Scan barcode
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
5.0
When the solicit for this book came out, my coworker and I agreed that this book was either going to be excellent or terrible. I'm thrilled that it was the former. I'm usually not a fan of the muddy color pallet, but here it's used not just to imply grittiness, but to acknowledge the constance of the California wildfires happening in the background.
The background is what bumps this book from four to five stars. It's anti-capitalist, pro-rebellion, anti-gentrification, anti-realtors (which I very much feel), environmentally aware, and anti-white supremacist. But none of that is really the focus. This is a murder mystery with an unreliable detective. The plot and dialogue is believable, and [a:Alberto Ponticelli|61325|Alberto Ponticelli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art is fantastic.
I recommend this for people who like the show "Death In Paradise", semi-woke murder mystery fans, Jonathan Coulton and anyone else who hates California, and people who like complex three-dimensional characters and stories where the heroes are realistically fucked up and the villains are realistically intentioned.
The background is what bumps this book from four to five stars. It's anti-capitalist, pro-rebellion, anti-gentrification, anti-realtors (which I very much feel), environmentally aware, and anti-white supremacist. But none of that is really the focus. This is a murder mystery with an unreliable detective. The plot and dialogue is believable, and [a:Alberto Ponticelli|61325|Alberto Ponticelli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s art is fantastic.
I recommend this for people who like the show "Death In Paradise", semi-woke murder mystery fans, Jonathan Coulton and anyone else who hates California, and people who like complex three-dimensional characters and stories where the heroes are realistically fucked up and the villains are realistically intentioned.
kkevinhb's review against another edition
5.0
This book’s really something special. The kind of character and setting complexity that makes for a compelling story. Feels like what the Safdie brothers would write if they made a comic. All the story beats reflect both social commentary on a flawed and broken system, as well as character flaws in each individual protagonist and antagonist. There’s no one to wholeheartedly root for, and that ambiguity propels the story forward instead of weighing it down. Art style is appropriately uncomfortable, and the change of art style between real-time scenes and flashbacks is brilliant.
philipf's review against another edition
5.0
Homeless noir with history lessons about Venice Beach and a condemnation of gentrification.
ponch22's review
3.0
Heard about TKO Studios on a podcast a few months ago & decided to pick up a few of their novels with the coupon code they offered. I finally had time to read one, and I picked [b:Goodnight Paradise|43672246|Goodnight Paradise|Joshua Dysart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548127229l/43672246._SY75_.jpg|67947515] to start with based on its striking cover art and back-cover logline "Venice Beach, California / Sun. Surf. Sex. Money. Murder." It sounded intriguing...
And the story created by [a:Joshua Dysart|63222|Joshua Dysart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389368976p2/63222.jpg] is pretty good—Eddie, a homeless alcoholic living behind a Venice house sublet as several Air BnBs, finds the body of a runaway girl and her dog in a dumpster. He vows to figure out who murdered her and gets caught up in a plot that could make an interesting movie.
However, I had a hard time connecting to the story because [a:Alberto Ponticelli|61325|Alberto Ponticelli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s artwork was difficult to look at at times. His characters would often have faces or bodies that contorted in ways humans rarely do—one character even had brown eyes in one panel and blue eyes in the panel directly below it (though I guess that would be [a:Giulia Brusco|568976|Giulia Brusco|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s fault, not Ponticelli's). There were other characters who looked completely different between close up, medium, and long shots.
So while the mystery Dysart created was compelling, and the exploration of themes like homelessness, capitalism, yuppies, and mental health was interesting, the art was just so disappointing.
And the story created by [a:Joshua Dysart|63222|Joshua Dysart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389368976p2/63222.jpg] is pretty good—Eddie, a homeless alcoholic living behind a Venice house sublet as several Air BnBs, finds the body of a runaway girl and her dog in a dumpster. He vows to figure out who murdered her and gets caught up in a plot that could make an interesting movie.
However, I had a hard time connecting to the story because [a:Alberto Ponticelli|61325|Alberto Ponticelli|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s artwork was difficult to look at at times. His characters would often have faces or bodies that contorted in ways humans rarely do—one character even had brown eyes in one panel and blue eyes in the panel directly below it (though I guess that would be [a:Giulia Brusco|568976|Giulia Brusco|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s fault, not Ponticelli's). There were other characters who looked completely different between close up, medium, and long shots.
So while the mystery Dysart created was compelling, and the exploration of themes like homelessness, capitalism, yuppies, and mental health was interesting, the art was just so disappointing.
More...