Martin Wade is a former front man of the band The French Letters. Now he is a licensed private investigator who mostly handles low-profile cases such as unfaithful spouses and rebellious thieves. His assistant, Valerie Jacks, was (and still is) running from a dark past but is nonetheless an attentive and persistent force in her own right. When his latest client, Janice Archwood, needs assistance with an estranged and overbearing father, Martin can’t help but feel like he knows her from somewhere. Upon further investigation, he realizes that she is the daughter of his former bandmate, Ron Carlock. Unsure about the conflict of interest and potential reunion with someone from his past, he declines to take on the case. However, when Janice turns up dead shortly after, Martin is stunned, grieving, and forced to reconnect with this old friend. He also wants to distance himself from the case. Valerie, on the other hand, isn’t convinced that her death was suicide. After gathering information from those close to her, she realizes that Janice lived a double life. As she and Martin discover more details and secrets, they realize there’s a bigger picture years in the making. Negative Girl by Libby Cudmore is a crime fiction novel in which Martin and Valerie face demons new and old in order to seek justice for a potential murder, hoping not to become the next victims.
Book
Valerie met Martin while doing research about his life as Basil Wise of The French Letters. She was also running away from a traumatic incident that she’s still not clear about. She’s constantly worrying if she’ll be taken in by law enforcement for questioning or worse. Martin is nearly two decades sober and reconciling with his role in the fallout from his rock-and-roll days. He’s also haunted by the still unsolved disappearance of his fiancé, Cecilia.
Needless to say, reconnecting with his former bandmate’s daughter in this context was unexpected, to say the least. Not to mention that she lived one life as a first chair violinist at a school and another as a lead in a Goth band. So when she ends up dead and these details emerge, Martin and Valerie collect a list of suspects – a secret boyfriend, blackmail, a jealous lover, or even her own jilted father. As the pair continue their investigations, their pasts also come back to haunt them. Martin’s sobriety is tested. Valerie’s memory is challenged. And both the past and present catch up to them as they get closer to the truth.
Review
Cudmore shows her talent for pulling the reader along and throwing in twists that readers wont expect in Negative Girl. Trigger warnings abound, I loved the complexity of the characters’ backgrounds and their own healing journey while trying to do justice for this young woman. Having Martin and Valerie deal with their own individual pasts while trying to move forward and follow the task at hand added a welcome complexity to the story. While my suspicions were correct about the perpetrator of the crime, I didn’t expect some of the last-minute twists. My only gripe is some of the unfinished business. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, there was a major plot point that never got resolved. Given how central it was for the character, I thought we would get something out of it. Even so, those who enjoy murder mysteries or crime fiction will definitely enjoy this one.
Libby Cudmore joins the Cantina Book Club Podcast to talk about her writing process and plans for the future. Check out the interview in an upcoming episode and preorder Negative Girl, available September 10.
