“Shoot the Moon is rich with evocative descriptions. This eerie and lyrical book has faint echoes of Chinatown and The Black Dahlia, but Ms. Barry has a distinctive voice that’s all her own.”
Shoot the Moon
A Rainey Hall Mystery
Description
Private investigator Rainey Hall stumbles into a dark mystery from her past that embroils her with an underground society of artists, a dangerous new drug, and a string of violent deaths.
While in high school, Rainey spent a summer taking advantage of the wildfires near Los Angeles to break into the empty houses of the rich and famous with her best friends, Alice and Spencer, committing small acts of larceny. These acts of rebellion culminated in a big theft from a powerful, well-connected musician with underworld ties. Days later, Alice went missing.
Now—nine years later—Rainey is a private detective chasing a missing person case. Chloe, a young vulnerable artist with a history of substance abuse, disappeared from her parents' house without a trace. As she digs into the case, Rainey not only discovers a string of missing artists, but connections to Alice, a case that had gone cold years ago. Diving back into her own past and Alice’s disappearance, the investigation quickly becomes more twisted and dangerous than Rainey'd ever anticipated. She unearths a mysterious society steeped in drugs, art, and some of the most influential people in Los Angeles.
Powerful forces begin to close in on Rainey as she finds herself in a race against time to save Chloe—and finally reveal the truth of what happened to Alice all those years ago.
Reviews
"Well-paced and features a psychologically complex cast of characters. Barry captures her protagonist’s history of trauma, loss, and addiction in ways that help this mystery ring true."
Shoot the Moon is a thriller that pieces together nicely the past and the present through the perspective of one ambitious private detective, Rainey. A heart-stopping tale of redemption and truth that you will truly not want to put down!
"Ava Barry showcases the grit of modern Los Angeles while drawing on the glamour and glitz of old Hollywood—and its fetid underbelly. Creepy plants, a hotel with a dark history, and an investigator with a dark past fuel this evocative novel. Shoot the Moon simmers with suspense."
