Canary reviews

 “Nic Bettauer is a director, writer and producer who has turned her attention to her first novella, Canary, which, let's get this out of the way, is an immersive deelite, sloping swiftly into the dodgy world of immense personal defeats and sometimes little victories of New York City Detective Winifred ‘Freddie’ Dauer. It's located in scarred psyche of a rightly paranoid post-pandemic city on steroidal tenterhooks. As an author, Nic’s cinematic audacity is unwavering: you'll be keeping a closer eye on your children at the zoo in future... it'll most likely be futile. Nic takes Canary where few contemporary authors dare. It's splattered with bloody noir and still, this is New York and for every scene set in dour municipal palaces of pain there is hope to be found, but in, maybe hysterical hands here, just as rapidly lost. I did mention that this has all of the dark, dark, darkly, wobbly worst aspects of human nature, all of the trauma and yet, replete with tender lachrymose sadness, for lost love lost that lingers on long after the last page. Detective Freddie Dauer navigates this terrain like postmodern Jerry Orbach, settling in for a 22 season run of Law & Order. Thrilling!" 
LamontPaul, https://outsideleft.com/main.php?story=booksbooksbooks#nic-bettauer

"This book flies - it is very funny and the prose is beautiful, the characters and dialogue are deep and sharp. Nic is a wonderful writer. And there is such a sense of love in it. I absolutely adored this book. Canary exists perfectly as-is, in literary form, but it is also calling to be adapted as a streamer or movie…”
Evan Dunsky, Screenwriter, Creator of Nurse Jackie

 “Canary introduces Detective Winifred ‘Freddie’ Dauer, a complex cop battling life-and-death stakes both in her fractured mind and on her perilous beat. In this gripping debut, Nic Bettauer crafts a raw, funny tale of resilience, unraveling secrets, and a New York Christmas that’s getting way too bloody. From the electrifying opening to the devastatingly emotional climax, Canary grabs you and doesn’t let go." 
Larry Karaszewski, Co-screenwriter of Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, and Co-creator of American Crime Story

“An unforgettable detective with a New York health crisis on her hands as well as in her life battles with wit and tenacity. Dark truths are revealed as this gripping and timely novella progresses, making it even more riveting and harrowing as the mysteries unfold. Using crystal-cut sentences winnowed to perfection, be prepared to be dazzled and hooked by Canary for the entire ride.”
Yannick Murphy, Author of This is the Water, The Call, Signed, Mata Hari, and The Sea of Trees

 “Hard-boiled and haunted, sharp-tongued and laugh-out-loud funny, Freddie is a self-professed “live wire in a shit storm,” implacable in her pursuit of answers in the face of trauma, chaos and uncertainty. Canary is a taut, propulsive read, with pitch-perfect dialogue and an unforgettable protagonist.”
Reid Sherline, Author of Harvard Review Chapbook Prize Winner, Rapture

 “A wry lens into the intricacies of human vulnerability and tenderness, and the limits of empathy in the face of loneliness and mystery.”
Dave, Middle Aged Man at large