Black Lotus Kiss: A Brimstone Files Novel

Welcome to the powder keg 1970s, where disillusionment meets the flower generation and magical threats are growing more dangerous by the minute. Enter private eye James Brimstone, former protege and whipping boy of a sorcerous monster, trying to do a little good. And after a grenade is tossed into a crowd of war vets, Brimstone is hell-bent on finding those responsible for putting his friend at death’s door. But his only clue is a petal from a flower that shouldn’t exist…

Brimstone inhabits a grimy, wholly believable world, and isn’t much of a detective. But he is funny, and by hook or by crook, you find yourself rooting for him, whether he’s struggling to put the pieces of a conspiracy together, going the extra mile for an injured friend by skateboarding barefoot down the boardwalk, or posing as a luchador to earn cash for a sick kid.

The resolution feels a little easy after all the long walks and investigation, coming mostly out of nowhere, but it still leaves the reader wanting more time with both Brimstone and his curious version of Los Angeles.

Black Lotus Kiss feels retro and fresh all at once, gritty and real and more hilarious than expected.