He Was Her Man

Set in Hot Springs (Garland County), He Was Her Man by American author Sarah Shankman is a comedy-mystery first published by Pocket Books in 1993. Like several of her other works, He Was Her Man revolves around a sassy investigative reporter named Samantha (Sam) Adams. In this book, Sam travels from New Orleans to Hot Springs after she believes a lover has betrayed her. The title comes from the traditional American folk ballad “Frankie and Johnny,” which includes the line: “He was her man but he done her wrong.” Amid the romance-gone-bad subplot, there is plenty of local color in the Hot Springs setting.

Shankman also used the pseudonym Alice Story. Many of her books have wry titles that offer a glimpse into the type of story to follow, including First Kill All the Lawyers (1988), Then Hang All the Liars (1989), Now Let’s Talk of Graves (1990), She Walks in Beauty (1991), The King Is Dead (1992), Digging up Momma (1998), and one of her most popular, at least for its title: I Still Miss My Man but My Aim is Getting Better (1996). Born in Louisiana, Shankman specialized in books set amid the quirkiness of the American South, populated with flamboyant characters doing outrageous things amid local oddities.

In He Was Her Man, the fictional Sam Adams encounters the kind of situation that often seems to find her. After breaking up with her boyfriend, whom she deems unfaithful, she has several reasons for traveling from New Orleans to Hot Springs. First is to put some distance between herself and the lover who “done her wrong.” In Arkansas, she hopes to talk things out with her best friend Kitty and, while there, to attend the engagement party for a longstanding “frenemy” named Jinx.

The festivities for Jinx take place at a fictional upscale Hot Springs venue called the Palace Hotel. It bears a strong resemblance to the Majestic Hotel, a beloved Hot Springs landmark that was destroyed by fire in 2014, after this book was published. Getting ready for the evening’s soirée, Sam enjoys one of Hot Springs’ famous thermal baths, which she describes being “a good hot, not the kind where you’d jump out of the bathtub.”

Sam begins circulating at the party, but, suddenly, there is a kidnapping and she becomes embroiled in the search for the abductee. In the process, she stumbles upon a cross-dressing crook who is on the lookout for his mother (also apparently kidnapped) and a stolen car. Sam also encounters fictional denizens of the Spa City, including those with names such as Olive Adair and her hound dog Pearl Adair, Olive’s friend Loydell, Aunt Odessie, and Speed McKay.

There are plenty of local references, starting with the acknowledgements, in which the author expresses thanks to the “helpful people in Hot Springs, particularly the staffs of Oaklawn Park and McClard’s.” One character describes Oaklawn as an “awfully sweet track.” Other local references include the Arlington Hotel, Bathhouse Row, Central Avenue, Owney Madden, the Southern Club, and the art galleries in downtown Hot Springs. References from around the state include Miss Arkansas, Cummins Prison, Eureka Springs (Carroll County), Fayetteville (Washington County), the Garland County Jail, Hot Springs Police Department, Lake Hamilton, Lake Ouachita, Mountain Valley Water, McGehee (Desha County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County).

There are also allusions to notable Arkansans such as Witt Stephens, Don Tyson, and Sam Walton. Some characters fondly recall going to Little Rock (Pulaski County) for the special night “when Bill was elected president” in 1992. Bill Clinton’s boyhood home was in Hot Springs.

One character reminisces about the old days in Hot Springs, telling Sam: “You’re too late by 30 years. Hot Springs used to be a wide-open town….You name it, we had it—gangsters, killers, colorful characters out the wazoo, gambling casinos, bookie joints, hot and cold running houses of ill repute.”

Publishers Weekly, a trade journal, called the book “a large-hearted, entertaining mystery featuring smart-mouthed New Orleans former crime reporter Samantha Adams.” Other reviews characterize the book as brash, breezy, and filled with down-home humor. Some state that the plot and characters are often farfetched, but the flaws tend to be overcome by the humor and charm of Shankman’s storytelling.

For additional information:
He Was Her Man review. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780671775537 (accessed September 25, 2024).

Klein, Kathleen Gregory. Great Women Mystery Writers: Classic to Contemporary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

“Sarah Shankman.” Fantastic Fiction. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/sarah-shankman/  (accessed September 25, 2024).

Shankman, Sarah. He Was Her Man. New York: Atria, 1993.

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society