Sunset City - Softcover

Ginsburg, Melissa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062429698 ISBN 13: 9780062429698

Publisher: Ecco Press, 2017

Synopsis

A taut, erotically charged literary noir set in Houston about a woman caught up in her friend's shocking murder, and the dark truths she uncovers.

Before the drugs, Danielle Reeves was Charlotte Ford's most loyal and vibrant friend. She helped Charlotte through her mother's illness and death, and opened up about her own troubled family. The two friends were inseparable, reveling in Houston's shadowy corners. But then Danielle's addiction got the best of her and she went to prison for four years. When she gets out, she and Charlotte reconnect. Charlotte hopes this is a new start for their friendship.

But then, a detective shows up at Charlotte's apartment. Danielle has been murdered, bludgeoned to death.

Overwhelmed by grief, Charlotte is determined to understand how the most alive person she has ever known could end up dead. But the deeper Charlotte descends into Danielle's dark world, the less she understands. Was Danielle a hapless victim or master manipulator? Was she really intent on starting over or was it all an act? To find out the truth, Charlotte must keep her head clear and her guard up. Houston has a way of feeding on bad habits and Charlotte doesn't want to get swallowed whole, a victim of her own anguished desires.

About this title

Review:

Ginsburg evokes some palpable moments of grief, exhaustion, and drink- and drug-fueled bad behavior in a novel that s steamy in both the sexual and atmospheric senses. --Publishers Weekly"

Melissa Ginsburg s "Sunset City" entrances from its first pages. Suffused with longing, regret and a twisty eroticism, it s a mystery of character as much as crime, and is literary noir at its most captivating. --Megan Abbott, author of "The Fever" and "Dare Me""

"Sunset City" is sexy, boozy, poignant and funny, with the excellence of Ginsburg s writing more than compensating for some fairly thin plotting. Its pathos, rather than twists and turns, that will keep you glued to the pages. --The Guardian, Best Recent Crime Novels"

"Sunset City" has all the elements of a hard-boiled mystery: a violent murder, a troubled but sincere protagonist, an attractive detective. . . . And acting almost as a character itself is the city of Houston, the setting for Ginsburg s foray into exploitation, drugs, and murder. --Houston Chronicle"

A soulful, sexy, dangerous noir. Ginsburg s simple plot allows atmosphere to suffuse the story. Ginsburg presents a menu of suspects and drops clues nonchalantly, as if she s writing a fifth noir, not a first. She has created a page-turner with a pitch-perfect conclusion. Sunset City is poetry noir. --Lone Star Literary Life"

A taut, colorful and gritty noir. --Entertainment Realm"

"Sunset City" draws from classic noir and hard-boiled fiction, but in its themes and depictions of behavior, updates the genre Without sacrificing the dark tone of her murder plot, Ginsburg perfectly depicts a blas? and non-judgmental attitude towards sex, drugs and employment. --Mystery People"

Each chapter is like a new melody in this noir hymnal; a survivor s lamentation... Ginsburg s economical use of language kept this slim volume moving, but it was clear that each and every word was carefully chosen to convey the correct tone. The chapters are intense, powerful bursts of writing. --BOLO Books Review"

A hardboiled exploration of the seedy side of Houston with sentences as sharp as a machete. --Literary Hub"

Ginsburg has penned a perfect detective novel for millennials [and] a fine feminist read. --Austin Chronicle"

Book Description:

A thrilling crime debut from a strikingly brave new voice - shades of Patrick deWitt's Ablutions and Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062429698
• ISBN 13: 9780062429698
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208