Book Review: The Pussy Detective by DuVay Knox
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Joseph Edwin Haeger reviews The Pussy Detective by DuVay Knox. (CLASH BOOKS)
Just by the title, I feel like you already have a pretty good idea of what DuVay Knox’s new novel is about. It’s really all right there without trying to be coy or being some cute play on words. It’s about a man, who fancies himself a private investigator of sorts, who helps women reclaim their sexual desires. When you boil it down, he truly is The Pussy Detective.
The story is straightforward: Abysinnia fell in love with the wrong man and, because of that, her pussy (or natural sexual desires) has receded far into her body (or deep into her psyche). Enter Reverend Daddy Hoodoo, a smooth-talking cat who knows the way around a woman. His whole mission in life is to help women get their pussies back and, for this story, it’s Abysinnia.
Knox writes this as a noir story, where we can more or less see and smell the smoke from constantly burning cigarettes in the small offices where daylight cuts harshly through the blinds. The mystery deepens and unfolds as the book progresses and we get a better look into the grizzled process Reverend Daddy Hoodoo employs.
On top of that, we’re in a first-person perspective with Reverend Daddy Hoodoo, and Knox writes all of The Pussy Detective with some solid dialect. This isn’t like when I try to read Irvin Welsh and have to quietly mutter to myself so I can audibly understand what’s being said (which, let me tell you, isn’t ideal when I’m reading Porno while babysitting or riding the city bus). The way Knox writes harnesses style and voice but doesn’t hinder your ability to read it.
Knox writes this as a noir story, where we can more or less see and smell the smoke from constantly burning cigarettes in the small offices where daylight cuts harshly through the blinds.
A major theme explored throughout is how other people can shift your daily moods and enact long-term change on an emotional level. I don’t think it’s wildly unknown that your friends and the relationships you put energy into heavily influence not only your worldview, but also the way you interact with the world. The toxicity some people imbue can alter your life for the worse, and oftentimes you don’t even know this is happening. While this isn’t at the forefront of The Pussy Detective, it is simmering under the surface because it’s exactly what happened to Abysinnia—only hers has manifested itself in a sexual way.
What I like about this book is that it’s singularly focused on the mission at hand. There’s no fluff as Knox gets to the crux of the narrative. That straight-to-the-point approach mixed with his dialect creates a voice that is unforgettable. By keeping this book on a tight track, only providing the smallest of hints at Reverend Daddy Hoodoo’s past, Knox has created a character and universe that can expand and grow out of this first book.
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It’s easy to see how this book will inevitably become a series with this endearing character battling the stifling, sexually repressed culture we live in and potentially expand out into confronting the men who damage these women. Not only could we see Reverend Daddy Hoodoo help women reclaim their pussies, but this could be the start of a man dismantling the patriarchy with the wisdom and empathy he’s gathered over the years.
Knox is bringing us a medley of genres with blaxploitation, noir, and bizarro. It’s a mixture that I wouldn’t have thought could get the job done, but they blend seamlessly under Knox’s steady hand. I have a hard time saying everyone should read this book because I can think of a lot of people who would be put off by the title alone, but I suppose that’s a good place to start.
Does a book called The Pussy Detective sound like a fun ride you want to check out? If the answer is “Yes!” then, hell, give it a go. There’s a lot of great stuff packed in these pages, and if your interest is piqued then I’m pretty sure it’ll be sustained throughout the whole book.
Buy now from CLASH BOOKS, Bookshop, Indiebound, Powell’s, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
Joseph Edwin Haeger is the author of Learn to Swim, a memoir published by University of Hell Press.
