I know there are some hardboiled female private investigators (Kelli Stanley’s Miranda Corbie comes to mind), but there aren’t too many out there capable of handling themselves in a gritty environment. Meet Viviana Valentine, a secretary in New York City in 1950. She’s forced to turn PI herself when her boss disappears in Emily J. Edwards’ debut, Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man.

Viviana moved to New York from the sticks when she was just sixteen. She lives in a respectable boarding house for girls only, but she’s a secretary to Tommy Fortuna, a private investigator whose office is in Hell’s Kitchen. Viviana sees her boss as a “tall drink of water”, but he gets beat up frequently because he sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong. His latest case is for a wealthy businessman, Tallmadge Blackstone, who hires Tommy to follow his daughter, Tallulah. She’s in all the tabloids, a young woman engaged to Tallmadge’s much older business partner.

Viviana encounters Tallulah the first time when she attends an engagement party on a yacht. That’s also the last time she sees her boss. When she gets to the office, Tommy’s gone, but there’s a body on the floor. Naturally, the cops blame Tommy, but Viviana is convinced there’s more to the story. When she learns the man is still alive, and discovers his identity, she sets out to save Tommy’s case. She might be thrown down a flight of stairs, followed, and harassed by a brute she once dated, but Viviana won’t let her boss be railroaded.

The case turns out to be complicated, but with the help of the cops, Viviana gathers the suspects for a final reveal. She proves she’s capable of investigating even without Tommy’s help. She also proves that, like PIs before her, she has a hardboiled attitude, and a heart of gold.

Viviana is an attractive new sleuth in the detecting world, but some of the other characters aren’t drawn as well. Edwards shines, though, in the creation of atmosphere, the street life in New York in 1950. The summer is hot, muggy, and smelly, and Viviana observes all the people who keep the city turning in the summer while the wealthy leave town. The first Girl Friday mystery marks a historical series to watch.

Emily J. Edwards’ website is https://www.msemilyedwards.com/

Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man by Emily J. Edwards. Crooked Lane Books, 2022. ISBN 9781639101825 (hardcover), 288p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.