Detectives Don’t Wear Seat Belts by Cici McNair

Detectives Don’t Wear Seat Belts: A True Adventure of a Female P.I. by Cici McNair (Center Street, September 23, 2009, but available now), 368 pages

Before deciding she wanted to be a private investigator, McNair was a journalist (among many things). I had never made the connection between skill sets for successful journalism and detectivery (as she calls it), but it makes sense. I connected with Cici as a character because we have both worked in journalism. It also didn’t hurt that I’ve always been fascinated by spies, detectives, et al.

Here’s how it goes: McNair has had an exciting life, traveling the globe, working various jobs, hanging out with criminals and princes, writing novels. But then she decides she wants to be a detective, in New York City. It’s hard to break into the male-dominated field, particularly with no training and no experience, but she makes it. Stories from her past are interwoven with stories of her life as a detective.

The book is exciting, heart rending, thrilling. I wouldn’t want to live this story; I did enjoy reading it, though.

Detectives Don’t Wear Seat Belts is a well-written memoir about the exciting life of an interesting, strong woman. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in spy craft and/or memoirs.

Cici McNair, aka Clarissa McNair, is a novelist and traveler. She has lived in Italy, Cyprus, England, Switzerland, Portugal and Canada. Her travels include a year in Africa, trips all over Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East. The site for Detectives Don’t Wear Seat Belts.

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