Publishers Weekly
01/04/2016
Houston barista Charlotte Ford, the heroine of poet Ginsburg’s absorbing fiction debut, is devastated by the bludgeoning murder of her “oldest, dearest friend,” Danielle Reeves, a rich, troubled young woman whose past includes abuse, addiction, and a prison stint. At the time of her death, Danielle was working for a pornographic website, SweetDreamz. Charlotte passes on any information of potential interest—such as that Danielle’s estranged mother, Sally, was handling an inheritance—to the detective in charge of the case. As Charlotte investigates Danielle’s life, she becomes intimately involved with Danielle’s boss at SweetDreamz, Brandon, and her coworker, Audrey. Ginsburg (Dear Weather Ghost) evokes some palpable moments of grief, exhaustion, and drink- and drug-fueled bad behavior in a novel that’s steamy in both the sexual and atmospheric senses. Despite the thin plotting and lack of overall suspense, readers will enjoy getting to know the feisty Charlotte. Agent: Duvall Osteen, Aragi. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
A hardboiled exploration of the seedy side of Houston with sentences as sharp as a machete.” — Literary Hub
“Sunset City is sexy, boozy, poignant and funny, with the excellence of Ginsburg’s writing more than compensating for some fairly thin plotting. Its pathos, rather than twists and turns, that will keep you glued to the pages.” — The Guardian, Best Recent Crime Novels
“Sunset City has all the elements of a hard-boiled mystery: a violent murder, a troubled but sincere protagonist, an attractive detective. . . . And acting almost as a character itself is the city of Houston, the setting for Ginsburg’s foray into exploitation, drugs, and murder.” — Houston Chronicle
“Ginsburg has penned a perfect detective novel for millennials… [and] a fine feminist read.” — Austin Chronicle
“A soulful, sexy, dangerous noir. Ginsburg’s simple plot allows atmosphere to suffuse the story. Ginsburg presents a menu of suspects and drops clues nonchalantly, as if she’s writing a fifth noir, not a first. She has created a page-turner with a pitch-perfect conclusion. Sunset City is poetry noir.” — Lone Star Literary Life
“A taut, colorful and gritty noir.” — Entertainment Realm
“Sunset City draws from classic noir and hard-boiled fiction, but in its themes and depictions of behavior, updates the genre… Without sacrificing the dark tone of her murder plot, Ginsburg perfectly depicts a blasé and non-judgmental attitude towards sex, drugs and employment.” — Mystery People
“Each chapter is like a new melody in this noir hymnal; a survivor’s lamentation... Ginsburg’s economical use of language kept this slim volume moving, but it was clear that each and every word was carefully chosen to convey the correct tone. The chapters are intense, powerful bursts of writing.” — BOLO Books Review
Ginsburg, a poet, crafts pitch-perfect dialogue and develops Charlotte and Houston with a disarming mix of nostalgic sadness and brutal honesty. A great recommendation for readers who enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006).” — Booklist
“Ginsburg evokes some palpable moments of grief, exhaustion, and drink- and drug-fueled bad behavior in a novel that’s steamy in both the sexual and atmospheric senses.” — Publishers Weekly
“Melissa Ginsburg’s Sunset City entrances from its first pages. Suffused with longing, regret and a twisty eroticism, it’s a mystery of character as much as crime, and is literary noir at its most captivating.” — Megan Abbott, author of The Fever and Dare Me
“Smart and sexy, sexy and smart, this literary crime novel has it all in. Melissa Ginsburg understands our darkest secrets and desires, and she’s telling what she knows. Get ready, America.” — Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter and Poachers
“In her stunning debut, Melissa Ginsburg has found in Houston what earlier noir writers found in Los Angeles: a dark netherworld of sin, violence, and blighted souls. Sunset City is sexy, disturb-ing, intense, and, at times, movingly poignant.” — Ron Rash, author of Serena and The Cove
“Sunset City suffuses Charlotte Ford’s journey with a lyricism and yearning that elevates its genre. . . . An exciting debut by a crime writer with real heart and wisdom and the language to carry it.” — Nic Pizzolato, creator of True Detective
Houston Chronicle
Sunset City has all the elements of a hard-boiled mystery: a violent murder, a troubled but sincere protagonist, an attractive detective. . . . And acting almost as a character itself is the city of Houston, the setting for Ginsburg’s foray into exploitation, drugs, and murder.
Ron Rash
In her stunning debut, Melissa Ginsburg has found in Houston what earlier noir writers found in Los Angeles: a dark netherworld of sin, violence, and blighted souls. Sunset City is sexy, disturb-ing, intense, and, at times, movingly poignant.
Literary Hub
A hardboiled exploration of the seedy side of Houston with sentences as sharp as a machete.
Entertainment Realm
A taut, colorful and gritty noir.
Lone Star Literary Life
A soulful, sexy, dangerous noir. Ginsburg’s simple plot allows atmosphere to suffuse the story. Ginsburg presents a menu of suspects and drops clues nonchalantly, as if she’s writing a fifth noir, not a first. She has created a page-turner with a pitch-perfect conclusion. Sunset City is poetry noir.
BOLO Books Review
Each chapter is like a new melody in this noir hymnal; a survivor’s lamentation... Ginsburg’s economical use of language kept this slim volume moving, but it was clear that each and every word was carefully chosen to convey the correct tone. The chapters are intense, powerful bursts of writing.
Booklist
Ginsburg, a poet, crafts pitch-perfect dialogue and develops Charlotte and Houston with a disarming mix of nostalgic sadness and brutal honesty. A great recommendation for readers who enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006).
The Guardian
Sunset City is sexy, boozy, poignant and funny, with the excellence of Ginsburg’s writing more than compensating for some fairly thin plotting. Its pathos, rather than twists and turns, that will keep you glued to the pages.
Austin Chronicle
Ginsburg has penned a perfect detective novel for millennials… [and] a fine feminist read.
Nic Pizzolato
Sunset City suffuses Charlotte Ford’s journey with a lyricism and yearning that elevates its genre. . . . An exciting debut by a crime writer with real heart and wisdom and the language to carry it.
Mystery People
Sunset City draws from classic noir and hard-boiled fiction, but in its themes and depictions of behavior, updates the genre… Without sacrificing the dark tone of her murder plot, Ginsburg perfectly depicts a blasé and non-judgmental attitude towards sex, drugs and employment.
Megan Abbott
Melissa Ginsburg’s Sunset City entrances from its first pages. Suffused with longing, regret and a twisty eroticism, it’s a mystery of character as much as crime, and is literary noir at its most captivating.
Tom Franklin
Smart and sexy, sexy and smart, this literary crime novel has it all in. Melissa Ginsburg understands our darkest secrets and desires, and she’s telling what she knows. Get ready, America.
Booklist
Ginsburg, a poet, crafts pitch-perfect dialogue and develops Charlotte and Houston with a disarming mix of nostalgic sadness and brutal honesty. A great recommendation for readers who enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006).
Megan Abbot
Melissa Ginsburg’s Sunset City entrances from its first pages. Suffused with longing, regret and a twisty eroticism, it’s a mystery of character as much as crime, and is literary noir at its most captivating.
Library Journal
01/01/2016
This first novel from poet Ginsburg (Dear Weather Ghost) flips the gender of the traditional noir tale of a novice investigating the death of a long-lost friend. While the episodes of sex, violence, and drugs are prominent, what makes the book stand out is its focus on grief. Charlotte has not seen childhood friend and former roommate Danielle since the latter was sent to prison. Shortly after the two reconnect, Danielle is brutally murdered and Charlotte is immersed in a lot of bad choices—all fueled by the overwhelming sorrow of those Danielle left behind. Even typically vilified characters are given their moments of confusion and anguish. While the mystery is compelling, what drives the narrative is the question of how Charlotte, an appealing young introvert with a tragic backstory of her own, will shake off her misery and move forward with her life. The Houston, TX, setting adds to the tension, humidity standing in for the oppression of regret. VERDICT For fans of urban noir and strong female protagonists, such as Steph Cha's Juniper Song.—Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend
Kirkus Reviews
2016-01-21
A young woman reconnects with her oldest but most troubled friend only to become swept up in the investigation of her brutal murder. Charlotte Ford and Danielle Reeves were inseparable in high school, joined at the hip until drugs and Danielle's short stretch in prison drove them apart. Now Charlotte works at a Houston coffee shop, spending her time smoking too many cigarettes and going on runs her lungs shouldn't be able to handle. When a detective shows up on her doorstop to abruptly inform her of Danielle's murder—her brutal bludgeoning, rather—Charlotte wonders if her recent meeting with her old friend, the first in years, is connected. Danielle and her wealthy, oblivious mother, Sally, never got along, so Charlotte was intrigued when Sally contacted her in an effort to reach her daughter, which led Charlotte to text Danielle and meet her for a drink, where she learned Danielle was working for a porn website called SweetDreamz. The book is heavy on melodrama and sleazy atmosphere and light on actual plot, as Ginsburg (Dear Weather Ghost, 2013) predictably guides Charlotte down the same self-destructive path Danielle walked, awash with drugs, alcohol, and sex with various sketchy figures from the dead woman's life. Charlotte spends more time needlessly pointing out that Danielle is gone than trying to find her killer, whose identity becomes rather obvious early on. Despite some wistful passages about grief that showcase Ginsburg's background as a poet, Charlotte's story falls flat.
