The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest opinion.

This is a deliciously dark PI crime novel that is a perfect combination of strong but damaged heroine and PI cases. Rucka delivers a story that has all the right parts to make it interesting: Great dialog, a heroine that you cheer on, a “not everything is what you think it is” crime to solve and effective graphics. In the first installment of the Stumptown series, PI protagonist Dexedrine “Dex” Parios has a drinking and gambling problem. The owner of a local Native casino asks her to find her missing granddaughter in exchange for clearing her debt. What is Dex to do but say yes? What follows has her digging up the lives of multiple crime lords, getting shot at, beat up, stealing cars and more. It is exciting and I wholeheartedly recommend this series.

This is a solid book of crime fiction with a multifaceted, interesting female lead, which is not something I've run into much in fiction, much less in comic book form. The art is appropriately pulpy, and the coloring in particular lends itself wonderfully to the tone of the book.

Can't wait to read more Stumptown books...