A collection of gritty tales set in Southern California. More than half are by writers who live in Palm Springs full-time, and all have homes in Southern California. So-Cal's lush life is to be found in these pages, but for the characters, it's often just out of reach.
The book features original short stories by 14 talented Southern California writers ... This compilation is a roller coaster ride that’s filled with loads of suspense, mystery, and steamy sexiness. Brilliantly conceived, DeMarco-Barrett and the other contributing authors effortlessly transport the reader to the edgy, moody, and sleazier side of one of Southern California’s most renowned and iconic locales. A sure thing bestseller and a must-have summer read, Palm Springs Noir unquestionably brings the heat. Bravo!
Palm Springs Noir leaves the sliding glass door open for ghosts present as well as past. One of the original peoples of Southern California, the Cahuilla, are nodded to in Eduardo Santiago’s wistful and funny 'The Ankle of Anza' ... In Fitch’s entertaining 'Sunrise,' the narrator’s life was so ruptured by a con man that she considers herself the walking dead ... Any city that worships Elizabeth Taylor’s Big Caftan Energy and the Rat Pack at their smarmiest (Sinatra shows up several times, maybe too much, in these stories) has a healthy relationship with camp, and Palm Springs Noir follows suit ... By far the collection’s campiest note is hit by Michael Craft in the delightful 'VIP Check-In' ... The collection’s creepiest story ends with a heinous sacrifice—effectively a closing statement: For all the playfulness of the genre and the location, the wisecracks and the kidney-shaped pools, there is an unmanageable darkness waiting to seep in, like so much blood in the pool water.
There's money ... There’s the love that goes wrong ... There’s the fear that sprouts ... And sometimes all three can produce a toxic mix ... An engaging mix of the good, the bad, and the off-kilter.
