Jenny Dandy
Author of the Houses of Crime Series
Books
Early Praise
At the heart of a book about a dedicated FBI agent father on a quest to find his missing daughter while working alongside the least expected partner to bring down a notorious scam artist is a story with provocative characters and their home-hitting struggles that will keep you turning pages and racing toward the Brownstone on E. 83rd.
Yasmine Angoe, Anthony nominated author of the critically acclaimed Her Name is Knight of the Nena Knight series.
The Brownstone on E. 83rd is a book that kept me up at night—and then I couldn't wait to get back to it. Jenny Dandy's characters sizzle on the page and will stay with you long after you finish reading.
Benjamin Whitmer, critically acclaimed author of Pike, Cry Father, Evasion, and Les Dynamiteurs
Ronnie Charles is a skilled thief whose attempt to escape the trappings of her past lands her in a precarious present; Frank Jankowski, an FBI agent who believes the failures of his past have thrown his only daughter into present-day crisis. Both the protagonists of The Brownstone on E. 83rd are backed up against fortress walls of their own creation; both, in the skillful, tender hands of Jenny Dandy, find ways through difficulty, around and over the worst versions of themselves, and, most importantly, towards greater understanding. Dandy accomplishes all this with seamless, spare prose, and builds The Brownstone on E. 83rd with a level of narrative scaffolding that will satisfy any reader’s itch for dramatic satisfaction. The Brownstone on East 83rd marks the debut of an auspicious new voice in American literature.
Jacinda Townsend, critically acclaimed author of Saint Monkey and Mother Country
Who’s conning whom? A vixen using her seductive powers to bilk New York City’s wealthy elite, or the undercover FBI agent determined to bring her to justice while staying free of her spell. It's an intriguing tale of financial fraud, blackmail and deceit, and author Jenny Dandy’s superb inner knowledge of Manhattan may just convince readers the Brownstone on E. 83rd is real.
The Brownstone on E. 83rd is a twisty, propulsive mystery that moves from ultra-wealthy dinner parties to drug-infested flophouses with surprising agility, and leaves readers wondering which world is more dangerous. Special Agent Frank Jankowski and petty thief/master pickpocket Ronnie Charles are complex characters who become ever more compelling as the story unfolds. I’m looking forward to the next book from Jenny Dandy.
Tiffany Quay Tyson, Author of the The Past is Never, winner of the 2018 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, the 2018 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, the 2019 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, and the Mississippi Library Association’s Mississippi Author Award for Adult Fiction. Author of Three Rivers, a novel. Shorter work at McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Rumpus Funny Women, The Belladonna Comedy, Slackjaw, Smokelong Quarterly and more.
The Brownstone on E. 83rd grabbed my attention from the first page. Jenny Dandy’s debut has all the hallmarks of a veteran writer: blistering pacing, rapid-fire dialogue, and characters that not only keep you guessing, but caring about what happens to them. Dandy is an author to watch.
Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of The Father She Went to Find
The Brownstone on E. 83rd is an amazing debut with sharp, hard-edged dialogue, lyrical and strong prose, and a fantastic setting in New York City. The story of FBI Special Agent Frank Jankowski and small-time thief Ronnie Charles will keep you guessing as well as rooting for these vivid and compelling characters. I hope to read more from Jenny Dandy!
David Heska Wanbli Weiden, award-winning author of Winter Counts
Jenny Dandy’s The Brownstone on E. 83rd hits the ground running and doesn’t let up. Sharply drawn characters, evocative language, knockout pacing, and a strong sense of place make this one of the year’s best crime novel debuts. It’s ambitious, polished, and beautifully crafted. I can’t recommend it enough.
William Boyle, author of Shoot the Moonlight Out and Gravesend
Bio
Jenny Dandy is a graduate of Smith College and of Lighthouse Writers Workshop Book Project.
Though she has lived and worked from Beijing to Baltimore, from Northampton to Atlanta, it was New York that held onto a piece of her heart.
She now lives and writes in the Rocky Mountains where she would never lift a wallet or scam her dinner guests.