"Blues in the Dark" available now!
Hello friends and readers!
My new novel, BLUES IN THE DARK, is available now from Skyhorse/Arcade CrimeWise Publishing, October 8, 2019!
A Hollywood crime drama set in the 1940s and present day that tackles racism, sexism, and murder: Movie producer Karissa Glover sets out to make a modern film noir about actress Blair Kendrick, a "femme fatale" from yesteryear whose career was tragically cut short. She was killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head... Could Blair's then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley have had something to do with it? What really happened that fateful night in 1949?
(Starred Review) “This lovingly and sharply evoked homage to the glory days of film noir works on every level: as a gripping thriller, as an insightful look at racism in Hollywood, and as a perfect entree into the ever-fascinating world of moviemaking.�
—Bill Ott, Booklist
“The shifting perspective that contrasts Glover’s quest and the resistance she meets to find out what happened to Kendrick with Kendrick’s desire to make films and love the man she wants is compelling and heartbreaking. Benson has crafted a noir film inside the pages of a book and the cast of characters in the present and past come vividly to life. He also makes the reader question what is morally just in the midst of a well-written crime drama.�
—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press
“A good mystery novel serves up a puzzle that sucks you in with great characters and solid clues to a startling but logical conclusion. Great mysteries are also steeped in atmosphere and have something to say. Blues in the Dark is a GREAT mystery novel. In this multi-era mystery, Raymond Benson manages to capture both the smoky atmosphere of 1940s Hollywood and the politicized Hollywood of today. In spinning this double-edged tale, Benson realistically tackles the issues of racism and sexism, then and now. A tour-du-force from a master of his craft, Blues in the Dark is as entertaining as anything Hollywood puts out, and will make you think, and feel, long after you read ‘The End.’�
—Austin S. Camacho, Author of the Hannibal Jones mystery series
“Riveting from start to finish, Raymond Benson’s Blues in the Dark digs into Hollywood’s seedy underbelly of racism and misogyny. With a master storyteller’s deftness, Benson tells a classic noir tale with a contemporary twist, while still giving us a human story of forbidden love and its murderous consequences. It’s rare to find a male author who writes so convincingly from a woman’s perspective.�
—Gail Lukasik, author of White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing
BLUES IN THE DARK is available in hardcover and e-book (with audiobook to come!). Links to retailers can be found at the Books page of my website, .
Have a great autumn, and happy reading!
Raymond
My new novel, BLUES IN THE DARK, is available now from Skyhorse/Arcade CrimeWise Publishing, October 8, 2019!
A Hollywood crime drama set in the 1940s and present day that tackles racism, sexism, and murder: Movie producer Karissa Glover sets out to make a modern film noir about actress Blair Kendrick, a "femme fatale" from yesteryear whose career was tragically cut short. She was killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head... Could Blair's then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley have had something to do with it? What really happened that fateful night in 1949?
(Starred Review) “This lovingly and sharply evoked homage to the glory days of film noir works on every level: as a gripping thriller, as an insightful look at racism in Hollywood, and as a perfect entree into the ever-fascinating world of moviemaking.�
—Bill Ott, Booklist
“The shifting perspective that contrasts Glover’s quest and the resistance she meets to find out what happened to Kendrick with Kendrick’s desire to make films and love the man she wants is compelling and heartbreaking. Benson has crafted a noir film inside the pages of a book and the cast of characters in the present and past come vividly to life. He also makes the reader question what is morally just in the midst of a well-written crime drama.�
—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press
“A good mystery novel serves up a puzzle that sucks you in with great characters and solid clues to a startling but logical conclusion. Great mysteries are also steeped in atmosphere and have something to say. Blues in the Dark is a GREAT mystery novel. In this multi-era mystery, Raymond Benson manages to capture both the smoky atmosphere of 1940s Hollywood and the politicized Hollywood of today. In spinning this double-edged tale, Benson realistically tackles the issues of racism and sexism, then and now. A tour-du-force from a master of his craft, Blues in the Dark is as entertaining as anything Hollywood puts out, and will make you think, and feel, long after you read ‘The End.’�
—Austin S. Camacho, Author of the Hannibal Jones mystery series
“Riveting from start to finish, Raymond Benson’s Blues in the Dark digs into Hollywood’s seedy underbelly of racism and misogyny. With a master storyteller’s deftness, Benson tells a classic noir tale with a contemporary twist, while still giving us a human story of forbidden love and its murderous consequences. It’s rare to find a male author who writes so convincingly from a woman’s perspective.�
—Gail Lukasik, author of White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing
BLUES IN THE DARK is available in hardcover and e-book (with audiobook to come!). Links to retailers can be found at the Books page of my website, .
Have a great autumn, and happy reading!
Raymond
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