Review by Lauryn Angel
Edgar Cantero is a writer whose work is difficult to categorize. His first two novels in English, The Supernatural Enhancements and Meddling Kids, could easily be classified as horror, but Meddling Kids and his most recent novel, This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us qualify as humor. More specifically, This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us is a noir parody, with a hermaphroditic chimeric detective. And then things get weird.
A.Z. Kimrean is a private detective (as long as you don’t look too closely at the expired license) in San Francisco. Adrian is the logical genius who does not play well with others; Zoey is outgoing, impulsive, and addicted to, well, everything. The two share a body, which makes things difficult when it comes to solving cases, but hilarious for the reader. There are several side characters – the undercover detective, the femme fatale, the mob boss – who are largely there to play the roles of a stereotypical noir piece, even though there is nothing stereotypical about this noir.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I have to admit that it’s not my favorite Cantero; that title goes unequivocally to Meddling Kids. But there is still plenty to enjoy in Kimrean’s adventures. If you’ve never read Edgar Cantero’s work before, I wouldn’t start with this one. Instead, start with The Supernatural Enhancements, to get a taste of Cantero’s style.
I loved the conceit behind this novel, and Cantero leaves the story wide open for a sequel – maybe a series? I’ve got my fingers crossed for more Kimrean.
