Review: Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore by Walter Mosley

Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore, is the first novel I've read by Walter Mosley. I know, I know. What rock have I been living under? And to begin with this? What about the Easy Rawlins novels that are more my speed?

Debbie Dare thrills the world with exhilarating pornographic scenes as a living. After filming a scene with a costar, she goes home to find that her husband has died in a "freak" accident involving an underage female, and a camera. You put two and two together. Almost immediately after news of Theon Pinkney's death, Debbie finds that the life of luxury they lived is a lie. With the weight of her husbands death and financial ruin, Debbie decides she won't do it anymore. You all know what it is. Don't act shy now.

Generally, I'm not one who reads erotic novels or smut. I don't want to be the one caught reading an erotic novel at work... or anywhere else for that matter. Thinking that this novel may fall into that category made me a little skeptical initially. After reading the first ten pages, I knew Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore was written to tell a porn star's journey in finding her self and not simply racking up scenes in which the character could do it. Thank you Walter Mosley.

Sandra Pinkney, best know as Debbie Dare, goes through a profound transformation in the days after her husbands tragic demise. What is hard to understand about her is that she seems so emotionless. I don't remember her once playing the victim or sad widow and it is because of this I loved her. The victim card is too overused in most novels. 

This novel is told as a narrative. Readers are inside Debbie's head at all times. She doesn't apologize for her lifestyle, nor does she find it shameful. Debbie only understands that her last link to the world of pornography is gone. In the midst of the chaos that has ensued after Theon's death, constantly flirting with the idea of suicide, and living with the guilt of abandoning her son, Debbie prevails. 

Ultimately I really enjoyed reading Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore. Walter Mosley introduces us to a woman who sees a world she no longer belongs in and refuses to go back to a place that could bring her to her knees. 

Copy provided by Doubleday via Netgalley