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This was my first taste of Gardner (writing as AA Fair) and it was a hit! Picked this one up as part of the ‘Hard Case Crime� series - such cool editions (no pun intended). Keen to get stuck into the Cool and Lam series and think I might already be a little bit in love with Bertha Cool. Anyone that insists on the appropriate rations of butter and whipping cream for every meal, is a-ok by me. "B. Cool, Investigations" is run by the strong and capable Bertha, who is described as heavy and physically intimidating � but always in a powerful and light-footed way ... "Bertha Cool moving along with that flowing walk of hers which, coupled with her massive size, created such an impression of power" (p195). She’s fearless, savvy and refers to herself in the third person a lot - “Bertha Cool isn’t afraid of anything on God’s green earth,� she said. I’ll tackle anything there’s money in.� (p61). I got a kick out of how cheap everything was back in ye olde days � when Donald was negotiating his stakeout expenses � “You can get a very good hamburger sandwich for fifteen cents, and you may have to put in two or three telephone calls � say fifteen cents more. Here’s fifty cents, Donald.� (p27). Some of the references went right over my head in a cute way � "She put her head up and sailed into the joint as though she was Mrs. Astor’s pet horse.� (p50) � who dat? At one point someone actually says ‘Stick ‘em up� which I haven't heard outside a cartoon lol. The title phrase ‘the knife slipped� is used a handful of times � for readers who like to cheer when they find it. I did roll my eyes at the amount of times Bertha said she was going to "cut myself a piece of cake" � meaning a slice of the action. We get it Bertha, lol � "Listen, lover, Bertha tried to cut herself a piece of cake. The knife slipped. Bertha almost cut her fingers." (p179). All in all, a great intro to a celebrated author.
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