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Peace, Love and Haight: A Psychedelic Thriller
When San Francisco gallery owner Freddie Dorn gets rid of the city’s most ruthless drug dealer in the summer of ’69, he becomes an unlikely player in a deadly game—hunted by the mafia, courted by the cops, and risking everything if his hippie friends learn the truth.
The Summer of Love has soured. What was once a utopia of free-spirited idealism has rotted into a crime-ridden nightmare of heroin overdoses and tainted psychedelics. For Freddie, the breaking point comes when a former girlfriend dies from an overdose, and his best friend Van Monk loses his mind to bad acid. Determined to cleanse his neighborhood of the worst drug scourge, he secretly aligns with the SFPD to target the infamous Rat-Man Rathkin. But when their late-night meeting on the Golden Gate Bridge ends with the accidental death of the dealer, Dorn’s life takes a dangerous turn.
The cops are glad to be rid of the dealer. The West Coast Mob is also satisfied—Rathkin owed them a lot of money. But now both the cops and the mob see Dorn as a useful tool. With art sales lagging and rent due, he reluctantly agrees to serve as a “private third eye” for hire, feeding intel to both sides while vowing to only target the most dangerous criminals. But as he navigates a world of undercover detectives, mobsters, and counterculture cults—rescuing a young woman from a cult, dodging the corrupt “Hippie Frankenstein,” and delivering bribe money between criminals—Dorn’s carefully constructed double life starts to unravel.
Juggling a fractured love life with Alison and a fragile friendship with Van Monk, Freddie lives in constant fear of discovery. Because in 1969, nothing is worse than being outed as a narc. And if the wrong people find out, it won’t just be his reputation at stake—it’ll be his life.
Max Talley is the award-winning author of more than 50 short stories and essays, plus several mystery and horror novels, including Santa Fe Psychosis and Yesterday We Forget Tomorrow. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
High Praise for Peace, Love and Haight
"It’s the Haight in the late 60s. Fredrick Dorn, art dealer and reluctant snitch, battles a motley crew of mobsters, dealers, musicians and other off-the-wall strangers, all intent on murder—his.” —John Reed, author, The Kingfisher's Call
“The antihero in Max Talley’s roisterous novel lays bare the rot of late 1960s America, particularly the spiritual and social decay of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Talley unleashes a searing, incisive tale about the demise of the 1960s in which utopian notions of peace, free love, and community have been eclipsed by treachery, paranoia, and sex cults. The author takes a Gonzo-like journey through this vortex without making us feel dizzy or hopeless. Talley accomplishes this through a sophisticated sense of restraint and deft use of language.“ —Serge F. Kovaleski, former longtime investigative journalist, The New York Times
“The year is 1969. Love and peace have turned to fear and anger. Art gallery manager, Frederick Dorn, wants to clean up Haight Street, bring some normal back. What can one man do but go undercover for the cops. Max Talley takes us on a wild ride through the death of the Sixties with a brutal wit, vivid characters, and yes, a glimmer of hope.” —Melodie Johnson Howe, Edgar-nominated author, Mother Shadow
“It’s 1969 on Haight Street, and all that’s left of the Summer of Love is dregs. Gallery owner Frederick Dorn, haunted and hopeful, cynic and idealist, just wants make the street a little safer, even if that means dealing with the devil in the form of drug pushers, cops, and the Mafia. Hip, tense, and wildly propulsive, Peace, Love and Haight is an outstanding thriller, frightening to funny and back again in lightning leaps. As soon as you finish it, you’ll want to start again. —Cynthia Weiner, author, A Gorgeous Excitement
“Max Talley’s Peace, Love and Haight is a whirling novel, largely set in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district after the “Summer of Love” in 1969. Imagine an Elmore Leonard novel with an almost Brueghelian cast of crooked cops, predatory pushers, hopped-up hookers, teen-aged Jezebels, and horndog Jesus freaks. . . . Protagonist Freddie Dorn is learning street-life the hard way. Naturally, when a drug deal goes wrong in Baghdad-By-The-Bay, someone must go over the rail of the Golden Gate Bridge, no? Well, it’s not going to be Freddie Dorn. He’s getting smarter every day. Max Talley’s novel is a rollicking tale, filled with suspense and gnarly humor.” —Barnaby Conrad III, author, Jacques Villeglé and the Streets of Paris
The Summer of Love has soured. What was once a utopia of free-spirited idealism has rotted into a crime-ridden nightmare of heroin overdoses and tainted psychedelics. For Freddie, the breaking point comes when a former girlfriend dies from an overdose, and his best friend Van Monk loses his mind to bad acid. Determined to cleanse his neighborhood of the worst drug scourge, he secretly aligns with the SFPD to target the infamous Rat-Man Rathkin. But when their late-night meeting on the Golden Gate Bridge ends with the accidental death of the dealer, Dorn’s life takes a dangerous turn.
The cops are glad to be rid of the dealer. The West Coast Mob is also satisfied—Rathkin owed them a lot of money. But now both the cops and the mob see Dorn as a useful tool. With art sales lagging and rent due, he reluctantly agrees to serve as a “private third eye” for hire, feeding intel to both sides while vowing to only target the most dangerous criminals. But as he navigates a world of undercover detectives, mobsters, and counterculture cults—rescuing a young woman from a cult, dodging the corrupt “Hippie Frankenstein,” and delivering bribe money between criminals—Dorn’s carefully constructed double life starts to unravel.
Juggling a fractured love life with Alison and a fragile friendship with Van Monk, Freddie lives in constant fear of discovery. Because in 1969, nothing is worse than being outed as a narc. And if the wrong people find out, it won’t just be his reputation at stake—it’ll be his life.
Max Talley is the award-winning author of more than 50 short stories and essays, plus several mystery and horror novels, including Santa Fe Psychosis and Yesterday We Forget Tomorrow. He lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
High Praise for Peace, Love and Haight
"It’s the Haight in the late 60s. Fredrick Dorn, art dealer and reluctant snitch, battles a motley crew of mobsters, dealers, musicians and other off-the-wall strangers, all intent on murder—his.” —John Reed, author, The Kingfisher's Call
“The antihero in Max Talley’s roisterous novel lays bare the rot of late 1960s America, particularly the spiritual and social decay of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Talley unleashes a searing, incisive tale about the demise of the 1960s in which utopian notions of peace, free love, and community have been eclipsed by treachery, paranoia, and sex cults. The author takes a Gonzo-like journey through this vortex without making us feel dizzy or hopeless. Talley accomplishes this through a sophisticated sense of restraint and deft use of language.“ —Serge F. Kovaleski, former longtime investigative journalist, The New York Times
“The year is 1969. Love and peace have turned to fear and anger. Art gallery manager, Frederick Dorn, wants to clean up Haight Street, bring some normal back. What can one man do but go undercover for the cops. Max Talley takes us on a wild ride through the death of the Sixties with a brutal wit, vivid characters, and yes, a glimmer of hope.” —Melodie Johnson Howe, Edgar-nominated author, Mother Shadow
“It’s 1969 on Haight Street, and all that’s left of the Summer of Love is dregs. Gallery owner Frederick Dorn, haunted and hopeful, cynic and idealist, just wants make the street a little safer, even if that means dealing with the devil in the form of drug pushers, cops, and the Mafia. Hip, tense, and wildly propulsive, Peace, Love and Haight is an outstanding thriller, frightening to funny and back again in lightning leaps. As soon as you finish it, you’ll want to start again. —Cynthia Weiner, author, A Gorgeous Excitement
“Max Talley’s Peace, Love and Haight is a whirling novel, largely set in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district after the “Summer of Love” in 1969. Imagine an Elmore Leonard novel with an almost Brueghelian cast of crooked cops, predatory pushers, hopped-up hookers, teen-aged Jezebels, and horndog Jesus freaks. . . . Protagonist Freddie Dorn is learning street-life the hard way. Naturally, when a drug deal goes wrong in Baghdad-By-The-Bay, someone must go over the rail of the Golden Gate Bridge, no? Well, it’s not going to be Freddie Dorn. He’s getting smarter every day. Max Talley’s novel is a rollicking tale, filled with suspense and gnarly humor.” —Barnaby Conrad III, author, Jacques Villeglé and the Streets of Paris
298 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2025
2 people are currently reading
4743 people want to read
About the author
Max Talley
17 books20 followersMax Talley was born in New York City and holds a B.A. in literature. He has been a professional musician, playing at CBGB and Bleecker Street clubs in Manhattan in the late 80s and 90s. Books include Peace, Love and Haight (Three Rooms Press, 2025), Santa Fe Psychosis (Dark Edge Press, 2021), and Yesterday We Forget Tomorrow (Damnation Books, 2013). Talley has published 60 stories and essays since 2015 in various publications including Vol.1 Brooklyn, Atticus Review, About Place Journal, Whiskey Tit, and The Saturday Evening Post. His short story, “Celestial Vagabonds,” won best Fiction Contest from Jerry Jazz Musician. Other titles include the literary short story collection, My Secret Place (Main Street Rag Books, 2022) and the genre collection, When The Night Breathes Electric (Borda Books, 2023). In California since the mid-90s, Talley currently lives in Santa Barbara.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 11, 2025
Special thanks to Kat Georges and Three Rooms Press for sending me an ARC copy.
When I saw "psychedelic thriller", I had no idea what to expect. Now I understand completely. Every character in PL&H is firmly rooted in time and place, offering a unique narrative style. Peppered with references to the quagmire of events that was late 60s California, it tells the story of good intentions and man's hubris.
When I saw "psychedelic thriller", I had no idea what to expect. Now I understand completely. Every character in PL&H is firmly rooted in time and place, offering a unique narrative style. Peppered with references to the quagmire of events that was late 60s California, it tells the story of good intentions and man's hubris.
August 26, 2025
As a 80s baby some of the wording was hard to understand. It reads so fast and good. Always keeping you on your toes! Dorn is the Dennis the menace of 1969, always coming out on top! Amazingly good!!!
December 10, 2025
Peace, Love, and Haight is a vibrant romp through 1969 California, based in San Francisco yet winding up and down the 101, during which we get to experience just about every significant hippie-esque, free-loving, drug-riddled, culture-defining event of the year. Communes? Check. Black Panthers? Check. Charles Manson? Woodstock? Check and check. Times, they were a-changin'.
Uncanny prose, crackling dialogue, scattered settings, and dynamic subplots propel the reader forward at a quick clip. While the main character, Dorn, is interesting enough (his desire to do good for his community despite the incidental ire and disruption that often results is a fun, morally ambiguous schtick), his real role is to act as a conduit for the zeitgeist and lay of the land. More of an era study than a character study, Max Talley's talent for immersing readers in place and time remains unparalleled. Peace, Love, and Haight will make you feel like a counter-culture time traveler without having to drop any acid. A truly mind-expanding trip.
Uncanny prose, crackling dialogue, scattered settings, and dynamic subplots propel the reader forward at a quick clip. While the main character, Dorn, is interesting enough (his desire to do good for his community despite the incidental ire and disruption that often results is a fun, morally ambiguous schtick), his real role is to act as a conduit for the zeitgeist and lay of the land. More of an era study than a character study, Max Talley's talent for immersing readers in place and time remains unparalleled. Peace, Love, and Haight will make you feel like a counter-culture time traveler without having to drop any acid. A truly mind-expanding trip.
August 11, 2025
Freddie Dorn is a gallery owner that somehow gets involved in the accidental death of a big-time drug dealer in 1969 San Francisco. Next thing he knows, everyone is after him, whether good or bad. The novel really gets the feel of that time era with all the hippie stuff, drugs and sex. I was a toddler then and didn’t experience it, but certainly felt it when reading this book. Psychedelic, yes, a thriller not so much. Wasn’t really my groove, man.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews