Christa Faust

tbh i woulda read a comic about a lot of these characters that didn't even have a murder mystery aspect to it. the protagonist is a sex worker, a self-described "professional masochist" who "gets paid by the bruise." honestly? i can take a lot of pain, but not like she can, otherwise i'd probably immediately pivot to that career. (now, if i could get paid to get tied up...)

the thing i really love about the way she's written is that i'm someone who really is a masochist irl and, yeah, i 100% show more buy everything she says. she describes specific kinds of pain she prefers (more thuddy, less stingy) and things like that in terms that had me nodding along in understanding. on the rare occasions that i've been lucky enough to encounter characters who are masochists in media i consume, they're almost always side characters and the way they're written never feels relatable at all. so this was such a great surprise.

the other character i loved was sadist lo, a super dommy enby that lulu books a session with to get information from late in the story. i um. yeah. i crushed on them pretty hard. and loved seeing all the bondage gear in their studio, not to mention the throne that dominates the room.

... ahem. i also liked lulu's "guard dog," he was a really sweet boy, and i'm really glad they're both smart enough to know that they aren't a good match even though he's full of puppy love for her, but she's also willing to risk her life on multiple occasions to try to save him. just. yes. give me complicated relationships that are still healthy & fiercely loyal. i love that shit.

and on top of all the awesome character work (and kink, fuck, it's so nice to read kinky shit created by actual kinky people, i need more of this), there's a great murder mystery plot. i love how lulu's kinks & experiences as a badass sex worker really help her navigate this, but she's very explicit about the fact that being in these situations is not hot for her. like, it's not hard to imagine that she's fantasized about things adjacent to the things she finds herself dealing with--the gods know i have--but that doesn't mean that you find it hot when you're in real danger with people who genuinely do not care about your well-being.

so, yeah! tl;dr, this comic kicks so much ass, and i would just love it if y'all would recommend stuff that hits a similar spot! show less

"Coming back from the dead isn't as easy as they make it seem in the movies."

Hard Case Crimes have been hit or miss with me. Most I find good but not many great. I know there's more out there waiting for me to discover and fall in love with them - I've read about five (sad number).

Angel is a retired porn star who currently keeps afloat by running a company of working women for the entertainment industry. After receiving a phone call from a director she respects and trusts, she agrees to do show more one last job - but finds out there is a gigantic catch. Now on the run and having escaped death, she must clear her name and get revenge on those who almost put her in the coffin.

The author doesn't hold back with the porn industry business - definitely more insight than I'd had before (or wanted.) It's told with no apologies in a matter-of-fact way through memories and a present set visit. I had NO idea men put injections there, yikes.

Usually books like this are told through the point of view of men who run into the classic noirish dame, but in this case it was a woman writer doing a good job telling a story with an experienced woman's point of view. The writing style is awesome and casual, easy to digest and read through quickly.

Characterization is well done too, particularly in the strong and independent personality Angel has. Every once in awhile there's a touch of vulnerability that makes her come across more real. Even the "good guys" in this show realism as they sometimes betray Angel when she and I weren't expecting them too.

It's pure crime and no mystery, a well-done and tense book that's well-structured. It gets a little silly and overreaching in the end with some of the deaths, but it does so while still embracing the pulpy feel these kind of books promise. show less

The cover and the title... well... they'd normally make me move on without reading the book. Except, this is an original novel published by Hard Case Crime who are famous for their retro covers. This cover was an Anthony Award Nominee for Best Paperback Original and Best Cover Art (2009) and the novel was a Barry Award Nominee for Best Paperback Original (2009)and an Edgar Award Nominee for Best Paperback Original (2009) and besides, I was reading the ebook version so no-one was ever going show more to see the cover... except you guys of course.

In Money Shot Christa Faust has produced a Hard-boiled crime novel that is very different from the typical macho gumshoe flexing his muscles and firing his gun as he wise-cracks his way to catching the bad guy.

The book opens with our heroine Angel Dare, naked and bound hand and foot in the trunk of a car in a remote lot. She's been left for dead but she's still breathing. A fact that the man who tried to kill her will come to regret.

Angel is a strong woman who has survived being in front of the cameras in the porn industry and gone on to carve a place for herself managing the new generation of talent performing in porn films and gentlemen's clubs through her Daring Angels agency. She knows the challenges that women working in the porn industry face and she does her best to keep her Angels safe while helping everyone to make money, She was satisfied with her business and her life. Until her life was blown up when a close friend betrayed her to ruthless men ready to torture, rape and kill to get what they want.

And that's just the first couple of chapters.

This is not a comfortable or cosy book. It's an unflinching look at some terrible people doing some nasty things. This is a story of a woman coming to understand that her old life is gone, that her friends are either dead or have betrayed her or both and deciding that none of that is going to stop her from killing the men who did this to her.

This isn't the kind of thriller where you sit on the edge of your seat wondering what clever twist is going to allow the heroine to escape in the nick of time. It's the kind of thriller where bad things happening lead to worse things happening until everything is in ruins. It's a story that focuses on trauma and its consequences rather than on complex plots.

What kept me wading through the soulless sex, the vicious violence, the grimly plausible exploitation and the constant bloodshed was Angel Dare herself. She felt very real to me and what happened to her was truly awful. What she did about it wasn't any better. The price she paid for it may even have been worse but I could see it happen.

She's a smart, tough, occasionally witty woman who has survived things that might have broken other people. Christa Faust has given her a unique and relatable voice that kept me moving forward as the plot got darker and darker. Angel often said or thought things that made me smile, like her view on shopping malls:

"I hate malls. They're like strip clubs for women. All tease and sparkle and the empty promise that if you just drop enough cash, somehow you’ll be fulfilled."

The second and, I think last, Angel Dare book is called Choke Hold. I'll be adding it to my TBR list shortly. show less

This contemporary noir is unusual for taking the traditional form (think Mickey Spillane) from the perspective of a hard-boiled female - a sex worker uncomfortable with intimacy but as tough as they come and capable of looking after herself.

Faust writes well and there is an underlying authenticity to her work but, ultimately, not much happens and what happens is a little predictable.

There is a villain who reminds one of a counterpart in 'No Country for Old Men' and a scene of sadism near the show more end that is truly remarkable because, instead of being voyeur, the reader is placed firmly in the position of the victim. The remorselessness of this scene was truly horrific.

The book is bleak but, as someone who can read Heidegger and Ligotti without a qualm, I do not find that cause for criticism. The underbelly of American life today is probably very bleak so I see no exaggeration there.

No, my complaint, if there is one, is that, although a good read to pass the time, it was ultimately a little pedestrian. She can tell a story but not an enormously imaginative one. Still, fans of the genre are happy and that's probably what counts. show less