Writers Born Today - Sandra Scoppettone

It's the birthday of Sandra Scoppettone, award winning crime writer born June 1st, 1936 in Morristown, New Jersey.

She didn't start out writing mysteries. Her second novel, The Late Great Me, dealt with teenage alcoholism and was made into a television special that won an Emmy Award. Her next book, Happy Endings Are All Alike was chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Young Adult list. It was one of the first young adult novels to depict a gay relationship.

After an initial burst of success as a young adult novelist in the 1970s, her career seemed to hit a wall. As she put it, "I couldn’t get arrested. So I went into a funk and lay on the couch reading one crime novel after another, mostly PIs. After about a month of this a male voice started talking in my head. I thought that either I was going crazy or he was my next protagonist. I decided on the latter."

Since the voice in her head was male, she decided to use a male pen name, Jack Early, to write a PI novel. At a time when most women couldn't get crime fiction published or reviewed, it was a stroke of genius. The result, A Creative Kind of Killer was nominated for an Edgar Award and won the Shamus Award in 1985 for Best First P.I. novel. She wrote two more novels as Jack Early, Razamatazz and Donato & Daughter before reverting to her real name.

In 1991 she published the first in the Lauren Laurano P.I. novel series, Everything You Have Is Mine. The series featured a smart and sassy lesbian private eye, one of the first to depict gay characters who work, fall in love, have affairs, and get mixed up in murder, just like "normal" people. She followed it up with I'll Be Leaving You Always, My Sweet Untraceable You, Let''s Face The Music and Die, and Gonna Take A Homicidal Journey.

She also wrote two novels featuring a secretary who takes over her boss's P.I. practice while he serves in the armed forces during World War II. This Dame For Hire and Too Darn Hot featured a scrappy character named Faye Quick. These books were my first introduction to this remarkable writer, but certainly not the last ones I read.

Sandra Scoppettone is one of the founding mothers of Sisters In Crime. The meeting which started the organization took place in her apartment in Soho.

To read more about her, check out these interviews, with Allan Guthrie, and Sarah Weinman.

Many of her books are now available as ebooks. For a bibliography with links to purchase her novels, start here.

And check out my review of her novels Beautiful Rage and This Dame For Hire which was my first blog post.

This Dame Can Write!

Every once in a while, I stumble across a writer who excites me, and a few weeks ago, I tripped and fell over Sandra Scoppettone. And am I glad I did. Although she's been writing for decades, first for young adults, later branching into adult mystery, she's new to me. The first book I picked up was Beautiful Rage, a mystery set in a small town, with a missing girl stalked by an internet predator. Since I love small town mysteries and the internet, I had to read it.

Sandra writes with a great deal of empathy for her characters, despite the fact that most of them are flawed. This only makes them more appealing. You won't find any cookie cutter portraits in this novel. She does a good job of building tension, and although I felt for a moment that she was rushing to the end in the last couple of chapters, she did provide a very satisfying and believable conclusion.

Then I picked up another one of her mysteries, and I was hooked. The story I'm reading now, This Dame For Hire, introduces us to one of the most original characters seen in a crime novel in years! Faye Quick is a female private investigator. And what makes that so special? She's plying her trade in Manhattan in 1943. It's a fascinating setting for a mystery story. As a history buff, I can assure you that Sandra has done her research. Her use of slang, and understanding of home front conditions convince the reader that they're really in the setting.

Even Sandra's constant use of dialect doesn't impede the story, but in fact, adds to it, and never slows the reader down. Faye is a smart and sassy protagonist who is cynical enough to do her job, but not so cynical that she can't sympathize with the people she works for, or who work for her. In addition, it's refreshing to read a story where the case is solved by old fashioned detective work, and doesn't lean on advanced forensics or computer databases to solve the crime. Faye works hard to get every answer. She's a tough interviewer and a tough broad. And she's so interesting, I'd enjoy sitting down with her after the case is solved, just to share a cup of java and a slice of lemon meringue pie, so we could chew the fat.

I eagerly looking forward to reading the second Faye Quick mystery, Too Darn Hot. After that, I don't know what I'll do, unless Sandra intends to keep the character going, and I certainly hope she does. This character is just too much darn fun to let go of. If you like noir fiction, atmosphere with a flair, or you're just a history buff, pick up one of these books. You won't regret it.