Product Description

Another hilarious Bond parody in the shape of THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN BOUFFANT. James Bond′s out of commission and his sister Jane must step once more into his shoes, his smoking jacket, and his girlfriend′s bedroom...

When James Bond lands in hospital as the result of a nasty facial burn - while lighting a bird′s cigarette, his hair pomade explodes -- Jane Bond, his lesbian twin sister and occasional impersonator, once again dons suit and scars to masquerade as her infamous brother. Her destination: the annual spy convention in the glamorous Las Vegas of the Rat Pack era. Her assignment: to keep her brother′s reputation intact through a carefully plotted program of gambling, boozing, and womanising.

Along for the ride are British Secret Service Agent Cedric Pumpernickel, Jane′s only ally in the male spy world, and glamorous girlfriend, and G.E.O.R.G.I.E. agent, Bridget St Claire, who finds herself the unwilling love interest of a scrawny lounge singer who, along with his pack of friends, begins a campaign to bed her.The relatively ordinary convention - featuring the latest in jet pack transportation and stylish decoder rings - becomes the scene for murder when someone tosses an Estonian secret agent off the observation deck of Hoover Dam. Days spent at the blackjack table - and nights in the arms of her beautiful girlfriend - come to an abrupt end as Jane uncovers a nefarious plot to eliminate all the best spies of the western world.

Complicating the plot is a romance gone sour: an affair between Agent Pumpernickel and musical sensation Liberace has ended badly, and when Pumpernickel takes to his bed with a box of chocolates and a copy of Queen magazine, Jane must become England′s top-action man and stop the killer before he stops her.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #336619 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Irrepressible lesbian secret spy Jane Bond is back in the flawed second installment of Maney's campy riff on the adventures of the Queen's favorite agent, 007, featuring his masquerading sister, known as 007½. It is 1966, and Jane is once again pressed into service impersonating her out-of-commission brother, James, at an annual, very secret all-male spy convention in Las Vegas. Jane is actually a double agent, a member of the even more secret all-female spy agency G.E.O.R.G.I.E. (Girls in Europe Organized to Right Grievances and Insure Equality), where her true allegiance lies. Jane heads to gambling heaven with fellow agent Cedric Pumpernickel, followed by her sexy undercover girlfriend, Bridget St. Claire, also a G.E.O.R.G.I.E. agent. A slew of wacky Vegas characters add color and pizzazz to Jane's adventures, which take a deadly turn when one of the convention's spies is tossed off the nearby Hoover Dam. As Jane discovers that the world's top agents are to be methodically eliminated one by one, she and her colleagues must race to stop the killer as well as to keep Jane's true identity secret. Maney (Kiss the Girls and Make Them Spy; The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse) ably parodies Ian Fleming's original Bond novels, including the sort of madcap details and outrageous stunts to be expected. However, the overwhelming number of minor characters and overly exhaustive side plots detract from the main story line, and the silly dialogue proves tricky to untangle. This is still a fun romp, certain to do well for the target gay and lesbian market.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
James Bond having been rendered comatose in an ill-advised adventure, his twin sister Jane must fill his shoes as agent 007--literally. Of course, Jane, aka 007, isn't an exact replica; for that she needs shoulder padding, itchy prosthetic chest hair, and who knows what else. Fortunately, Miss Tuppenny, intrepid agency secretary, has formed a mirror secret agency of women operatives, and to it Jane and her lover, Bridget St. Clair, belong. Its handle? Girls in Europe Organized to Right Grievances and Insure Equality--G.E.O.R.G.I.E. As for the plot here, it's a comedy of errors for Jane, partly because, disguised as a bored Italian contessa, she is separated from Bridget. Maney had many rolling on the floor with her "Nancy Clue" lesbian detective tales, complete with femme and butch sidekicks, and her new parody of a series often read itself with tongue in cheek keeps the hilarity cooking. Sure to please Maney fans and earn her many more. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Light, breezy and undemanding...the way a good summer book should be." (Planet Q )

"[A] smart, outrageous, laugh-out-loud spoof...Brilliantly funny...As much entertainment as one can squeeze between two covers." (East Bay Express )

"A comedy of errors...keeps the hilarity cooking. Sure to please Maney fans and earn her many more." (Booklist )

Customer Reviews

Not up to par
I am a huge Mabel Maney fan, but I was disappointed in this book. There's no light hearted romance in this book--just endless inventories of horrible 1950s pop culture items, and tiresome characters beating each other up. Jane spends the entire book in drag with a glued-on unibrow. Way too much of the book is about Cedric and his unappealing love interest. I kept waiting to be entertained and charmed, as I inevitably am by Maney, and instead I felt just slightly ill. Read the Nancy Clue books or the original Jane Bond parody, but borrow this one from someone who will take it back.

Spytacular!
Mabel Maney, yeah, YOU! Keep writing PLEASE! And do a tv show or a cartoon or something! Or how about a video game, breakfast cereal, or a school snack? This is just another marvelous Mabel Maney masterpiece! Mabel Maney wrote the book on inside jokes in queer fiction. Please bring Midge and Velma back in another Nancy book and lots more Jane! Thanks for the fun!

Maney is smart, sexy, and shakes a good martini
If God is in the details, Mabel Maney is surely going to heaven in a diamond-studded dog collar! The research it must have taken her to get this parody oh-so-right boggles the mind. I no longer wish I were around in the sixties to see Vegas in its heyday because Maney has recreated the scene(s) to such hilarious perfection and detail that I don't need to taste the fondue to know it was disgusting.
As for Maney, all her books are a fun romp filled with joy, silliness, and chutzpah, and Girl With The Golden Bouffant is another notch in her lipstick case.