Karen Czezinski

The Basic Tenets of Secretarianism Karen Czezinski

In The Basic Tenets of Secretarianism, feminism takes on a whole new meaning. Lila Green is a petite, blonde 23-year-old perpetual college student who works in the math department at the local college with two other women; Susan is a buxom 35-year-old African American woman and Sandra, a 31-year-old statuesque blonde bombshell. But there's more than meets the eye to these three secretaries-something a bit sinister is brewing in the math department and it's got nothing to do with math. Lila is really a "hit girl" and former mistress of a New York drug dealer. She's collected $300,000 and her list of victims includes five men and one woman. Her latest mark is Dr. Elgin, an economics professor at the college and Lila begins her standard modus operandi by becoming involved with her victim and playing the abused girlfriend. Her victims always end up dying of an accidental death while engaged in flagrante delicto. Susan and Sandra become her roommates and unwitting partners in crime and the three form a cult of "secretarianism" as they develop their complex relationship. But is Dr. Elgin really such a bad guy? Who needs to be rescued-Dr. Elgin or the three women from each other? With razzle-dazzle dialogue and adept twists and turns, author Green is spot on with the intricacies of female relationships and the psyche of women.