Sasha Jackson

Detective

Created by Jill Edmondson

It took a surprisingly long time for Toronto to come up with its own street-savvy female gumshoe (do vampire hunters really count?), but SASHA JACKSON is beginning to look like she was worth the wait.

Crafty, tough, and tenacious, and not above taking an occasional break every to knock back a cocktail or two or to crack wise about everything from men to her hometown, fledgling private eye Sasha’s an interesting update on the Hammett/Chandler model, although the author herself sees her heroine more as “Sex and the City meets Nancy Drew“.

And really, can you picture Marlowe working as a phone sex operator or taking on a singing gigs in a cheesy suburban joint just to make ends meet?

So, sure, like the blurb says, “She’s a beautiful mess, but you  should see the other guy…”

But what’s a gal to do?

Fortunately, Sasha’s just hard-bitten enough to make her forays down those mean streets (and meaner malls) a worthwhile stroll, offering enough modern touches and a modern spin (for example, she used to sing in a rock band and her well-rendered, street-level view of Toronto is refreshingly jaundiced at times) to appeal to fans of Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan and the like. Meanwhile the colourful supporting cast (a nerdy pal, a dad with a gambling jones) may draw in some of Stephanie Plum‘s followers who aren’t turned off by the rougher stuff.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jill Edmondson has worked as a bartender, a lab technician and has taught English in Mexico for several years. She holds an M.A. in cultural studies from the University of Athabasca and teaches communications at George Brown College. She lives in Toronto.

  

UNDER OATH

  • “The style is fresh, well-paced and for the most part uses dialogue that feels real. Toronto is nicely portrayed as a place fit for dispatching grooms. Edmondson shows the storytelling skill to turn this debut into a Toronto-focused series with room to grow.”
    — The Hamilton Spectator onBlood and Groom

NOVELS

COVER STORIES

  • The ooh-la-la fishnet cover of Dead Light District up there is for a paperback edition of the book that may have never been released officially. Although I thought it was pretty cool, Jill insists it didn’t really suit the book, and that she prefers the more genteel covers used for the digital editions. What can I say? I’m shallow.

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

Published

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