Where in Hard-Boiled City is Carmella Sanfrancisco?

CB Archer

Ahahahaha! I bet you thought this book would be hard-core x-rated, didn’t you? Well, you’d be wrong! In an unexpected plot twist, this latest installment of the Tales of Gentalia is completely sex-free!

Followers of the series have come to expect a certain something from it, and that certain something is scenes that will make you go to Blush Shade 7, if not 8, 9, or 10. “Carmella Sanfrancisco,” however, is for the most part SFW. Instead of hard-core monster-banging, there is a lot of hard-boiled detective talk, as if Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett had produced a rather goofy, gaming-obsessed love-child.

I am not a gamer, but one of the very few computer games that I DID play was “Carmen Sandiego,” which was also one of the few TV shows that I watched, so this story was a fun blast from the past for me, and got the theme music running through my head. There are plenty of red herrings and real clues scattered through the story, and those who have read the main books will recognize the beginnings of one of the sweeter love connections.

“Carmella Sanfrancisco” works as a standalone, and is a good introduction to the series for those who might be afraid of its more *ahem* mature themes, but it also ties in with the other books and stories. A lot of fun, as usual, and a story that–for once–fans can show their friends and families.

Buy link: Amazon