Vancouver Punk It’s 1979 and the Vancouver scene is ripe. Flash guitar riffs, apocalyptic lyrics, crashing drums and fire onstage. Back when Mary Armstrong (aka Mary-Jo Kopechne) played bass for the Modernettes. Hooks and rhythms all relevant, all pervasive. Frankie Del Rey is close to making it. All she needs is enough money to cut a demo record.…
Tag: noir
Person of Interest: Sue Coletta
Mystery Lady I first brought Sue Coletta to this website when I put her book Marred on the 2016 Summer Reads list. It’s amazing what has transpired since then. With perseverance and hard work, she has moved forward with several projects, and sparked much admiration among her peers. For this guest post, I wanted to open up the floor…
J Kent Messum: Bait + Interview
Swim for life Six strangers, all addicts, all from Miami neighbourhoods best left unnamed. Stalked, drugged and kidnapped, they awake on a small, uninhabited island in the Florida Keys. They have one days food and water, and a note advising them to swim for their next fix. It’s waiting for them on another island a mile away. …
Lev D Lewis: Jellyfish
Disgraced lawyer PI extraordinaire* Frank Bale is the private investigator of his dreams. *Dream being the operative. The world sees one version, beaten and broke. He sees a South London Marlowe and Chandler. He’s mouthy and can’t keep his dick in his pants. We start with a woman whose husband wants a divorce and full custody of their…
Avery Duff: Beach Lawyer
Legal Revenge Robert Worth is athletic, handsome, intelligent and hardworking. Five years into his prevailing plan he’s about to make law partner at a prestigious Santa Monica legal firm. He discovers how cold and corrupt the world can be. His mistake, going against senior partner Jack Pierce who fires him. Blackballed and struggling, Worth takes a case representing a former…
Todd Robinson: The Hard Bounce & Rough Trade
Carefully Simplistic Achingly Adroit St. Gabriel’s Home for Boys is where the children of addicts, cons and abusers land. It’s not a refuge. If their lives were difficult before they arrived, they are appalling by the time they leave. At St Gabe’s boys are terrorized, brutalized, and left disaffected. Within this abortive melange, four boys find each…
David Achord: Wildcat
Right kind of PI Wrong kind of problems Thomas Ironcutter has big weight over his head. His wife committed suicide, the police department where he was a detective thinks he did it. He waits for the inevitable. He’s moved on as he can, there is little of the wounded detective in this book. He is pragmatic and interested. He loves his cigars.…
