Comments on: REVIEW: Three Nights of Sin by Anne Mallory

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:00:43 +0000

I just finished this book this morning and loved it!! I actually appreciated POV being mostly Marietta’s in th beginning. The mysteriousness it gave to Gabriel had me wanting to know more. I enjoyed realizing who he was in a slower way rather than the typical jerk, who the heroine changes. We do not know if Gabriel is really a good guy, but turns out he is. I do agree that the love scenes were really good. I found myself rereading them over again. I have read a few of Anne Mallory’s books, but this one was by far the best.

Also, Gabriel’s favors are not sexual and he does not use them for anything other than to help those he is assisting.

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:30:00 +0000

Susan/DC – that’s what I thought to. I never know whether it is appropriate to bring that up in reviews. I didn’t think that Mallory copied Goodman, but there were similarities in the superficial qualities of the heroes’ personal interests. Better done in Goodman, imo.

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:10:10 +0000

Noble sounds a bit like Restell in Jo Goodman’s If His Kiss is Wicked. IIRC, he also solved mysteries for either money or favors, and his favors usually entailed someone’s expertise, time, or access to others who could assist Restell in his current investigation.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:13:54 +0000

I’ll say that Marietta doesn’t have to sell her body, but I think that Noble allows her to infer that. The method of payment is most often time information, access or something else. That’s how Noble solves his mysteries.

I will also say that there is inferences of male degradation in this story too, but with all that, you are right that there is a tone here that suggests personal degradation for the woman.

By: Radish

Radish — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:04:34 +0000

I confess, this bit bothers me:

Noble investigates matters for the princely sum of 10,000 pounds or three favors. Marietta rightly assumes that those favors must be costly. Marietta is so poor that she and her older brother have been reduced to eating bread and water and thus three favors is her only source of payment.

It kinda reeks of prostitution, suggesting this is the only thing the female character can do in the interest of keeping body and soul together. And it makes me ask yet again why male characters so rarely — if ever — are shown being reduced to a similar, sexual degradation.

And that idea [in my mind] is reinforced by this:

Noble and Marietta skulking around a saloon with Marietta playing tavern whore. Noble and Marietta skulking around a masquerade with Marietta playing masquerade whore.

That a woman must sell her body, or has no choice but to compromise her own dignity, became a tiresome theme for me a long time ago. I have a hard time respecting or caring about this kind of character, or bristling martyrs in general.

Maybe that’s just me. But unless convinced otherwise, I think I’ll give this one a pass.