5th and Vanguard is set among the atmospheric grit of a seaside town called Berle, and narrated by Julie Page; a writer who, when we’re introduced, suffers from a suffocating lack of artistic inspiration. But inspiration makes a guest-appearance one particularly windy night at the corner of 5th and Vanguard in front of the squinting florescence of Bob’s Liquor Palace as a glamorous, disfigured, old woman emerges from the backseat of a black Cadillac, and alters Julie’s perspective irreversibly.
Lee Adams’ debut novel delivers all of the broken concrete and burnt-out neon of the most memorable noir fiction, but also offers a fresh dose of humor and introspection missing from more traditional fair. This darkly comic mystery explores the pock-marked inner and outer worlds of its heroine as she faces her deadliest fears in an effort to recover her muse. 5th and Vanguard is a story of chemical, emotional, and artistic addiction, and the price one must be willing to pay to stay inspired.
“This is noir fiction at its best: gritty, witty, and hard to put down. 5th and Vanguard is destined for cult status.”
~ Todd Robbins, author of The Modern Con Man
and star of American Carny
Excerpt
Maxine Montego reanimated my imagination like
heaven’s alarm clock at the end of a dark sleep. She
was a peep show offering everything that made me
breathe hard: pain, loss, regret, greasy characters,
seedy deals, and an irresistible talent. She teased me
till all my nickels were gone. She was caffeine. Benzedrine.
A mythological speedball coursing through
my ready veins. And danger played no small part
in my nearly libidinous need to pry into the warped
vinyl of this singer’s life.
Revenge is Fun series. Publisher Vinny Vitali deserves to be whacked, but for some reason he's like a cat with 9 lives. He's holding a mob widow's memoir hostage and the authors want to kill him, but he won't die.
“Nancy Drew Meets CSI”. It’s another Annie Tillery Mystery
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