Saturday, May 14, 2016

Book Review: Sunset City



Sharon Long is here to review Melissa Ginsburg, www.melissaginsburg.net, debut novel, Sunset City. Melissa is the author of a poetry collection as well as a chapbook. This novel was published by Harper Collins and released in April.

Here's the publisher's description of the book...

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. 

And now Sharon's review: 

The author has taken what noir crime writers found in Los Angeles and brought it to Houston. Her writing is easy and almost lyric at times even though the subject matter is sad. I enjoyed the relationship between the Detective and Charlotte. She reminded me of a desperate young woman trying to find her way in a grim world. Sunset City is sad, funny, hopeless and hopeful all in one story. I was surprised but satisfied with the ending. Melissa is currently working on a new literary thriller.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.


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