Selena
is the most ass-kicking, badass heroine that has ever graced the pages of noir
fiction. Her story has been documented by Greg Barth in this trilogy. From the original Selena to Diesel Therapy and now Suicide Lounge, Barth has taken her through great plots adding layer upon layer to Selena as a character,
enough great dialogue to make your head spin, along with tons of sex, drugs,
and rock-n-roll (OK not so much rock-n-roll). Selena has morphed from a woman
who steals a CD and gets caught up in a world beyond her wildest dreams, into a
take no prisoners, toughest person in the room regardless of gender, drug-fueled
maniac who possesses, strangely enough, a strong moral compass that drives her.
Greg
Barth has created a character that has enough life in her to fill countless more
books and I sure hope more Selena novels are in his plans. I cannot say
enough about Barth’s ability to create a world in which you will lose yourself
and find yourself cheering for a character you really have no business rooting
for. That’s the screwy part…in noir we shouldn’t have a rooting interest.
Selena isn’t a “good guy”, yet Barth makes you love her, care for her, and you
become invested in her well being and you ignore the “evil” she does, because
you get it, you understand her, you empathize with her, and in many ways, you
invest yourself in her and give two-shits about what happens to her. That is
the power in Barth’s writing.
As
far as I am concerned, no synopsis is needed for this book. The beauty of this
book is that Greg Barth is taking control of your heart, mind, and soul for a
bit and you are going love the ride. Too quote an old movie I like: “You’re
going for a ride. You’re going down a hole. And even if you come out alive,
you’ll wish you were dead”. Well, you won’t wish you were dead, but you will
wish for more Selena. This is top-notch noir that is brutal and
unforgiving. In other words, this is some
heavy hitting noir you must grab to believe.
Highly,
Highly Recommended.
Reviewed
by Derrick Horodyski.
