Country: USA
Genre: Hardboiled/Noir
Pages: 277
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Oh Josh Stallings....where were you all my life? Hidden? Somewhere else? Anywhere but in front of a computer screen? Dear readers, if you like crime fiction and yet cannot commit into it because you fear that it will corrupt the your literary endeavors, smile. Beautiful, Naked And Dead might just be the perfect compromise. The story of Moses McGuire is a story of crime sure, but it's first and foremost HIS story. It's a peak into the heart of a man who's been legitimately bruised by life and decided not to take shit anymore. Josh Stallings brings something new to crime fiction. A brutal honesty and a desire to understand the people who dwell on the street, mulling over their next shot at the big dream. Stallings puts a face on the hardships of the street.
The story opens to an obviously depressed Moses who receives a phone call from his friend Kelly. When I say "friend" you have to read "platonic love" here. She's a lot younger than he is and tends the bar at the stripper place where they both work. Kelly is the image of purity for Moses. She's a doorway to a better life that he didn't figure how to take yet. So she calls Moses, visibly panicked, mumbling about needing his help and what not. He snaps out of his depressive mood and goes out to meet her. As the title implies, it doesn't go very well of her. I would ever call her fate an "unspeakable horror". In front of an existential vacuum, Moses does the only thing left for him to do. Find the culprit. He does just that by doing what he does best. Going places and beating the ever-loving crap out of people to get answers.
There's one thing that doesn't quite work with Beautiful, Naked And Dead, but somehow it fits with what Josh Stallings is trying to do. It's a big "no-no" in the writing classes and it makes things quite confusing sometimes, but Stallings makes it. The bad guys are somewhat cardboardish. There are a lot of them, most of them don't even have a name and end up dead. The identity of the mastermind bad guy remains unsure throughout the whole book and most most times I stopped and asked myself "Wait...who's he shooting at again?" But it works. Because Moses doesn't know that either. The story Josh Stallings is telling is not about them, not about what they do, but about his protagonist trying to lift himself above the inferno he's been simmering into for so long.
Moses McGuire is the most elaborate, strong and charming protagonist I have read about since I discovered Dennis Lehane's Patrick Kenzie a few years ago. He's a man that got played by the others wherever he went in his life. He doesn't trust anything but his own instinct and yet he doesn't come across as a self-righteous turd. He is a lonely man with a blurry dream of happiness. His solitude is neither badass or comfortable. He hates it, fights it and yet it's the only place where he doesn't have to fight for his life. He is a walking pile of conflicted emotions and he's striving to get better. If you pick up Beautiful, Naked And Dead, you will grow extremely fond of Moses. He doesn't follow any character model, the clichés fly over his shoulders, but never stick to him. There is truth in his ways.
While I read this book, those who were already turned to Josh Stallings all told me Out There Bad, the second Moses McGuire novel is out doing Beautiful, Naked And Dead in every way. While I find it hard to believe, that makes me extremely eager and enthusiastic about reading some more Stallings. And so should you (hence the link to Amazon I put on top of this review). Let go of what you know about crime fiction so far. Let go about the obvious parallel with the Norman Mailer novel. This is something else. Josh Stallings might be one of the most talented newcomers in the literary landscape this year. Beautiful, Naked And Dead is worth every second you're going to put into it. Expect a review of Out There Bad later this year.