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Private Midnight
Detective Birch Ritter is a man on the edge—of himself. His past is filled with secrets, shadows, guilt, and ghosts. Then a dubious police buddy he hasn’t seen in a year introduces him to a mysterious woman who says her business is shadows. What she knows about what lies between the darkness and the light inside men is more than Ritter may want to find out, and much more than he can resist learning. It’s said that to try to forget is to try to conceal, and concealing evidence is a crime. But maybe revelation is another kind of crime—against nature.
Kris Saknussemm, the widely acclaimed author of the sci-fi smash Zanesville, now delves into another genre, and another world—a world where even the sunlight is shadowy and where deviancy is the norm. Private Midnight is a journey into the seedy, sexy, underbelly of life—crime noir for a new generation.
Kris Saknussemm, the widely acclaimed author of the sci-fi smash Zanesville, now delves into another genre, and another world—a world where even the sunlight is shadowy and where deviancy is the norm. Private Midnight is a journey into the seedy, sexy, underbelly of life—crime noir for a new generation.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2009
2 people are currently reading
279 people want to read
About the author
Kris Saknussemm
31 books117 followersKris Saknussemm is a cult genre bending novelist and multimedia artist. Born and educated in America, he has lived most of his life abroad, primarily in Australia and the Pacific Islands.
His science fiction themed novel ZANESVILLE, published by Villard Books in 2005, was hailed by critics as a revolutionary work of surreal black comedy. It has attracted the devotion of outsider artists like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and was the inspiration for Michael Jackson to want to have a giant robot of himself constructed to roam the Las Vegas desert. It has become a cult hit in Russia as well.
Another novel, an erotic supernatural thriller PRIVATE MIDNIGHT is set in a noir crime world of jazz, junkies and shadows from out of time. It became a bestseller in France and Italy.
He has now in total published ten books that have been translated into 22 languages.
The Rumors
Soon after the publication of ZANESVILLE, reports began circulating around Hollywood that the actor Kevin Costner was furious about being featured as the “voice” of Dooley Duck, one of several animated hologram characters in the story, who serve as advertising vehicles in the fictional world of the novel. Under the magical influence of the protagonist, Elijah Clearfather, Dooley not only comes to life and breaks free of his commercial masters (a monolithic children’s day care empire) he develops a penis and becomes an advocate for sexual enjoyment and the leader of a social and political reform called The Surprise Party.
A second rumor that began making the rounds that ZANESVILLE had actually been written by the late David Foster Wallace under a pseudonym, while another related and more detailed story had it that Kris Saknussemm is not an individual author at all, but rather a name taken by a collective of writers who wrote the book as a collaborative experiment, in something of the same spirit as Nicholas Bourbaki phenomenon amongst mathematicians.
This latter view gained some extended support as Saknussemm had written about the “Bourbaki Conspiracy,” and an earlier published story was based on the premise that the reclusive Thomas Pynchon was just a composite entity—an on-going project and artistic prank which such writers as Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger had participated in.
Appearing at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle in 2006, Saknussemm fielded questions about the rumor, remarking, “As ZANESVILLE has much to do with the idea of the Conspiracy Theory as the folk religion of our time, I’m somewhat amused. But I’ve heard something similar about Poppy Z. Brite. I think we all just like hoaxes and rumors. They reassure us that we can actually participate in the manufacture of reality. But as one of my characters says, ‘I’m real enough.’” A series of readings in New York and appearances on public radio and at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers helped to dispel the rumor.
His science fiction themed novel ZANESVILLE, published by Villard Books in 2005, was hailed by critics as a revolutionary work of surreal black comedy. It has attracted the devotion of outsider artists like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and was the inspiration for Michael Jackson to want to have a giant robot of himself constructed to roam the Las Vegas desert. It has become a cult hit in Russia as well.
Another novel, an erotic supernatural thriller PRIVATE MIDNIGHT is set in a noir crime world of jazz, junkies and shadows from out of time. It became a bestseller in France and Italy.
He has now in total published ten books that have been translated into 22 languages.
The Rumors
Soon after the publication of ZANESVILLE, reports began circulating around Hollywood that the actor Kevin Costner was furious about being featured as the “voice” of Dooley Duck, one of several animated hologram characters in the story, who serve as advertising vehicles in the fictional world of the novel. Under the magical influence of the protagonist, Elijah Clearfather, Dooley not only comes to life and breaks free of his commercial masters (a monolithic children’s day care empire) he develops a penis and becomes an advocate for sexual enjoyment and the leader of a social and political reform called The Surprise Party.
A second rumor that began making the rounds that ZANESVILLE had actually been written by the late David Foster Wallace under a pseudonym, while another related and more detailed story had it that Kris Saknussemm is not an individual author at all, but rather a name taken by a collective of writers who wrote the book as a collaborative experiment, in something of the same spirit as Nicholas Bourbaki phenomenon amongst mathematicians.
This latter view gained some extended support as Saknussemm had written about the “Bourbaki Conspiracy,” and an earlier published story was based on the premise that the reclusive Thomas Pynchon was just a composite entity—an on-going project and artistic prank which such writers as Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger had participated in.
Appearing at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle in 2006, Saknussemm fielded questions about the rumor, remarking, “As ZANESVILLE has much to do with the idea of the Conspiracy Theory as the folk religion of our time, I’m somewhat amused. But I’ve heard something similar about Poppy Z. Brite. I think we all just like hoaxes and rumors. They reassure us that we can actually participate in the manufacture of reality. But as one of my characters says, ‘I’m real enough.’” A series of readings in New York and appearances on public radio and at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers helped to dispel the rumor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 2, 2018
FULL REVIEW
Despite some flaws, Private Midnight is an unusual but excellent read. A beautifully written mixture of gritty neo-noir, supernatural horror and bent erotica. I give this a recommendation, and I’ll be picking up more of Saknussemm’s work.
Despite some flaws, Private Midnight is an unusual but excellent read. A beautifully written mixture of gritty neo-noir, supernatural horror and bent erotica. I give this a recommendation, and I’ll be picking up more of Saknussemm’s work.
December 24, 2010
What a cool, weird book this is. Saknussemm takes elements of noir, horror, erotica, mystery and a dose of good-old-fashioned pulp and delivers a dark carnival of a book about obsession, submission, gender and identity. The novel is told through Detective Birch Ritter's voice as he investigates a pair of bizarre suicides that may be connected. He is introduced, through a missing ex-partner, to Genevieve Wyvern. Birch quickly learns that Genevieve is more than just a mystery woman with a heart of noir. At first it seems as though nothing in his bent life, as well as the reader's pre-concieved notions of the genres, have prepared him for Genevieve; yet there is an enevitability to it that's undeniable. Above all, Birch's voice, as he relates his tale, is as addicting as his twisted obsessions. Wild. Read it and see for yourself.
May 19, 2009
Inside all of us is something wanting to break free.
No one knows this better than Detective Birch Ritter. He is a man on the edge of himself and he doesn’t know if he can keep himself from falling. Divorced and alone, he lives for his job. His job is his life. The long hours keep him from thinking of what could be.
And especially what was.
While investigating a case where a business man was chained to the inside of his car and the car set aflame, he receives a visit from an old police buddy, someone he never thought he would see again. Someone who knew his secrets.
Saying nothing, the man leaves Ritter only a business card with an address written on the card in what looks like scarves. The words move and shift; Ritter knows this must be a trick of the light, or his mind playing tricks on him. The past can haunt you in many ways.
Knowing that he should just ignore the business card, something pulls at him to go. He knows that going to an address written on a mysterious card left by someone who knows his past could be dangerous.
But something compels him to go.
When he arrives, he meets Genevieve. A curvy red head with looks that won’t quit, he follows her inside her house, still not sure what he is doing there or why he came. He is entranced by her, almost hypnotized. Shocked by her beauty and what she wants him to do.
Genevieve introduces Ritter to the world of bondage. Shock collars and blindfolds, submission and darkness. She knows things she could not possibly know, knows secrets from his past that he has told no one about. Though he is frightened of her, he cannot stay away.
The deeper he follows her into the darkness, the more of his past confronts him until all he is left with is a choice: cling to his safe, boring, lonely life? Or embrace the midnight darkness that waits inside of him? As Genevieve strips Ritter physically, emotionally and physiologically, he knows that he has no choice.
He must submit and change his life forever…
My meagre plot description doesn’t even come close to describing how great this book is. Its part gumshoe detective story, part noir thriller, part erotica and part something else altogether. Combined, all these elements make one of the best and most frightening novels I have ever read. Indeed, Private Midnight is one of the best books of 2009 so far.
Private Midnight defies genre. There is absolutely no way to categorize this book. It is not simple fiction. Instead it is an incredible tour-de-force that defies all genres, transcends them all and becomes something all its own.
For me, reading Private Midnight was like being inside a train that was destined to crash. It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion; I knew what would come would challenge my ideals of what is normal and acceptable, that it would make me uncomfortable and leave me haunted. But I welcomed every blood soaked word.
Not only is Private Midnight an incredible mystery, it is also the ultimate study in human nature. What makes us tick? What are our desires? What frightens us? What happens when fear, pleasure and desire are mixed together? What drives us to stay away from the darkness or give into it and swim in its depths?
While reading Private Midnight I was shocked, uncomfortable, thrilled and frightened. Rarely has a book affected me in so many different ways. Many authors would not be able to write a book that transcends genre and make it good. Saknussemm does this and more and the result is a heady, incredible thriller that is seedy, sexy, thrilling and tantalizing.
If you read one good book this Spring, make sure its Private Midnight.
No one knows this better than Detective Birch Ritter. He is a man on the edge of himself and he doesn’t know if he can keep himself from falling. Divorced and alone, he lives for his job. His job is his life. The long hours keep him from thinking of what could be.
And especially what was.
While investigating a case where a business man was chained to the inside of his car and the car set aflame, he receives a visit from an old police buddy, someone he never thought he would see again. Someone who knew his secrets.
Saying nothing, the man leaves Ritter only a business card with an address written on the card in what looks like scarves. The words move and shift; Ritter knows this must be a trick of the light, or his mind playing tricks on him. The past can haunt you in many ways.
Knowing that he should just ignore the business card, something pulls at him to go. He knows that going to an address written on a mysterious card left by someone who knows his past could be dangerous.
But something compels him to go.
When he arrives, he meets Genevieve. A curvy red head with looks that won’t quit, he follows her inside her house, still not sure what he is doing there or why he came. He is entranced by her, almost hypnotized. Shocked by her beauty and what she wants him to do.
Genevieve introduces Ritter to the world of bondage. Shock collars and blindfolds, submission and darkness. She knows things she could not possibly know, knows secrets from his past that he has told no one about. Though he is frightened of her, he cannot stay away.
The deeper he follows her into the darkness, the more of his past confronts him until all he is left with is a choice: cling to his safe, boring, lonely life? Or embrace the midnight darkness that waits inside of him? As Genevieve strips Ritter physically, emotionally and physiologically, he knows that he has no choice.
He must submit and change his life forever…
My meagre plot description doesn’t even come close to describing how great this book is. Its part gumshoe detective story, part noir thriller, part erotica and part something else altogether. Combined, all these elements make one of the best and most frightening novels I have ever read. Indeed, Private Midnight is one of the best books of 2009 so far.
Private Midnight defies genre. There is absolutely no way to categorize this book. It is not simple fiction. Instead it is an incredible tour-de-force that defies all genres, transcends them all and becomes something all its own.
For me, reading Private Midnight was like being inside a train that was destined to crash. It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion; I knew what would come would challenge my ideals of what is normal and acceptable, that it would make me uncomfortable and leave me haunted. But I welcomed every blood soaked word.
Not only is Private Midnight an incredible mystery, it is also the ultimate study in human nature. What makes us tick? What are our desires? What frightens us? What happens when fear, pleasure and desire are mixed together? What drives us to stay away from the darkness or give into it and swim in its depths?
While reading Private Midnight I was shocked, uncomfortable, thrilled and frightened. Rarely has a book affected me in so many different ways. Many authors would not be able to write a book that transcends genre and make it good. Saknussemm does this and more and the result is a heady, incredible thriller that is seedy, sexy, thrilling and tantalizing.
If you read one good book this Spring, make sure its Private Midnight.
February 24, 2009
This is the story of a cop, slightly crooked, in a downward spiral after a divorce. The number of unhappy events in his life is stacking up and he's having a difficult time. He becomes involved in some unusual cases, and even more critically, with a strange woman who seems part seer, part dominatrix, and perhaps part monster. Our cop protagonist eventually discovers that he's going through some rather odd changes. I can't say much: It's difficult to write much about this book without spoiling.
This book is different and original, an odd blend of hard-boiled cop story, horror, and some minor bondage. It's all a little trippy. Saknussemm (I assume this is a nom de plume?) is an interesting writer who take many stylistic chances. Unfortunately, those chances only work occasionally and the pacing of this tale seems a little awkward, with important developments coming in sudden rushes, including many that occur far too late in the book for anything to come of them. The author may be setting up a series, it's difficult to tell.
This is a writer to keep an eye on, but this book itself is no breakout work. Those who value originality highly or are more into the books ideas than I was may like it a lot more, but to me it was a bit of a mess.
This book is different and original, an odd blend of hard-boiled cop story, horror, and some minor bondage. It's all a little trippy. Saknussemm (I assume this is a nom de plume?) is an interesting writer who take many stylistic chances. Unfortunately, those chances only work occasionally and the pacing of this tale seems a little awkward, with important developments coming in sudden rushes, including many that occur far too late in the book for anything to come of them. The author may be setting up a series, it's difficult to tell.
This is a writer to keep an eye on, but this book itself is no breakout work. Those who value originality highly or are more into the books ideas than I was may like it a lot more, but to me it was a bit of a mess.
September 2, 2009
I give Kris three for well written, but two stars for poor judgement call with sexual description. I didn't realize of course that the inside of the cover said 'psychoerotic noir fairytale' until I was about a quarter of the way through and after a few more chapters, dropped it due to lack of momentum. There are just some books out there that don't move slow enough or quick enough for the best of us.
July 10, 2009
(I'll avoid any major spoilers, but don't make any promises regarding spoiling developments of mood or the broad plot outlines that can be found in the publisher's blurb. I will say that when the publisher's blurb says "vampires", they're wrong. There is no vampire in this story. There is something worse.)
OK, this is a very strange book.
It starts off mildly strange: it is clearly a hard-ass, tough-as-nails, police procedural (if you don't know the sub-genre, see wikipedia). The protagonist is a cliché -- a big brute, twice divorced, confused about where his life is going, firmly chained to his job while recognizing that it's shoving him towards Dysfunction Junction™. But he really digs the power and stimulation of morally ambiguous situations. Still, not a happy camper.
Then it gets really strange. Some of the cases have paradoxical twists, and he's getting involved in a weird way with a very unusual woman.
Then it gets really, really strange.
The publisher's blurb tells us this is a dark urban vampire story, but it isn't. There's something much stranger here, and it is very well done -- but I can't say anymore without spoiling it. Even at the end it isn't quite clear whether this falls onto the fantasy or scifi side of the shelf, but it definitely doesn't belong with the "normal" books. A lot of the language and mood is similar to James Ellroy, but updated to contemporary society.
But the adult themes here go way beyond urban violence. There's sex, and an important aspect of the book involves some pretty crazy stuff. You're heading towards an intersection of horror, gender-bending sadomasochism, and what would be a psychotic breakdown — except that it is really happening. And all of that is central to the story.
This book is enough of an innovation that I'm tempted to give it the whole five stars. But there are two gotchas:
First, it's hard to tell where the book is going for a long while, and everything seems just a bit less intense than expected, and the plot feels like it is wandering and wavering in its commitment. It turns out that Saknussemm is building towards something, and he is eventually going someplace really radical, and apparently felt it was necessary to really solidify his set before he started to tear it down. And this might have been necessary for such an unusual book, but it still weakens the attraction.
Second, this also feels like a dead end. If this really expands into a new sub-genre, then he'll get kudos retrospectively (and I must admit that this might just be new to me; for all I know this book fits neatly into an established subgenre which I am unaware of). In any case, the market is a pretty narrow one: the gritty contemporary story won't be to the taste of those seeking fantasy kink (à la Kushiel's Dart), while the fantasic part is likely to completely bewilder those Ellroy fans.
But that's who is likely to really enjoy this book: folks that enjoy a very creative contemporary urban kinky fantasy story.
P.S. I think Harlan Ellison would love this story. Definitely a Dangerous Vision.
OK, this is a very strange book.
It starts off mildly strange: it is clearly a hard-ass, tough-as-nails, police procedural (if you don't know the sub-genre, see wikipedia). The protagonist is a cliché -- a big brute, twice divorced, confused about where his life is going, firmly chained to his job while recognizing that it's shoving him towards Dysfunction Junction™. But he really digs the power and stimulation of morally ambiguous situations. Still, not a happy camper.
Then it gets really strange. Some of the cases have paradoxical twists, and he's getting involved in a weird way with a very unusual woman.
Then it gets really, really strange.
The publisher's blurb tells us this is a dark urban vampire story, but it isn't. There's something much stranger here, and it is very well done -- but I can't say anymore without spoiling it. Even at the end it isn't quite clear whether this falls onto the fantasy or scifi side of the shelf, but it definitely doesn't belong with the "normal" books. A lot of the language and mood is similar to James Ellroy, but updated to contemporary society.
But the adult themes here go way beyond urban violence. There's sex, and an important aspect of the book involves some pretty crazy stuff. You're heading towards an intersection of horror, gender-bending sadomasochism, and what would be a psychotic breakdown — except that it is really happening. And all of that is central to the story.
This book is enough of an innovation that I'm tempted to give it the whole five stars. But there are two gotchas:
First, it's hard to tell where the book is going for a long while, and everything seems just a bit less intense than expected, and the plot feels like it is wandering and wavering in its commitment. It turns out that Saknussemm is building towards something, and he is eventually going someplace really radical, and apparently felt it was necessary to really solidify his set before he started to tear it down. And this might have been necessary for such an unusual book, but it still weakens the attraction.
Second, this also feels like a dead end. If this really expands into a new sub-genre, then he'll get kudos retrospectively (and I must admit that this might just be new to me; for all I know this book fits neatly into an established subgenre which I am unaware of). In any case, the market is a pretty narrow one: the gritty contemporary story won't be to the taste of those seeking fantasy kink (à la Kushiel's Dart), while the fantasic part is likely to completely bewilder those Ellroy fans.
But that's who is likely to really enjoy this book: folks that enjoy a very creative contemporary urban kinky fantasy story.
P.S. I think Harlan Ellison would love this story. Definitely a Dangerous Vision.
September 8, 2010
The title of Kris Saknussemm’s ‘Private Midnight’ conjures myriad meanings. At the most basic level, you can sense the noir overtones. Upon picking up the book, you may be forgiven for believing you’re about to embark upon a mystery novel, and in a sense, you are, just not really the kind of mystery you have in mind. Dig a little deeper and the title begins to contort and take on new meanings. It provokes a sense of isolation and loneliness – a soul shrouded in darkness. In this sense, ‘Private Midnight’ is indeed a mystery novel, but for me, the mystery lies more in the self.
The novel drops us into the deep end without bearings. You have to earn the bearings. It’s a mystery from the first page. You’re introduced to the protagonist, Detective Birch Ritter and the myriad characters that populate his life. For all intents and purposes, we’re taking part in a police procedural. Names are flying around without immediate context. Events are unfolding without reference. Time to swim, buddy. As a reader, you have no idea where you’re about to go, but already the sense exists that the ride will be worthwhile.
Birch Ritter is brimming with dubious past and soul corruption. These bubble to the surface early as mere snippets into a life easier forgot, even if the invisible strings of the past seek to guide his every movement. The case he is working is mere routine – nothing to it but motions. He exists in a world Tom Waits may have penned a tune about, full of lowlifes, drunks and societies victims. He knows these people and in a sense, he is one of them. Working a case is as much about socializing with ‘friends’ as it is about finding answers.
The string of clues leads Ritter to a mysterious woman, who is the femme fatale personified. From the start, she exists behind a veil and is interpreted via speculation. She knows Ritter. She knows him in ways no one knows him – not even himself. At this point, the case itself becomes a fugazi. The psychological relationship between Ritter and the mystery suspect blooms in frightening clarity. Her motivations are ambiguous and Ritter’s attraction becomes an all-consuming beast that threatens to destroy him.
This is where you either bail out or follow Saknussemm into his psychosexual labyrinth. It all depends on how uncomfortable you’re willing to feel. Sex becomes an instrument of mental torment as Ritter tries to convince himself that he has some modicum of control in the spiraling situation. You begin to develop the sense that every thought born in Ritter’s mind is one planted deliberately by the woman. Secrets aren’t revealed as much as they’re admitted. In this world there aren’t really secrets at all – only lies.
Throughout this narrative, Saknussemm weaves a portrait of loneliness and fractured masculinity in heartbreaking fashion. Scenes of Ritter pottering about in his one man, impossibly disheveled apartment resonate as much as the thick heat that permeates the dark unforgiving alleyways and streets outside. This is noir in the truest sense. This is a tale of a broken man afraid to put himself together. This is a tale of power. This is the psychological battle that accompanies the relationship between man and woman. This is an extraordinary book.
If a drawback exists, it may be one of expectation. You have to be willing to go where Saknussemm chooses to take you. You may start out believing you’re headed in one direction, but I assure you, you will be pulled somewhere else and you may not be comfortable with that. This book is a mystery in the truest sense, but it’s not a mystery novel in the traditional sense. This is a dark, complex and uncompromising book. If you allow it to control you, there will be reward. Highest recommendation.
The novel drops us into the deep end without bearings. You have to earn the bearings. It’s a mystery from the first page. You’re introduced to the protagonist, Detective Birch Ritter and the myriad characters that populate his life. For all intents and purposes, we’re taking part in a police procedural. Names are flying around without immediate context. Events are unfolding without reference. Time to swim, buddy. As a reader, you have no idea where you’re about to go, but already the sense exists that the ride will be worthwhile.
Birch Ritter is brimming with dubious past and soul corruption. These bubble to the surface early as mere snippets into a life easier forgot, even if the invisible strings of the past seek to guide his every movement. The case he is working is mere routine – nothing to it but motions. He exists in a world Tom Waits may have penned a tune about, full of lowlifes, drunks and societies victims. He knows these people and in a sense, he is one of them. Working a case is as much about socializing with ‘friends’ as it is about finding answers.
The string of clues leads Ritter to a mysterious woman, who is the femme fatale personified. From the start, she exists behind a veil and is interpreted via speculation. She knows Ritter. She knows him in ways no one knows him – not even himself. At this point, the case itself becomes a fugazi. The psychological relationship between Ritter and the mystery suspect blooms in frightening clarity. Her motivations are ambiguous and Ritter’s attraction becomes an all-consuming beast that threatens to destroy him.
This is where you either bail out or follow Saknussemm into his psychosexual labyrinth. It all depends on how uncomfortable you’re willing to feel. Sex becomes an instrument of mental torment as Ritter tries to convince himself that he has some modicum of control in the spiraling situation. You begin to develop the sense that every thought born in Ritter’s mind is one planted deliberately by the woman. Secrets aren’t revealed as much as they’re admitted. In this world there aren’t really secrets at all – only lies.
Throughout this narrative, Saknussemm weaves a portrait of loneliness and fractured masculinity in heartbreaking fashion. Scenes of Ritter pottering about in his one man, impossibly disheveled apartment resonate as much as the thick heat that permeates the dark unforgiving alleyways and streets outside. This is noir in the truest sense. This is a tale of a broken man afraid to put himself together. This is a tale of power. This is the psychological battle that accompanies the relationship between man and woman. This is an extraordinary book.
If a drawback exists, it may be one of expectation. You have to be willing to go where Saknussemm chooses to take you. You may start out believing you’re headed in one direction, but I assure you, you will be pulled somewhere else and you may not be comfortable with that. This book is a mystery in the truest sense, but it’s not a mystery novel in the traditional sense. This is a dark, complex and uncompromising book. If you allow it to control you, there will be reward. Highest recommendation.
June 16, 2009
Remember seeing "From Dusk Till Dawn" in the theater, in its original release?
Well, maybe not. Guess you'd have to be a certain age, maybe a certain gender, for that. But for me, as a teenager, seeing that movie was kind of eye-opening. Because halfway through, the movie does its volte-face, and you have an entirely different genre of movie on-screen, with attendant different expectations governing the way you think about it. And of course, the movie is about changed expectations, about changelings. In a purely formal sense, it is smart, clever. Some people were turned off by it, expecting one genre and ultimately getting another one. I wasn't.
You can guess what I'm going to say about Private Midnight? Yes and no.
For most of the novel, Saknussemm does a surprisingly insightful job of actually going through the mirror on Raymond Chandler. All of the repressed sexuality, sadomasochism, the hatred of/worship of women-- it's all here, lit with neon and really and truly leading the protagonist by the nose. And it is really very skillfully done and utterly convincing, while being a kind of clever that I was shaking my head at. A great reaction to/criticism of the much-imitated master, with all of the backstory seamlessly integrated. The kind of thing that really gets me going.
And then, somewhere in the last thirty pages, the revelation comes, the genre switches, and what we expect from the novel is completely altered. Some people will feel cheated. Others will be thrilled. I'm still making up my mind-- there is a lingering sense that Saknussemm has written something profound, coupled with the sense that the ending has revealed the novel for a house of cards.
Like a house of cards, it may not be entirely stable, but the novel is all the more impressive for that. But it is also unstable, and the slightest breath can destroy it.
So, whether it is a brilliant appropriation of Chandler or a rather unstable "magical realist" take on noir is all in how you see that turn at the end.
Well, maybe not. Guess you'd have to be a certain age, maybe a certain gender, for that. But for me, as a teenager, seeing that movie was kind of eye-opening. Because halfway through, the movie does its volte-face, and you have an entirely different genre of movie on-screen, with attendant different expectations governing the way you think about it. And of course, the movie is about changed expectations, about changelings. In a purely formal sense, it is smart, clever. Some people were turned off by it, expecting one genre and ultimately getting another one. I wasn't.
You can guess what I'm going to say about Private Midnight? Yes and no.
For most of the novel, Saknussemm does a surprisingly insightful job of actually going through the mirror on Raymond Chandler. All of the repressed sexuality, sadomasochism, the hatred of/worship of women-- it's all here, lit with neon and really and truly leading the protagonist by the nose. And it is really very skillfully done and utterly convincing, while being a kind of clever that I was shaking my head at. A great reaction to/criticism of the much-imitated master, with all of the backstory seamlessly integrated. The kind of thing that really gets me going.
And then, somewhere in the last thirty pages, the revelation comes, the genre switches, and what we expect from the novel is completely altered. Some people will feel cheated. Others will be thrilled. I'm still making up my mind-- there is a lingering sense that Saknussemm has written something profound, coupled with the sense that the ending has revealed the novel for a house of cards.
Like a house of cards, it may not be entirely stable, but the novel is all the more impressive for that. But it is also unstable, and the slightest breath can destroy it.
So, whether it is a brilliant appropriation of Chandler or a rather unstable "magical realist" take on noir is all in how you see that turn at the end.
February 11, 2016
The jacket describes this book as a "psychoerotic noir fairytale" and that doesn't even begin to describe the wild ride that is Private Midnight. Birch Ritter is a tough as nails LAPD homicide detective whose life is coming unraveled. His girlfriend shot him, his wife divorced him, and even his partner asked for a transfer. Now, as he investigates two suspicious suicides, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious and beautifull woman, Genevieve, who offers to unlock the secrets of his past and his future potential. The hard-boiled tone of the prose contrasts nicely with the surreal and fantastical images from within Genevieve's world. Det. Ritter will never be the same at the end of the book, and neither will the reader.
Read
October 31, 2009Alice in Wonderland as told by the cast of Deep Throat without any depth - no pun intended. Perhaps if I empathized with any of the characters my reaction would be different. The allusions to Alice In Wonderland are as subtle as blunt force trauma, which could be forgiven if, like Alice, there was cause for belief suspension. But Saknussemm keeps interjecting flashes of reality into the mix. While Alice befriended the constant flow of strange events and characters, there is but one piece of strangeness amidst a pseudo-noir setting with a two-dimensional protagonist purportedly on a quest of self-discovery through sexual situations that rival the best (or worst) of any BDSM porn film.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2014
It seems like a detective story, and retains a lot of the conventions, the tough but flawed police detective, the femme fatale who holds all the cards, and is also the suspect in a murder investigation. It doesn't stay there however, opening up into a completely different avenue to consider things like facing the past, repression, power, gender struggles and the difficulty of fighting something you can't even understand. Fascinating and original story and well worth your time.
May 12, 2009
Wow.... This was one wild ride. If you decide to read it, prepare yourself. This is so much more than a hard-boiled mystery. It's an examination of sexuality, gender roles, psychology, violence, power and real horror. Not for the squeamish or cozy mystery readers.
December 5, 2015
The second half of this book might be absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I will never know because I can't convince myself to dig through another 150pgs of nothing.
The problem with trying to do a David Lynch movie in book form is that he creates amazing visuals that you just don't get in prose.
The problem with trying to do a David Lynch movie in book form is that he creates amazing visuals that you just don't get in prose.
October 22, 2009
Waste of time. Nonsensical. Hard to read and follow storyline. Rated F.
June 17, 2010
Wow, awful.
April 5, 2018
Transsexual vampire noir. The first half is a slog. Just lacks momentum. Second half (i suppose from the viewpoint of a different person) is much more intriguing. Readers complain of sex within but it’s almost all implied. Sets up well for a follow up book. Actually would also make a pretty crazy movie if someone could adapt it.
Hard to believe Zanesville is by the same author.
Hard to believe Zanesville is by the same author.
November 10, 2025
Not quite the book I was expecting but still a crazy book and I never read a pychiclogical thriller before.
July 12, 2011
Detective Birch Ritter. Man, cop, Noir protagonist of Private Midnight.
Once started, this novel feels like a police-procedural, but it’s so much more than that. Multi-layered to begin with, it quickly takes on a dreamlike quality. Loaded with psychosexual tension and noir-metaphors, it’s very easy to read, and even easier to get lost in. Then, towards the end, it takes an even darker turn (if that’s possible); a turn no-one can see coming, yet seems a natural direction when it arrives.
The writing is very fluid, with a unique style that is pure Saknussemm. It’s filled with darkness and light, but the darkness seems darker than it ever is in real life... or is it? That’s for the reader to decide. More like a waking nightmare than anything else, it explores the darkness inherent in everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I recommend it highly.
Synopsis:
Detective Birch Ritter is a man on the edge of himself. His past is filled with secrets, shadows, guilt, and ghosts. Then a dubious police buddy he hasn't seen in a year introduces him to a mysterious woman who says her business is shadows. What she knows about what lies between the darkness and the light inside men is more than Ritter may want to find out, and much more than he can resist learning. It's said that to try to forget is to try to conceal, and concealing evidence is a crime. But maybe revelation is another kind of crime-against nature.
Kris Saknussemm, the widely acclaimed author of the sci-fi smash Zanesville, now delves into another genre, and another world-a world where even the sunlight is shadowy and where deviancy is the norm. Private Midnight is a journey into the seedy, sexy, underbelly of life-crime noir for a new generation.
Once started, this novel feels like a police-procedural, but it’s so much more than that. Multi-layered to begin with, it quickly takes on a dreamlike quality. Loaded with psychosexual tension and noir-metaphors, it’s very easy to read, and even easier to get lost in. Then, towards the end, it takes an even darker turn (if that’s possible); a turn no-one can see coming, yet seems a natural direction when it arrives.
The writing is very fluid, with a unique style that is pure Saknussemm. It’s filled with darkness and light, but the darkness seems darker than it ever is in real life... or is it? That’s for the reader to decide. More like a waking nightmare than anything else, it explores the darkness inherent in everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I recommend it highly.
Synopsis:
Detective Birch Ritter is a man on the edge of himself. His past is filled with secrets, shadows, guilt, and ghosts. Then a dubious police buddy he hasn't seen in a year introduces him to a mysterious woman who says her business is shadows. What she knows about what lies between the darkness and the light inside men is more than Ritter may want to find out, and much more than he can resist learning. It's said that to try to forget is to try to conceal, and concealing evidence is a crime. But maybe revelation is another kind of crime-against nature.
Kris Saknussemm, the widely acclaimed author of the sci-fi smash Zanesville, now delves into another genre, and another world-a world where even the sunlight is shadowy and where deviancy is the norm. Private Midnight is a journey into the seedy, sexy, underbelly of life-crime noir for a new generation.
September 3, 2013
SICK BOOK ! Absolutely astonishing. Rarely have I read a book that transcends genre so well. You may call it 'psychoerotic neonoir' but I believe Private Midnight is so much more than just a label. The bleak, dark, violent, sexy, intense and bizarre atmosphere of the book will be haunting me for a long, long time, just like David Lynch's Inland Empire and David Cronenberg's Videodrome still do.
Kris Saknussemm is a master of fiction and story telling. Private midnight is wonderfully written and crafted. It's one of these books that make you feel like the author leaves nothing to chance as you are reading, which turns out to be true at the end. As the mystery unravels, slowly but surely, you find yourself living Birch's 'nightmare', experiencing something you have never experienced before. You never know where Saknussemm is taking you next, which makes the book one hell of a page-turner.
The mystique of Private Midnight is truly unique and dreamy, nightmarish and unexpected. Some very interesting concepts and issues are also cleverly evoked throughout the book.
Music plays a very important role in the novel as it sets the mood perfectly. The soundtrack is exquisite and I was delighted to find that someone uploaded a concert of Kris's band online - Brilliant performance by the way - http://vimeo.com/20268036
Private Midnight is one of the best and most surprising books I have ever read. The word genius gets thrown around a lot, but when it comes to literature, Kris Sakknussemm comes really close to it.
Kris Saknussemm is a master of fiction and story telling. Private midnight is wonderfully written and crafted. It's one of these books that make you feel like the author leaves nothing to chance as you are reading, which turns out to be true at the end. As the mystery unravels, slowly but surely, you find yourself living Birch's 'nightmare', experiencing something you have never experienced before. You never know where Saknussemm is taking you next, which makes the book one hell of a page-turner.
The mystique of Private Midnight is truly unique and dreamy, nightmarish and unexpected. Some very interesting concepts and issues are also cleverly evoked throughout the book.
Music plays a very important role in the novel as it sets the mood perfectly. The soundtrack is exquisite and I was delighted to find that someone uploaded a concert of Kris's band online - Brilliant performance by the way - http://vimeo.com/20268036
Private Midnight is one of the best and most surprising books I have ever read. The word genius gets thrown around a lot, but when it comes to literature, Kris Sakknussemm comes really close to it.
September 20, 2010
PRIVATE MIDNIGHT BY KRIS SAKNUSSEMM: From the author of the quirky and outright bizarre Zanesville comes a new novel that takes the classic noir detective story and boils it down . . . then bakes it . . . then deep fries it; and throws in a bunch of sex and kinky stuff. The resulting recipe is Saknussemm’s Private Midnight.
Saknussemm harnesses the voice and feel of a classic, noir detective novel from the very first page. Detective Birch Ritter has everything a detective of his type needs: a crummy, tough job that takes up all his time, he seems to never sleep, and has a sordid and dark past filled with tragedy and bad choices that constantly come back to haunt him and the reader. Private Midnight has two stories going on: one is the case that Ritter needs to solve, and the horrifically mangled bodies keep turning up; the other is a strange introduction to a type of therapist who uses elaborate mind-games combined with dominatrix-style sex acts, all with the apparent goal of getting Ritter to pour out his heart and his past, and move on with his used up life.
Whether you’re looking for a gritty detective story or something with some sexual spiciness to it (or perhaps both), you’ll thoroughly enjoy Private Midnight, with its unique voice and complex story that will leave you turning the page just to find out what’s going to happen next.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Saknussemm harnesses the voice and feel of a classic, noir detective novel from the very first page. Detective Birch Ritter has everything a detective of his type needs: a crummy, tough job that takes up all his time, he seems to never sleep, and has a sordid and dark past filled with tragedy and bad choices that constantly come back to haunt him and the reader. Private Midnight has two stories going on: one is the case that Ritter needs to solve, and the horrifically mangled bodies keep turning up; the other is a strange introduction to a type of therapist who uses elaborate mind-games combined with dominatrix-style sex acts, all with the apparent goal of getting Ritter to pour out his heart and his past, and move on with his used up life.
Whether you’re looking for a gritty detective story or something with some sexual spiciness to it (or perhaps both), you’ll thoroughly enjoy Private Midnight, with its unique voice and complex story that will leave you turning the page just to find out what’s going to happen next.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
March 24, 2009
Told in the voice of the crime noir classics, with intense erotica and unsettling psychological horror in abundance, Detective Birch Ritter's story is one I can guarantee you've never heard. Over the course of his unhappy and unfaithful life, he has seen much of the surface darkness of humanity--the crimes we commit against each other, the lies we sell--but with the introduction to what he at first assumes to be a high class hooker, he is exposed to an inner darkness that even he could never have imagined. A darkness that both seduces and repels, and in the end--reveals and transforms.
There is so much to see in this book, so much to hear and feel, and so much to learn. It is an assault on the senses, a stinging whip and a tickling feather, and a lesson in division that vividly illustrates the tenuous nature of borders. Good or evil, torment or salvation, pleasure or pain, fear or hope, submission or dominance...male or female--where do the distinctions lie?
Others may say Private Midnight is not for the squeamish, but I say it is exactly what the squeamish need--to shake 'em up and wake 'em up.
There is so much to see in this book, so much to hear and feel, and so much to learn. It is an assault on the senses, a stinging whip and a tickling feather, and a lesson in division that vividly illustrates the tenuous nature of borders. Good or evil, torment or salvation, pleasure or pain, fear or hope, submission or dominance...male or female--where do the distinctions lie?
Others may say Private Midnight is not for the squeamish, but I say it is exactly what the squeamish need--to shake 'em up and wake 'em up.
March 29, 2009
This is one of those books that no matter how many times you read it, something new will pop out at you. What you think is going to be a detective story quickly turns into a soul searching experience when Det. Ritter meets Genevieve. Past experiences, sexuality and the supernatural all come into play. This book made me ask myself how much would you be willing to go outside of society's norms to be your true inner self? What would you be willing to give up and change? Could you stay sane in the process or would you become another statistic? Could you let go of not only your mistakes, but your entire life to be reborn?
If you want to be freaked out and take a trip into your soul you should read this book.
If you want to be freaked out and take a trip into your soul you should read this book.
June 17, 2011
The jacket describes this book as a "psychoerotic noir fairytale" and that doesn't even begin to describe the wild ride that is Private Midnight. Birch Ritter is a tough as nails LAPD homicide detective whose life is coming unraveled. His girlfriend shot him, his wife divorced him, and even his partner asked for a transfer. Now, as he investigates two suspicious suicides, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious and beautifull woman, Genevieve, who offers to unlock the secrets of his past and his future potential. The hard-boiled tone of the prose contrasts nicely with the surreal and fantastical images from within Genevieve's world. Det. Ritter will never be the same at the end of the book, and neither will the reader.
March 7, 2010
A crooked combination of Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn, Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore and Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf. It comes off with the flavors of all 3 of these books with an added off-hand first person prose properly imitating noir. It isn't Saknussemm's forte, noir, but he gets it right. Sometimes the sentences are too jagged, like James Ellroy without the jazz, but it's easy to overlook. What this book is most importantly is something metaphysical and something existential. It is about solipsosm and also about coexistence. Anyone who takes the book at gave value does themselves a great disservice. it is traumatic in parts and enlightening in others, and so as to not spoil anything I will say only that it is a novel about finding yourself.
July 4, 2019
This book took some time & effort to get through. (Too many 5 page sessions?) Hard case homicide dick ends up obsessed with and by a mysterious woman who, like her home, is different-shifting- with every visit. Haunted by “El Miedo” Officer Ritter looks for redemption and hopes for love from Genevieve, the unfathomable woman who seems-to know all about him (and everyone-else for that matter) & gives him ‘homework’ between visits. Better as I read for longer stretches.
Questions: Why are important characters, ie the psychic, conveniently recalled on page 290, in time to answer all questions and clear the fog away in one blast. Deus de Machina?
Questions: Why are important characters, ie the psychic, conveniently recalled on page 290, in time to answer all questions and clear the fog away in one blast. Deus de Machina?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2013
This is one of those books that makes the reader feel very uncomfortable: whatever happens next is not going to be okay. It also made this reader feel confident that I was in good hands. A less skilled writer than Saknussemm could not so successfully mess with genre, with emotion, indeed even with physics. Pulp, noir, erotica, and horror all churn together in Detective Birch Ritter's nightmarish entanglement with the hypnotic Genevieve Wyvern. Describing the plot would be beside the point. This is one to read, and then read again (after a long shower.)
February 4, 2009
A crime-noir thriller, full of great one-liners, innuendo, and grizzled characters. But the answer to this case is a bit more than unpredictable-it will change this hardened investigator's life forever.
November 28, 2011
During the initial chapters of this book, I didn't think I'd care for it. But once Birch visits Genevieve for the second time, the novel takes an occult turn and kept me turning the pages until the end.
April 12, 2015
There's a lot of crudity, sex and supernatural going on in this book. It is well written, about corruption and seeing yourself as you are. But I think, not to everyone's taste. But if dark is your thing, I say go for it.
Want to read
March 28, 2009Kris Saknussemm read in Seattle this month, so I heard him read from this 'noir' novel. I read Zanesville and look forward to his 2nd book.
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