Scorch City

The “master at creating hallucinatory noir atmosphere” returns to the unnamed city in this follow-up to The Vaults set in an alternate 1950s America (Library Journal).

Journalist Frank Frings rouses Lt. Piet Westermann in the middle of the night with an unusual request: move the body of a dead blonde from where she was found—on the bank of a river near the utopian Uhuru Community, a shantytown under threat from a deadly coalition of racists and anti-Communists—and find out how the body actually got there.

As the investigation deepens, the deaths and disappearances add up, and the detectives of the City must uncover the truth behind Uhuru and the murders, while keeping their own dark secrets hidden within the streets.

The second book in the City Trilogy, Scorch City is “a treat for fans of noir and science fiction—and pretty much anyone in between” (Booklist).

“Fans of writers like Caleb Carr, James Ellroy, and E.L. Doctorow need to give Ball a try.” —Library Journal