the Butcher Shop

by Neil Austin

Claire St.Claire's life is strange but predictable. Every night she works as a bartender and disc jockey at the Butcher Shop, a mobile, invitation-only rave operating out of abandoned warehouses and unrented commercial properties in and around downtown Denver. Each morning, once the Shoppers have slipped away, Claire returns to Dwight, her red and white Mustang, to catch a few hours of sleep, and dreams about a new life in Seattle. When her ex-boyfriend is found murdered after a night she can't remember, Claire must prove she didn't kill him. Unless, of course, she did. This was, perhaps, not the best night to start drinking again...

182 pages, Paperback

Published October 5, 2009

Reviews

[Moxie Mezcal]

An old-fashioned whodunnit set in the underground party scene. Hard-nosed hipster Claire St. Claire has to track down her estranged boyfriend's murderer to clear her own name. It's a familiar story adeptly told with a sense of sheer anarchic bliss, the literary equivalent of drunken karaoke, utterly irresistible.

[Chaz Desimone]

Even if this book didn't have interesting characters, a fast pace, in fact even if it didn't have a plot, it would be a scintillating read just in the witty, wisecracking writing style alone. The dialog is so sharp, ascerbic and real without being overdone, especially of the narrator and main character Claire St. Claire, that it's kind of like being at a kinky Disneyland without going on the rides--just enjoy the atmosphere. Great book. I rarely read a book for free, then pay to read more of the same author. Not so here--I can't wait to purchase the next one.