Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love

(Hardback)

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Description

A campy dark comedy for the angry and the disenchanted.

Last November, I found a dead body inside the freezer that my roommate keeps inside the garage. My first thought was to call the police, but Jignesh hadnt paid his share of the rent just yet. It wasnt due until the thirtieth, and you know how difficult it is to find people who pay on time. Jignesh always does. Also, he had season tickets for the LA Opera, and well . . . Madame Butterfly. Tosca. The Flying Dutchman . . . at the Dorothy Chandler . . . you cannot say no to that, can you Well, its been a few good months nowMadame Butterfly was just superb, thank you. However, last Friday, I found a second body inside that stupid freezer in the garage. This time Im evicting Jignesh. My house isnt a mortuary . . . alas, I need to come up with some money first. Youll understand, therefore, that I desperately need to sell this novel. Just enough copies to help me survive until I find a job . . . what could I do that doesnt demand too much effort We have a real treasure here, anyhow. Some chapters are almost but not quite pornographic. You could safely lend this to nana afterward!

Reviews

The most irredeemable and meticulously fashioned ne'er-do-wells I've ever rooted for. Murder in LA has never been such lurid, frothy fun. Dave Caplan, Executive Producer of The Conners

Fresh, highly original, and whiplash funny, Allende serves up a story in a voice like no other Ive ever read. Its often profane but by equal turns poignantand I found myself laughing out loud from the start. Susan Jane Gilman, author ofDonna Has Left the Building

The unapologetically wicked characters of Carlos Allendes darkly comedic novel are beyond salvation, no matter the legal (or emotional) crimes theyre committing. But thats the fun for us. Allendes masterful comedy of errors comes out hot and reaches a frenetic pace by the climax of Jigneshs and Charlies hijinksbut alls well that ends well, even if it didnt end well for those who crossed their paths. Funny, shocking, and depraved, this novel warns us about what happens when our darkest impulses drag themselves into the light. Charles Jensen, author ofNanopedia

"Charlies penchant for digressive cinematic deep cutsis endearing.Kirkus Reviews

Its a murder mystery, its a crime drama, its all kinds of things wrapped up in this wonderful comedic novel. Yet, theres pathos; theres is something poignant in the story. . . .Funny and fascinating at the same time, theres a poignant aspect to both of these characters.Norman B from Life Elsewhere

Theres humor, theres sadness, and theres this poignant undercurrent of recognition. . . .Both characters are flawed and yet we root for them! Its [full of] teeny tiny little jokes that were awesome." Shelagh Connor Shapiro fromWrite the Book: Conversations on Craft

A very good read. Very excited for people to read it! Joey Held from Good People, Cool Things

"Carlos Allende has written a very strange and complex story of murder, mayhem, and maybe a little madness, filled with wacky characters, lots of dark humor, and some pretty unbelievable situations."Rosi Hollinbeck from Seattle Book Review

"Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love is a delightful beach read, a lampoon of American culture that provides plenty of suspenseful fun."Sarah Osman from the arts fuse

"Its a very funny tale of an unlikely and unusual relationship between two gay men and murder."Alternative Perspectives

"Allende's take on the mystery novel is a darkly humorous one, and that's a good thing."Edge Media Network'sSummer Books Roundup

"Its been a long time since Ive read a book as unabashedly fun as Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love, and I think itll be a while before I read another book that so deftly marries whimsy with wrongdoing, that makes me laugh out loud while cringing at the same time." -- Genevieve Hartman from Independent Book Review

Author Bio

Carlos Allende is a media psychology scholar and a writer of fiction. He has written two previous novels: Cuadrillas y Contradanzas, a historical melodrama set during the War of Reform in Mexico, and Love, or the Witches of Windward Circle, a horror farce set in Venice, California. Based on his research on narrative persuasion and audience engagement, he developed the course The Psychology of Compelling Storytelling, which he teaches in the Writers Program at UCLA Extension. He lives in Santa Monica with his husband.