Much like Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice, this is an early 2023 novel that came with a ton of hype. Being a big crime fiction fan, I’ve been hearing about this book for months, not just from publishers who make it their job, but from other mystery writers. It was billed as the modern day Chinatown, the new age Los Angeles noir. I knew I’d probably enjoy it but wasn’t sure if it could live up to its lofty billing.
It did. Oh my, it did.
What makes noir at its best is having characters trapped in impossible situations still trying to work on what they need to do, either when it’s right or wrong. Here it’s…well, it’s perfectly ambiguous. Plumbing the depths of #MeToo in a Los Angeles still dominated by a violent patriarchy that destroys young women physically, mentally, and emotionally, it’s a firecracker of a story in which the leads try hopelessly, flailing against the power of The Beast, yet having just enough daylight that you think they might make it after all.
Do they? Read to find out. But remember, this is noir.
If I have two quibbles with the book…
1. I’ve long since forsaken cynicism. Not because I embrace the cult of toxic positivity, rather, I find it indolent and uninspired as a storytelling mood. This one starts out cynical and I have to confess I was getting annoyed. But as our two leads burrow in and Jordan Harper worldbuilds his version of Los Angeles more, I came to appreciate it.
2. I think the last chapter is one brushstroke too many on the masterpiece. I loved the way it ended up until that point. It hit all the requisite beats. I didn’t hate it, I just don’t think the book needed it, nor do I think it really made sense for the people.
But overall, this rocks. Props to Jordan Harper for being a man and writing a compelling, believable female lead. It’s hard to do but he did it.
