Reviewed by Zanne Miller

Readers who have spent time in a big city, or who remember (fondly or not) their days as a twentysomething still finding their way, might find something that resonates in Spygirl. But those interested in an up-close-and-personal view of life as a private investigator may find themselves wanting just a little more. Spygirl is less a window into the inside workings of private investigation than a memoir of a transitional year.

Although the chronology is “a year in the life,” it reads more like the script of the early-90s film Slacker, with people moving in and out of focus, at times never to be seen or heard from again. Spygirl’s cast of characters—coworkers, girlfriends, and taxi drivers, ex- and would-be boyfriends and subway freaks, as well as the subjects of Gray’s investigations—are unique and often unusual. Gray’s knack for observation and description helps it hold together. Of course, when work crosses into personal life, there’s sometimes trouble. And there you have some semblance of a plot.

Her alternately “hipper-than-thou” and self-deprecating attitude might appeal to Gen-Xers but will be lost completely on many. And it’s hard to believe any editor would let her attempts at dialect—"Murdok, Jewriani, day’re da wurst! Dese people day don’t want gun contwol so dey kin wun awound in dare backyawds and shoot swquawels…" get to print. On the other hand, if you can hang in there with Gray as she finds her way, there’s a nice surprise at the end.