Emma Victor
Created by Mary Wings

A former publicist and ex-leftie, EMMA VICTOR is one of the best, as well as one of the longest-lasting lesbian sleuths to make their debut in the eighties. She made her debut in 1987 with She Came Too Late, in which, suffering from burnout, she takes a job working a women's hot line in Boston, and soon gets wrapped in a murder case. As the series progresses, it becomes obvious to Emma that she has a knack for this kind of thing, and she soon has her P.I. license, and a new beat: the streets of San Francisco. And don't let the burnout fool ya--Emma's as tough as they come. Even Harriett Klausner is impressed. She calls Emma "a mix of compassion
and steel."

UNDER OATH

• "If there's any one book that perfectly balances literary, feminist and detective demands, it's She Came Too Late. Wings ...has a feel for the complex detective yarn, the unpredictable narrative turns and elements of evil that make sense in an ending we haven't already guessed. As a result, she ranks up there with someone as hardboiled as Paretsky, yet sticks to a resolutely lesbian-feminist perspective..." (The Lady Dicks, by B. Ruby Rich, in June 1989, The Village Voice Literary Supplement)

NOVELS

• She Came Too Late (1987)
• She Came In a Flash (1988)
• She Came By the Book
• She Came in the Castro (1998)
• She Comes in Drag (1999). Buy this book