Matt takes a trip through Nevada Noir (review)

 

Nevada Noir 

David Arrowsmith (@mrwriterman79) 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20) 

"He catches the faintest of smiles forming around the corners of Donna's perfect little mouth, and he knows things will be just fine."

Welcome to Nevada - please drive carefully and try not to get involved in the chaos and bloodshed that trails a kidnap gone awry, several murders and some life-changing decisions for everyone who comes into contact with a bag of dirty money… Nevada Noir is a smart combo of three dark short stories (The Last Storm, One Good Deed and A Slow Death) all interlinked and set in and around the US state of Nevada.

The pacy prose grabs you as soon as you’re a few pages in and from then on you’re aboard a turbo-powered rollercoaster of crime and punishment. Don’t get too attached to the characters like Jimmy and Donna, small-time crooks who might just have struck it lucky. Their narrative comes in at the end of the first story and rides out the rest of the book. It’s dirty money that draws not just these Bonnie and Clyde wannabe lovers but also a businessman with everything to lose and an ageing police officer whose life is turned upside-down along the way. 

Who will survive and what will be left of them emotionally is anyone’s guess and the cast struggle with greed and temptation, and the cursed body count that follows the lure of easy money... 

I enjoyed Arrowsmith’s writing style, his tense, economic prose is evocative and highly cinematic, allowing you to picture the scenes by drawing on tropes we’ve experienced in many films such a Drive, True Romance, Hell or High Water to name but a few. If you’ve ever played Grand Theft Auto on Playstation or read anything by Elmore Leonard or James Ellroy - you’ll be well equipped to take this bloody, exciting trip. 

'Wanted: for high crimes'

Nevada Noir is a full-on crime-em-up that delivers emotional payoff whilst still leaving you wondering what might happen after the papers have ended. Highly recommended for those who like their crime brutal and beautiful - like a Dodge Charger kicking up dirt and grit as it tailspin’s away and disappears in a cloud of grimy dust. Am now looking forward to Arrowsmith’s next work!!

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(5 - Turbo-charged crime-em-up that kicks like a shotgun to the heart)

Buy your copy of Nevada Noir here

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