Miss Don't Touch Me

Starred review from November 3, 2014
In this graphic novel from the team behind Beauty, to learn the truth about a notorious serial killer and the connection with her own sister’s violent demise, the enterprising but naïve Blanche decides to seek employment as a maid at the Pompadour, the most exclusive bordello in all of Paris. Instead she becomes its main attraction, a virgin-dominatrix who quickly earns a devoted following. On the way to uncovering the gruesome reality behind the notorious “butcher of the dances,” who has been terrorizing Paris, Blanche faces daunting odds and various attempts on both her life and her chastity. And when “Prince Charming” comes along, she is swept into a chaotic romance that seems to be the answer to all her dreams—but for the poor beleaguered Blanche nothing is ever quite what it seems. Set in the Paris of the 1930s, alternating between the glitzy and the very gritty, this dark and disturbing tale is both a fantastic noir and a tense exploration of various societal themes like class, inequality, political corruption, and most of all the staggering depravity of the elite. Inspired by racy classics like The Story of O, but somehow much more readable, this smart coming-of-age shocker is irresistible.