Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
‘Down Solo’ is a fascinating book. Even without the paranormal elements, it’d be a pretty kick-ass mystery, one involving strung-out kids, burning houses, gold mines, shadiness on both sides of the Mexican border, and a truly ruthless femme fatale. Weave it with the supernatural, though, and it becomes a special beast. Unlike so many other novels that attempt this kind of trick, “Down Solo” blends the two genres perfectly, without letting one override the other: even when things get trippy (and they get *very* trippy; an impromptu operation to remove a bullet is a particular highlight, for reasons I won’t spoil), they still manage to stay grounded.
In other words, this is probably the most believable novel you’ll ever read about an ex-junkie detective who comes back from his own murder. And even as it moves at breakneck pace, there’s a melancholy, even a vulnerability here that truly resounds.
