Swing Town Mysteries

Dorie Lennox is a newly-minted private detective in Kansas City, Missouri, just as war is breaking out in Europe in 1939. These two novels follow Dorie's adventures through the corrupt back alleys of the city, from jazz clubs to meatpacking plants, in her $25 Packard with bullet holes in the trunk. Dorie is damaged goods, a veteran of reform school and family tragedy, like many children of the Depression. But her boss, a Brit with ruined lungs, has no choice to send her out on the streets with her switchblade, tailing girlfriends and wayward daughters, trying to make the world safe again.

First published by St. Martin's Press, bestselling authors had much praise for the books. Michael Connelly wrote: "Wonderful. . . a richly detailed story that quite simply gets to your heart. Lise McClendon expertly probes the mystery of human desires.""

Bestseller Sue Grafton said: "One O'Clock Jump is like a time capsule, transporting a tale of murder, greed, and intrigue from vintage Kansas City into the present day. Doris Lennox is a humdinger of a private eye."

Library Journal recommended the books: "A convincing re-creation of time, place, and a hard-nosed, emotionally scarred heroine; for all collections."

Publisher's Weekly praised the books: "McClendon lightly handles all the threads, using a taut, staccato style that perfectly complements her edgy, skittish heroine. ("She lighted a Lucky and leaned against the wall by the ladies' lounge. She'd seen the inside of too many nightclubs. In the dark, where anything can happen, and usually did.") The author masterfully evokes the period, from details of dress to a rally for Wendell Willkie. This is a book to be savored read it too fast and you might miss something."

Bonus material! Read the Dorie Lennox short story, Snow Train, that takes place in December 1941, just weeks after Pearl Harbor.


Genre: Mystery