«The Adventures of Isabel» by Candas Jane Dorsey

A WATERSTONE'S INDIE BOOK OF THE MONTH
AN UNLIKELY DETECTIVE TAKES ON A MISLEADING MURDER
I was persuaded — provisionally, with confirmation to be given once I sobered up — to give up my career as a call girl and become a detective
A SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB PICK
'Wild, daft, silly, laugh-out-loud, phrase-stealingly wonderful… Loved it' Scene Magazine
'Any fan of the wise-ass wise-cracking hardboiled detective will find much to enjoy… Kudos for updating this approach to the mysteries of human relationships' Riva Lehrer, author of Golem Girl
When a good friend's beloved graddaughter is murdered, an ambisexual downsized-social-worker and her cat, Bunnywit, are enlisted to help solve the case. For the police, Madeline is just one more dead sex worker — so it is down to our hero and her friends to uncover what happened. (Though not the cat. The cat mainly sulks.)
With humour, sarcasm, and a good dose of irony, our protagonist swaggers through the mean streets tracking down leads to get the bad guy. But what at first seems like an average street killing is actually the surface of a grandiose and glittering set of criminal schemes that could mean far more trouble than she signed up for…
A eye-wateringly comic mystery caper, perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen, Andrea Lawlor and Chris Brookmyre!
'Smart, snarky, funny, to die for!' Sarah Smith, author of the New York Times Notable Book The Vanished Child
'You'll thank me for recommending this book to you' S. J. Rozan, author of Paper Son 'Quick-fire plotting, snappy dialogue and a love of hardboiled crime make this really entertaining' Crime Time