Sunset Empire, Josh Weiss
Sunset Empire, Josh Weiss
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Sunset Empire

Author: Josh Weiss

Narrator: Fred Berman

Unabridged: 13 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/28/2023

Synopsis

The Korean War rages on in this thrilling alternate history sequel to Beat the Devils: Morris Baker, now a private investigator, must solve a missing persons case in the midst of an endless battle.

December, 1959: The Korean War rages on.

Protesting the bloody conflict, a Korean-American man by the name of William Yang suddenly blows himself up in the middle of a Los Angeles department store just before Christmas, which leads the U.S. government to reopen the internment camps used during World War II. President Joseph McCarthy's America has never been more on edge, paranoid, and above all, dangerous.

Several weeks later, a woman hires Morris Baker, now working as a private investigator, to track down her missing husband — Henry Kissinger — who may have a shadowy connection to Yang's purported terrorist attack. The ensuing investigation for the missing State Department consultant working for Vice President Richard Nixon sends Baker on another thrilling adventure of deceit, intrigue, sex, murder, and conspiracy where the safety of the entire world may hang in the balance.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Allison on June 15, 2023

Marginally better than the first novel. This one involves another convoluted plot in an alternative-history 1950s America in which Joseph McCarthy is president, the Korean War is ongoing and the country is in the grip of an authoritarian anti-Communist, anti-Semitic government. Featured players in t......more

Goodreads review by Rachel on June 29, 2023

A new subgenre of detective fiction features alternative versions of our world. For example, in “Sunset Empire: A Morris Baker Novel” by Josh Weiss (Grand Central), while World War II and the Holocaust did take place, Senator Joseph McCarthy, rather than Dwight D. Eisenhower, was elected the 34th pr......more

Goodreads review by ShanKL on April 20, 2023

Thank you Grand Central Pub for the complimentary copy of Sunset Empire, Morris Baker #2. I was super psyched to receive this #bookmail especially after reading book #1, Beat the Devils. Sunset Empire continues the saga of living in a world where House of UN-Americans (HUES) hunt those working to und......more

Goodreads review by Hillary on May 12, 2023

A compelling follow up to the adventures of Detective Morris Baker in Beat The Devils. Early in the novel it was difficult to root for an unlikable protagonist but as the story unfolded I came to understand and empathize with Morris. He is a flawed anti-hero but there is finally hope for his redempt......more

Goodreads review by John on May 26, 2023

Alternate history if Joseph McCarthy had been elected president with Nixon his vice president. Fun use of historical figures (doing alternate things that are consistent with their real selves), written into characters throughout the story. Fun to look up the actual people and judge for yourself if t......more

Quotes

"Another clever collision between history and what-might-have-been, but this time with the USA's misadventures in East Asia and Indochina swept into the geopolitical storm. A gripping and intriguing gumshoe adventure laced with gravitas and wit."—Ian R MacLeod, Sidewise Award-winning author of Wake Up and Dream

"To my delight, this book surpassed Beat the Devils. Sunset Empire kept me guessing and I enjoyed all of the story’s twists and turns. If you love noir, crime stories, hard-nosed detectives, history, and alternate reality, then this book is for you. Although it’s a work of fiction, Sunset Empire is very prescient to what’s currently happening in the world. I’m ready for more Morris Baker stories!"—Michael Kronenberg Artist, Graphic Designer Film Noir Foundation/NOIR CITY Magazine

“Bright, terrifying, alternate-fiction-that-could-be fact, detective Morris Baker returns full force to the scene of a brand-new crime. Pick up Sunset Empire, and you won’t put it down until the very last word.”—Paul Lally, author of the Amerika and Rise Again trilogies

Josh’s writing is beautifully visual, with characters so perfectly realized, that his melding of real history and fiction takes on a poignancy that transcends the ‘What If?’ genre and makes you worry, ‘What If Again?’. I can’t wait for another Morris Baker case!—Ben Parker, writer/director of Burial & The Chamber

Praise for Beat the Devils——

"Reading Josh Weiss’s debut novel feels like riding shotgun with a friend who’s driving expertly through a winter storm... Weiss creates palpable emotional depth, particularly for Baker, whose yearslong tactic of burying trauma has stopped working."—New York Times Book Review

"Beat The Devils by Josh Weiss blew me away. A brilliant alternate history, a riveting fifties-era noir crime caper, and an edge of your seat thriller—all wrapped into one! This is a stunning novel that takes readers for a mind-bending ride with elements that seem shockingly relevant in our current day and age."—Mark Greaney #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Gray Man

“Tight, well-paced, inventive, and inspirational, Weiss’ splendid debut is classic noir tinged with the slightest pinch of science fiction; readers can thrill to the bits of dissonant history they recognize, even as they revel in the mayhem and suspense that permeate the text.”—Mystery Scene Magazine

“Josh Weiss has announced himself as a bold new voice in the world of pulp noir fiction. One part Raymond Chandler, one part Philip Roth, a dash of Ben Hecht — and you’re about halfway there.”—J.D. Lifshitz, co-founder of BoulderLight Pictures and producer of The Vigil

"Alternate histories are difficult to craft, but the world of Beat the Devils is built with hair-raising perfection. Weiss holds a warped mirror to the American Dream — revealing dark undercurrents thread through with troubling, yet true, history. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!"—Ryan Graudin, award-winning author of Wolf by Wolf

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