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Hell's Half Acre

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Hell's Half Acre Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Kidnapping, snuff films, amputee geeks, and a requiem for lost love...

Cast adrift after the blood symphony of Penny Dreadful, Phineas Poe is looking for answers in the form of a woman. He tracks Jude to San Francisco, where he finds her involved with John Ransom Miller, a wealthy sociopath with a mysterious hold over her. Jude is nursing her own revenge fantasy, but she needs Miller's help, and in exchange Miller wants Jude to help him with an unspeakable crime. Alone and outgunned, Poe hopes he can save Jude from herself, make sense of his own past, and navigate the torturous internal landscape he calls Hell's Half Acre.

Review:

"In Baer's third brutal, impressionistic thriller, junkie ex-cop Phineas Poe is back and reunited with Jude, his freelance assassin lover (they met cute when she stole his kidney in Kiss Me, Judas). Phineas has been searching for Jude for five years, ever since she left him after being tortured and brutally raped by three men. Now he catches up with her in San Francisco, just as she's catching up with the creeps who attacked her. Gruesome revenge is had, but the man behind the rapists, wealthy and charismatic psychopath John Ransom Miller ('a homicidal Zen Buddhist with a degree in criminal law'), persuades them to join forces with him instead of wiping him out. The project he has in mind is a sophisticated snuff film, in which the identity of the victim will be a surprise until the end. Phineas suspects that it will be him, but it might also be Miller's actress girlfriend Molly, Jude or even Miller himself. The movie is shot over the course of a prolonged, nightmarish house party, with Molly, Phineas and Jude doing Miller's bidding much longer than seems plausible. A kidnapping and several twists keep the story moving along, but the muddled, garish plot isn't the point. It's Baer's smooth noirish styling and Phineas's voice — likable against all odds — that will keep readers hooked. Agent, Dan Mandel at SJGA. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"An over-the-top Grande Guignol thriller that breaks every rule of fine literature without ever once descending to the lowest denominator. These pages hurt....Bruising stuff screeching on the knife-edge of acceptability." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"Baer's writing has an undeniable force — it's sordid and entrancing, hallucinatory and yet given to brutal realism." The Times (London)

Review:

"Baer's language is hip, spare, brutal, sometimes gorgeous." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"Baer is, without a doubt, a writer of talent and promise." Denver Post

Synopsis:

Kidnapping, snuff films, amputee geeks and a requiem of lost love populate this newest Phineas Poe thriller from the author of "Kiss Me, Judas."
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About the Author

Will Christopher Baer is the author of Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful. He lives in California.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Roger Sarao, August 20, 2006 (view all comments by Roger Sarao)
Where to begin... Hell's Half Acre is the third in a trilogy featuring Phineas Poe, an ex-cop who may or may not have murdered his wife, who may or may not love a feminine poison named Jude (one of the deadliest and sexiest characters ever written), and who may or may not be just a tad insane. Either way, Will Christopher Baer proves a master at writing compulsive and obsessive reading. If you have not read the first two in the series (Kiss Me, Judas and Penny Dreadful), don't let it stop you from picking up this addicting piece of literature. Be warned, however: Once you start reading about Phineas, you will not want to stop.

Baer's writing is midnight noir defined. This isn't gimmicky writing. This isn't juvenile writing. This is a new type of literary genre, and it's guaranteed to lead you down a dark path you never knew existed.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781931561822
Publisher:
MacAdam/Cage Publishing
Subject:
General
Author:
Baer, Will Christopher
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2004
Edition Number:
1st
Edition Description:
Trade Cloth
Publication Date:
September 10, 2004
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Pages:
385
Dimensions:
7.72x5.74x1.26 in. 1.12 lbs.
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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Mystery » A to Z

Hell's Half Acre
0 stars - 0 reviews
$ In Stock
Product details 385 pages MacAdam/Cage Publishing - English 9781931561822 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In Baer's third brutal, impressionistic thriller, junkie ex-cop Phineas Poe is back and reunited with Jude, his freelance assassin lover (they met cute when she stole his kidney in Kiss Me, Judas). Phineas has been searching for Jude for five years, ever since she left him after being tortured and brutally raped by three men. Now he catches up with her in San Francisco, just as she's catching up with the creeps who attacked her. Gruesome revenge is had, but the man behind the rapists, wealthy and charismatic psychopath John Ransom Miller ('a homicidal Zen Buddhist with a degree in criminal law'), persuades them to join forces with him instead of wiping him out. The project he has in mind is a sophisticated snuff film, in which the identity of the victim will be a surprise until the end. Phineas suspects that it will be him, but it might also be Miller's actress girlfriend Molly, Jude or even Miller himself. The movie is shot over the course of a prolonged, nightmarish house party, with Molly, Phineas and Jude doing Miller's bidding much longer than seems plausible. A kidnapping and several twists keep the story moving along, but the muddled, garish plot isn't the point. It's Baer's smooth noirish styling and Phineas's voice — likable against all odds — that will keep readers hooked. Agent, Dan Mandel at SJGA. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "An over-the-top Grande Guignol thriller that breaks every rule of fine literature without ever once descending to the lowest denominator. These pages hurt....Bruising stuff screeching on the knife-edge of acceptability."
"Review" by , "Baer's writing has an undeniable force — it's sordid and entrancing, hallucinatory and yet given to brutal realism."
"Review" by , "Baer's language is hip, spare, brutal, sometimes gorgeous."
"Review" by , "Baer is, without a doubt, a writer of talent and promise."
"Synopsis" by , Kidnapping, snuff films, amputee geeks and a requiem of lost love populate this newest Phineas Poe thriller from the author of "Kiss Me, Judas."
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