Behind Sunset

In this comical noir tale from the acclaimed author of the Joe the Bouncer series, a struggling writer follows a mystery into one of Los Angeles’ darkest corners: the intersection of the porn industry and New Age wellness.

For generations, Hollywood has attracted all sorts of dreamers―and then has slowly crushed their aspirations. Elliott Gross is one such case; fresh out of college, he moved west from New York with hopes of writing for the silver screen and living a life of fame and fortune. A couple of years later, he’s writing for an adult magazine and living in a garage. The year is 1994 and, with the rise of the internet, the era of print pornography is in its twilight, but Raunchy’s owner has enough “catch-and-kill” secrets in the vault to ensure that his power will persist as long as his silence remains valuable.

When Gross is sent to write a profile on the company’s newest starlet, he discovers that she has vanished seemingly without a trace. To find her, he embarks on a twisted journey through a business both seedy and carnivalesque. Rumors of a sensitive VHS tape held in the vault, which may hold the secret to Crystal’s whereabouts, stir around Elliott and he stumbles into a corpse. Before his search can be concluded, a shadow of suspicion falls on Gross and his position is terminated. Then he washes up at a celebrity-anchored New Age wellness brand and discovers a world far darker and more cruel than the porn industry.

Combining David Gordon’s trademark humor with a stylish, unflinching, and unpredictable plot, Behind Sunset is a comic and noir-tinged tour through Tinseltown that uncovers darkness and lightness, in equal measure, from the most unexpected of sources.

Gordon has a knack for twisty story lines, nonstop action, and over-the-top sequences.”
―Publishers Weekly on Against the Law

There is plenty of humor in the mix, as in an Ed McBain or Elmore Leonard novel, and plenty of action, too, realistically delivered without being egregiously graphic.”
―BookPage on The Pigeon

Nobody writes a mystery quite like David Gordon. . . . Behind Sunset is an atmospheric neo-noir with flashes of dark wit.”
—CrimeReads

There’s always a sly wink behind Gordon’s prose that lets the reader know it’s all gonna come together in the end. It does, but only when you’re done laughing your ass off. Hardboiled Hollywood, as only a New Yorker could write it.”
―Kirkus

The journey takes some scattershot twists and turns, veering from the slapstick, to the hardboiled and the bittersweet, but it never ceases to entertain. Behind Sunset is so smart, so dirty, and so funny.”
—Crime Fiction Review

David Gordon was born in New York City. His first novel, The Serialist, won the VCU/Cabell First Novel Award and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. It was also made into a major motion picture in Japan. His work has also appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times, Purple, and Fence, among other publications.

See more titles by David Gordon