Coral finds herself on the run from police. Her escape tools of sex appeal, womanly ways and knowledge of male hunger for female intimacy get her out of the frying pan into the fire over and over again.
One of the great things about these 1960's 'sleaze' books is that while the goal is definitely to titillate and arouse the reader (okay ... the goal is to sell books and the covers usually did that) there's actually some solid story within. 'Erotic crime drama'? Is that a genre? It should be, and this could be the defining book for that genre.
It still surprises me that something this 'raunchy' was 'acceptable' for publication in the moralistic early 60's. I mean ... 16 years old! And she's a sex freak! She seems to know more than the adult men she plays to.
This definitely made me uncomfortable while reading it - her age definitely presents a barrier to me and anytime author Clyde Allison reminds the reader how young she is, it would put me on edge. And he does have to remind us because her behavior (and sexual knowledge) does seem to come from someone older than she is. Though on the other hand, I've certainly known teenagers who've liked to tease their sexuality
What Coral is running from is an early mystery, but here, too, she's not so innocent.
I like Clyde Allison's work, but this is not my favorite of his works.
Cover art: Harold W. McCauley
3 Guilty Pleasure Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment