio, and this summer's release SUGARLAND, another mystery set in Jazz Age Chicago. She is an author of very impressive range able to capture vividly widely differing times, places, and people with authenticity, humor, and insight. I can't wait to see what her next book will bring -- but meanwhile, take a step back and read the other three.
November 5, 2014
Please don't read this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews