A review by cnyreader
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard

4.0

I didn't know what to expect from a book titled "Cocaine Nights", so I was surprised when I really, really liked it. Charles' brother, Frank, has been accused of multiple murders in a tiny resort town in Spain and has pleaded guilty. Charles travels to the town to investigate what happened for himself, knowing his brother could not have harmed anyone, let alone killed several people. Estrella de Mar is a thriving, exciting town with an interesting cast of characters. Charles falls into the charms of some of the more charismatic among those characters and the result is a dive into this murder mystery, way down into the dark underbelly of what drives us all to have "successful" society.

If this book isn't a movie, it needs to be. I loved the slowly unfolding plot lines- slow enough that it builds anticipation, but not too slow that it's frustrating. The characters really were fascinating and it's left to the reader to decide who's telling the truth, if such a thing really exists.

Food: This is a murder mystery dinner. As the courses go on, more clues are revealed, and all the food is themed to go with the dinner. Dessert is served with rich, dark port and carried in under a cloche, waiting until the last minute to be revealed as...