Hell's Half Acre
Short-story writer and novelist Baer goes for the gory in this follow-up to cult favorites Kiss Me, Judas (1998) and Penny Dreadful (2000). Former morphine addict and one-time cop Phineas Poe stumbles his way to San Francisco in search of ex-lover Jude, a sadistic assassin with a withering wit. Winning Jude back won't be easy; she is under the spell of John Ransom Miller, a wealthy sociopath who's helping her play out a revenge fantasy involving amputee fetishist and U.S. Senate candidate MacDonald Cody. The loathsome landscape of Poe's life turns lethal when he becomes unknowingly ensnared in the pair's sinister plan. Scalpings, snuff films, and a nose removed in a single bite are among the grisly displays in a novel that's part Hunter S. Thompson, part Edgar Allan Poe. Fans of Baer's fare might not flinch at the gratuitous violence and near alphabetical list of bodily functions, but for newcomers (or the easily queasy), this is startling stuff. - Allison Block (Booklist)
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