This book is not only the first published by author Ray Nayler, but also the first published by TTA press, as a spin-off from their Crimewave magazine. TTA Press more widely known for producing the Third Alternative and Interzone alternative fiction magazines.

Not long into this novel you realise it has both feet planted firmly in classic ‘B’ movie territory. The main character, Lance Bailey, is a burnt out private detective, with a messy past and a growing alcohol problem. He is only kept on the straight and narrow by his dotting secretary, whose affections he is seemingly completely oblivious to. Then there is the mysterious femme fatal who flits through the plot, seemingly willing and available, but perpetually just out of reach. To complete the ‘B’ movie ensemble is a cast of second-rate criminals, desperate men, and down-and-outs. Most of the action takes place in the deserts of California and Nevada. The story following the search for a missing wife, whose location is inextricably linked to the whereabouts of a fair quantity of money. Money whose ownership is a matter of some dispute between the local criminal fraternity.

Underpinning the narrative is a reoccurring dream, in which Lance imagines he is falling through deep and increasingly dark water. This mirrors the characters fall into the murky criminal underworld of the Mojave desert ‘graveyards’. The book finishes as he reaches the bottom and discovers what lies there in the gloom.

By rights this book should be a little, well, ropey, like even the best low budget films tend to be. This makes it all the more remarkable that it’s such an engrossing and convincing read. Whilst, in your average B movie, cardboard cut-out actors hash out stale dialogue in front of wobbling sets, here the snappy prose brings these people to life.

Even if Nayler is dealing with an established milieu, he never resorts to stale cliché. The writing remains razor sharp all the way through. Yes, it is a little derivative, but it’s always spiky, great fun in a dark and intoxicating way, and also (whisper it) kinda cool.