- Paperback: 316 pages
- Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing (June 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1596921862
- ISBN-13: 978-1596921863
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 14 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #495,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In his extremely dark but very effective first thriller, former cabdriver and homeless counselor Will Christopher Baer takes that old urban legend of the man who wakes up in a hotel bathtub full of ice to discover that somebody has removed one of his kidneys and whips it up into a modernized Edgar Allan Poe nightmare. Baer's hero is in fact called Phineas Poe--an ex-cop who spent six years digging up dirt in and on the Denver P.D.'s Internal Affairs Division. On his first night out after a nervous breakdown and a six-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, Poe is picked up by a prostitute named Jude who drugs his drink and deftly removes his kidney.
Poe heads for the Witch's Teat, a sex shop where his friend Crumb works. "Crumb isn't really a doctor. He does cheap abortions and gunshot wounds and even dental work for the mad and desperate," Baer writes in deceptively plain present-tense prose, which quickly mesmerizes like electronic music. "Crumb reads a lot. He has a closet full of old surgical textbooks and a lot of stolen equipment. And he doesn't try to fake you. If you come to him with a ruptured bowel or a crushed spine, he gives you a cup of tea and sends you to the hospital." Poe learns that his kidney has been replaced by a bag of heroin--which could kill him if it dissolves. Intent on retrieving his stolen organ, he traces Jude to a bowling alley called the Inferno. Strangely enough, with Jude he reluctantly discovers the chance of love and family that he thought was gone forever when his wife died. In lesser hands, this flash of light in a roomful of noir could easily have spoiled everything. But Baer makes it all seem as natural as whistling in the dark. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Although there are obvious biblical allusions in Baer's stylized debut, this noir tale takes no clearly biblical route. The characters' names promise a governing metaphor: there's Jude, an alluring sociopath; Eve, a black-tongued lesbian; Rose White, a virginal med student; and a bowling alley called the Inferno. There's also a beautiful young man afflicted since birth with HIV (born to die) who begs for a kiss before his demise. Even the title foreshadows a betrayal of biblical proportions. Yet this unrelentingly dark story, set in Colorado and Texas, features mostly underworld characters and a surreal sense of reality. Narrator Phineas Poe, a former investigator for the internal affairs division of Denver's police department, offers only a hallucinatory account that is both compelling and confusing. Just released from a psychiatric hospital, he meets Jude, has sex and awakens in a tub full of ice. He discovers that she's cut into him and stolen one of his kidneys. Despite his weakened state, he tracks her down. On his way, he encounters the Blister, a corrupt cop who reveals that Jude replaced his kidney with a bag of heroin and is using him to smuggle dope. Should the bag dissolve, Poe will die. Should he remove it, he might find a bomb. On the other hand, Jude may be exploiting him as a live carrier of his other kidney for efficient delivery to the man with the money. Poe definitely has problems, not the least of which is the haunting memory of his wife's wretched death. His dilemma only worsens when he joins Jude in her nefarious career, falls in love with her and anticipates her betrayal. Yet she's not what she seems and where they ultimately end up provides this intriguing tale with a quirky, redemptive glow. Editor, Courtney Hodell; agent; Daniel Mandel. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sordid cocktail spiked with LSD,
This review is from: Kiss Me, Judas (Paperback)
Will Christopher Baer has succeeded in taking this urban legend to the limit. From the moment we wake with Phineas Poe - naked and violated in a blood-stained bathtub full of ice - KISS ME, JUDAS opens the door to an underworld seeped in depravation. It's true that several variations on this popular theme have emerged over recent years, but I doubt that many can boast such a mix of wit, grit and thought-provoking surrealism. Poe's drug-tarred struggle to accept his wife's death, whilst falling for the woman who has become his doctor, lover and attacker, is beautifully told. Jude is both the angel and devil incarnate - a staple in the ex-cop's side as he balances on the edge between blurred reality and mental instability. But read between the lines and KISS ME, JUDAS is more than just a thriller, more than just a love story, more than just a tale of drugs and lust - it lifts the taboo on a host of subjects that most of us would be happy to forget but, perhaps, do well to remember. Although the ending is more bizarre than it is climatic, this book deserves full marks for freshness and originality. Baer's writing style ensures an easy read; snappy dialogue and short, punchy paragraphs make this a dangerous book to put down. Pick up a copy for yourself and see! Check out Baer's KISS ME, JUDAS! Another recommendation I need to make is an oddball, very entertaining novel called THE LOSERS CLUB (Complete Restored Edition) by Richard Perez.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Holy Crap,
By Amber (Boston. MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kiss Me Judas A Novel (Hardcover)
I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up. Wow was I surprised. This story is completely original. Phineas is a very strange character. I found myself wondering if this all was a brief hallusination, or if these things were in fact occuring. I would love to see them weave this story into a movie. This book is not for all. I loved to be grossed out, and read things just for pure shock value. Any book where the protagionst awakens with a missing kidney-is a book I love to read. I would reccomend this to anyone who enjoys anything out of the norm.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
very strong book,
By Kabol, Johnathan N. "rhetorics" (Little Rock) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kiss Me Judas (Paperback)
This, to me, was like reading Bukowski pumped with steroids. This is a true noir and an excellent book.This was a little difficult to read quickley, being a first-person, limited present narrative. The reader finds themselves slowed down quite a bit, stumbling over which character said what or if something wasn't spoken at all; this makes for a very conscious read. This is an almost dizzying writing style, but when it is done well IT HAS A VERY POWERFUL EFFECT. Baer is certainly a great writer.
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