Black Lotus Kiss

Brimstone Files #2

by Jason Ridler

The salaciously pulpy adventures of occult detective James Brimstone continue in the sequel to Hex-Rated.

Winter 1970. As rock stars die of excess and revolution fills the air, newly minted private investigator James Brimstone is spending his days wandering the streets of Los Angeles, looking for low rent cases as far as possible from his last work-for-hire, an unfortunate run-in with the occult on a pornographic film set. But fate has a funny way of slapping Brimstone with the dark hand of magic.

When a deadly attack on a veteran’s hall nearly kills his Korean War buddy Cactus, the only clue left behind is a leaf from the Black Lotus, a war drug used in ancient Babylonia . . . that’s supposedly been extinct since the pyramids were young.

Between bump-ins with rock star prophets and berserk professional wrestlers, Brimstone races to find out who’s behind the supernatural drug turning the City of Angel’s citizens into sex- and violence-crazed maniacs, as well as a mysterious creature of smoke and evil stalking the streets of L.A. On the boardwalk between our world and nightmares, Brimstone must face the darkness within himself to see if he, too, will fall victim . . . to the Black Lotus Kiss.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Mystery

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2018

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Lotus Kiss pays homage in a really big way to the pulp novels of the early Seventies. From the cover to the prose, it feels just like one of those hokey crazy novels set out on dusty newsracks. Set in the Nixonian Seventies Los Angeles, it is peopled with hippie anti war protestors, skateboard youths, living corpses, magicians, costumers, perverted science fiction sex cultists, carnies, and masked wrestlers. The time period is vivid. The tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek narration is just crazy. It’s part detective story, part supernatural thriller, part who knows what. Overall, it’s great fun, particularly all the cultural references. Not something that takes itself too seriously, although the plot often got a bit lost.

This is one where the fun is in the crazy descriptions of compromising photos that remind Detective Brimstone of a sexed up version of Plan 9 from Outer Space. Or the photo of the third class Jane Fonda in a Barbarella outfit. The bad guy drives a car with a cranky throttle akin to the distorted sax on the Munsters theme song. Or the driver with a beehive she’d been maintaining since the decade was young.

This book is campy, goofy, and quite a bit of fun - if you don’t take your private eyes, your horror flicks, or your parlor tricks too seriously.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this second installment in my brother Jason's Brimstone Files series.

[A.J. Garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was let down after how much I loved aged Rated. However, the pulp is still here.

The biggest downside was the constant liberal commentary that felt out of context from the first book. Don’t get me wrong, the statements weren’t illegitimate, just seemed too often and out place.

I also wanted more wrestling, less skateboarding, and mor magic.

[thebonebreaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The sky was made of dried blood and the sand was crushed teeth. Fingerbones outlined a pathway and pointed toward an onyx tower, surrounded on all sides by a sea of churning mercury. The tower was made of scales that breathed. . ."

This is an example of what you are in for when reading +Jason Ridler's latest installment of his Brimstone Files series.

Just like the first novel (Hex-Rated) this one is a rip-roaring read! Seriously, I have no idea where time disappears to when reading these stories. One minute you are on page one, and the next you are already fifty pages in.

James Brimstone is, without a doubt, my favorite P. I. (I so cannot wait until the next book is released!)

[Crittermom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Lotus Kiss is one heck of a fantastic ride.  Filled with creative action sequences, over the top characters, exotic women, and a fast thinking hero, quick with both his wit and his fists, Black Lotus Kiss has everything that appeal to lovers of detective pulp.  But there is more to Black Lotus Kiss - and it is the extras that make it stand apart. First, Brimstone has a conscience, one that is strong enough to stand up for others and do the right thing despite the cost. Often unappreciated, Brimstone’s conscience gets him into trouble or beaten up. In LA, doing the right thing isn’t good for business.  Brimstone also has a gift for magic - the kind that’s real. Unfortunately, that gift tends to get him involved in cases that are far more complex and have farther reaching consequences.


Brimstone may have saved the world when he stopped a porn cult from summoning a Cthuluesqe elder god, but he is still broke and spending most of his time chasing errant spouses (far more exciting than you would expect).  While attending a ceremony at the local Veterans Hall, a bomb is thrown through the window, critically injuring his friend Cactus. Brimstone promises Cactus he will find the culprit - a promise that looks more difficult once he finds a Black Lotus, a magic flower long believed extinct.  Someone wanted it to look like a protester attacked the meeting, the question is who and why. Brimstone’s search for the truth takes him from skateboarding gangs to professional wrestlers, and beachfronts to elite hotels, in a race against time, because being indebted to a ghost is a very bad thing.


5 / 5


I received a copy of Black Lotus Kiss from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, there's a lot going on and it moves quickly. A great homage to 70s pulp, and builds effectively the first one.

[Matthew Lipson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's admit this one fact in any series -- After the first book, we know the main character is going to live. This automatically puts the story at a disadvantage. All situations are no longer that dire no matter how tension filled. There is also another fact we might consider and may not be universal -- The second book suffers the most because of the initial observed fact. Black Lotus Kiss struggles with this for most of the book. Mr. Ridler attempts to raise the tension by making it more about Brimstone's immortal soul than about his material being, but we already know he's pretty much damned already.

Let's start with the positives. The writing is as strong as the first installment. The sex is still magically charged, literally, even if a little out of place in a book primarily centered around underage skateboarders and wrestling. An interesting combination, which work very well together. The skateboarding scenes in Venice Beach I found particularly compelling, while I struggled in following the action in the wrestling ring. We got more insight into his relationship with his "dead" evil mentor, Edgar. These I found to be the most shining and interesting moments in the book, while the political commentary was a little strained. I enjoyed the interaction with the African-American hotel employee, which showed Brimstone's larger awareness of the struggles of the 1970s. Unfortunately this ran in conflict on his views of the protest and the attendees at the Veterans Hall. As a Vietnam vet, Brimstone can be a fence sitter, but he appeared to be more on the side of the anti-protest contingent.

Yes, I said the previous paragraph was going to focus on the positives. The contradictory presentation of the deeper portions of the story and the attempt of further illumination of Brimstone is what affected my reading the most. I don't mind political commentary in my characters. Indeed, in an ongoing series there is a need to make the main character more three dimensional. This is what will bring me back.

For those looking for a straight up adventure, it's in this book. For those looking for a deeper understanding of the main character and his back story, there is a taste of it. For those of us who love Los Angeles for all its potential and warts, it is liberally spread thick and satisfying. Just don't expect the first outing. I for one look forward to the next adventure with Brimstone with the hopes I will get to see more of Edgar, and the ongoing relationship between these two and what keeps them connected.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am upset that the sprits did not inform me that this book existed. 70s LA private-eye sleaze (not sure like who? Too goofy for Ross Macdonald. Maybe Roger L. Simon, before he became a RWNJ?) plus magic. Tamps down the po-faced ridiculousness after the first third or so, which is a bit of a downer in my book. (P.6: "Peter did what any pilot of a rocket car would do: hit a red button on his console and fired through the intersection like a comet..." P.69, animated dead body driving Lincoln Continental: "Brimstone! You were foolish to get this close to me! You are now in my clutches!") I personally would have gone for as much more of this as Ridler wanted to provide. Instead, we get carny slang, professional wrestling, extreme tailoring, a final showdown--a thriller plot played pretty straight. Not that I'm complaining.

[Emily McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glorious romp through 1970's-era LA; snappy writing and a pleasure to read EXCEPT for the overly-PC narrator. Very unrealistic for a 70's detective to stop mid-action and muse on social inequities in such a heavyhanded way every other scene. With that aside, this is a stunning book and I'll be following up with anything else Mr. Ridler has written.

[Warren · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big disappointment after the first book. The plot revolved almost entirely around a silly gang of skateboarding kids and a wrestling match.

Reads like a seedy episode of scooby doo. In a bad way.

[LaShana Claude]

California Magi Rocketeers Sex Club
Inglewood
Los Angeles
Dodge Darts
Edgar Vance
Cactus Hays