23 Shades of Black is socially conscious crime fiction. It takes place in New York City in the early 1980s, i.e., the Reagan years, and was written partly in response to the reactionary discourse of the time, when the current thirty-year assault on the rights of working people began in earnest, and the divide between rich and poor deepened with the blessing of the political and corporate elites. But it is not a political tract, it's a kick-ass novel that was nominated for the Edgar and the Anthony Awards, and made ...
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23 Shades of Black is socially conscious crime fiction. It takes place in New York City in the early 1980s, i.e., the Reagan years, and was written partly in response to the reactionary discourse of the time, when the current thirty-year assault on the rights of working people began in earnest, and the divide between rich and poor deepened with the blessing of the political and corporate elites. But it is not a political tract, it's a kick-ass novel that was nominated for the Edgar and the Anthony Awards, and made Booklist's Best First Mysteries of the Year. The heroine, Filomena Buscarsela, is an immigrant who experienced tremendous poverty and injustice in her native Ecuador, and who grew up determined to devote her life to helping others. She tells us that she really should have been a priest, but since that avenue was closed to her, she chose to become a cop instead. The problem is that as one of the first Latinas on the NYPD, she is not just a woman in a man's world, she is a woman of color in a white man's world. And it's hell. Filomena is mistreated and betrayed by her fellow officers, which leads her to pursue a case independently in the hopes of being promoted to detective for the Rape Crisis Unit. Along the way, she is required to enforce unjust drug laws that she disagrees with, and to betray her own community (which ostracizes her as a result) in an undercover operation to round up undocumented immigrants. Several scenes are set in the East Village art and punk rock scene of the time, and the murder case eventually turns into an investigation of corporate environmental crime from a working class perspective that is all-too-rare in the genre. And yet this thing is damn funny, too.
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Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black to cart. $11.24, very good condition, Sold by Y-Not-Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rotherwas, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2012 by PM Press.
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Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black [SIGNED COPY, FIRST PRINTING THUS] to cart. $21.95, new condition, Sold by MostlySignedBooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Francisco, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
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Seller's Description:
New, no dust jacket as issued. SIGNED by the author on the title page (signature only). 1st PM edition, 1st printing, complete number line. New, unread copy. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p. Filomena Buscarsela Mystery, 1. Audience: General/trade. A Filomena Buscasela novel by the Premio Letterario ADEI-WIZO-winning author of Red House and The Fifth Servant. Rare signed. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a clear protective plastic sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box.
Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black (Filomena Buscarsela Mystery, 1) to cart. $7.99, very good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
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Very Good. Former Library book. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black (Filomena Buscarsela Mystery, 1) to cart. $16.50, good condition, Sold by Montclair Book Center rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Montclair, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black (1) (a Filomena Buscarsela Mystery) to cart. $24.95, new condition, Sold by Earthlight Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Walla Walla, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
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New. 23 Shades of Black is socially conscious crime fiction. It takes place in New York City in the early 1980s, i.e., the Reagan years, and was written partly in response to the reactionary discourse of the time, when the current thirty-year assault on the rights of working people began in earnest, and the divide between rich and poor deepened with the blessing of the political and corporate elites. But it is not a political tract, it? s a kick-ass novel that was nominated for the Edgar and the Anthony Awards, and made Booklist? s Best First Mysteries of the Year. The heroine, Filomena Buscarsela, is an immigrant who experienced tremendous poverty and injustice in her native Ecuador, and who grew up determined to devote her life to helping others. She tells us that she really should have been a priest, but since that avenue was closed to her, she chose to become a cop instead. The problem is that as one of the first Latinas on the NYPD, she is not just a woman in a man? s world, she is a woman of color in a white man? s world. And it? s hell. Filomena is mistreated and betrayed by her fellow officers, which leads her to pursue a case independently in the hopes of being promoted to detective for the Rape Crisis Unit. Along the way, she is required to enforce unjust drug laws that she disagrees with, and to betray her own community (which ostracizes her as a result) in an undercover operation to round up illegal immigrants. Several scenes are set in the East Village art and punk rock scene of the time, and the murder case eventually turns into an investigation of corporate environmental crime from a working class perspective that is all-too-rare in the genre. And yet this thing is damn funny, too.
Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black (Filomena Buscarsela Mystery, 1) to cart. $34.10, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
Add this copy of 23 Shades of Black (Filomena Buscarsela Mystery, 1) to cart. $51.32, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by PM Press.
