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The hard-boiled pulp publishers at Hard Case Crime decided to start the new year with a momentous breakthrough: their first book by a female author. But Christa Faust quickly proves that she has no problem running with the Big Boys of crime fiction.
Faust’s Money Shot isn’t your typical pulp novel. Not only is it written by a female, but it features a female lead, too. But the main character in Money Shot isn’t a seasoned old detective; she’s a seasoned old porn star. Angel Dare was once one of the biggest names in the adult film industry—but after 10 years in front of the camera, she decided to retire and start Daring Angels, the only female-run agency for adult entertainers. But when Angel gets a call from her old friend, Sam, asking her to be the last-minute fill-in for a new video—one starring up-and-coming young star Jesse Black—she just can’t say no. Instead of a film set, though, she arrives to find a crime scene—and she watches as her old friend is killed before she’s beaten up and thrown into the trunk of a musty old car.
Beaten, violated, and left for dead, Angel somehow survives—and she calls on ex-cop Lalo Malloy to back her up. Everything seems to lead back to a visit from a girl carrying a briefcase—one that, Angel discovers, was filled with cash. And somebody wants his money back.
Money Shot is a gritty, edgy novel that feels like it was written specifically for Quentin Tarantino. It’s bold and dark—but not without a [dark and somewhat demented] sense of humor. It’s edgy and occasionally graphic, and it’s totally blunt about it. As you might expect from a seasoned porn star, Angel holds nothing back, so the things that come out of her mouth will most likely shock (and, occasionally, offend) readers—but it all seems perfectly fitting and totally in-character. At the same time, though, Faust makes Angel likeable. Though she’s tough and no-nonsense, she still has heart. She cares about the motley crew of characters who have made their way into her life, and she wants to protect them. She may be a tough chick, but she’s a chick nonetheless—and that makes her a strong yet likeable character.
Just like her main character, Faust’s writing is tough and no-nonsense. The story is gripping and fast-paced, and it ends exactly as it should—but not as you think it will. It’s tough and gritty to the very end—and that means that it’s not necessarily neat and straightforward. Its edges are a little rough. But it’s perfectly satisfying nonetheless.
Faust holds nothing back in her first Hard Case Crime novel—and I’m already looking forward to her second. If I were one of the old boys of pulp fiction, I’d watch my back—because there’s nothing sweet and innocent about the new girl on the block.
