No Tomorrow

by Jake Hinkson

It’s 1947, and Billie Dixon has just talked herself into a new job. As the distribution agent for Hollywood’s shoddiest movie studio, she travels to rural Arkansas peddling B-grade Westerns to poor theaters. When she meets Amberly Henshaw, the unhappy wife of a preacher on a crusade against the evils of motion pictures, she senses an immediate attraction. Billie knows it’s crazy to get involved with Amberly, but she tells herself it will just be a quick fling. Once Amberly’s fanatical husband finds out about their affair, however, Billie Dixon finds herself in a spiral of betrayal and murder…

Genres: Queer, Fiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2015

About the author

Jake Hinkson, a native of the Arkansas Ozarks, is the author of HELL ON CHURCH STREET, THE POSTHUMOUS MAN, SAINT HOMICIDE, and THE BIG UGLY. His first two books are being translated into French by èditions Gallmeister and will be released in Europe in new hardcover editions in 2015. He lives in Chicago and blogs at http://thenighteditor.blogspot.com/

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake Hinkson is one of the only crime writers today that really nails the feel of old pulp fiction. His work feels perfect for a tiny paperback with some steamy cover art by Robert McGinnis or Robert E. Schulz and a little Gold Medal logo on the corner. This novel felt even more like an old Gold Medal pulp than his others I've read so far (haven't read The Big Ugly yet), probably due to it's period setting.

The story takes place in 1947 and follows a woman named William "Billie" Dixon (her mother gave her her father's name as a big fuck-you to the no-good bastard), who works for one of the Poverty Row B-movie studios in Hollywood, tasked with traveling to small country towns to peddle movie masterpieces like this one:



It's pretty mind-numbing work but things get a bit more interesting when she rides into a tiny Ozark town and falls for the bored wife of the town's blind preacher. This can't end well, can it?

Something I really appreciated about this story was how Hinkson treated Billie's homosexuality. Similar books that take place in the 40's would have either handled it luridly, with pulpy, erotic overtones, or would have handled it with a precious, romantic touch, illustrating Billie's bravery and desire to follow her heart during a time of persecution. But Hinkson does neither. Instead, Billie just is who she is, a lover of women and a habitual heartbreaker, and Hinkson doesn't really dwell on it; that's not what the book is about. Also, I loved the characters of Lucy and Eustace, the brother/sister sheriff duo, Billie's relationship with them, and the subtle way that Hinkson develops it. The Lucy/Eustace/Billie relationship is one of my favorite aspect of all of Hinkson's work so far.

But, alas, this novel isn't as completely awesome as others by Hinkson. The first two-thirds of the novel were great and featured the same skilled writing I love from the author, but the final act suffers a bit from what I thought was a big drop in momentum. While I love where he ultimately takes Billie's character, there came a point where it seemed like I turned into just a patient observer as the story strolled along to an ending that I knew was coming but hoping that there might be some surprises along the way. And I definitely got 'em

The novel is ultimately about the unrealistic, romantic expectations and ideals that we all have, but how those ideals come with a price and real life is never the fairy tale that we expect. It's also about how we tragically miss real, genuine opportunities in our lives because of these expectations. Don't make this one your first book by the author, but if you're a fan of his other work, it's a solid addition!

A couple of dreams are all I have left.
So dream a little, just for me.

[Jayakrishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lesbian writer takes b-movie film canisters to small towns in her car to sell to run down movie hall owners who cannot afford the stuff put out by big studios. Her sexual tangle with the beautiful wife of a fundamentalist Christian preacher in a backwoods Arkansas town changes her life forever. Interesting characters, setting and premise. No question about it.

There are a lot of elements. Not all of them fit well together. The fundamentalist Southern American town that is deceptively backward and could lynch people if they do not live by the rules was not well built up. Characters are introduced randomly and they are hard to believe. Nor is the author particularly successful in evoking the sights, sounds and smells of small Arkansas towns in the late 1940s. I read Paul Theroux's Deep South before this book, so maybe I was expecting too much. I think Jake Hinkson got caught up with including one twist too many when a little more detail and backstory could have made it all more convincing. Also, the voice of Billie, the first person lesbian narrator ..... well she sounded like an angry man.

But the book does work as a women on the run novel. The tragic boozy aftermath of a decision made on impulse, that unravels on the empty American roads, motels and finally in a jail was quite engaging. I will be reading more of Jake Hinkson.

[Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very hard to discuss my impressions of this remarkable novel by Jake Hinkson - a true master of the Hardboiled Noir genre – without overpraising it.

As usual, I don't want to give away too much of the story.
The Amazon and New Pulp Press synopses reveal more than enough as it is.

The notion of a lesbian hired as an advance man for a sub-B movie company hawking PRC Studios product (mostly C-Westerns) throughout the Mid-South in 1947 is completely unique.

Hinkson rewards B-movie nerds with references to obscure films and B-movie unknown actors that only an ardent movie fan or Western Film Festival regular would be able to recognize. These little asides are unimportant to the plot but the references are a completely delightful touch.
Hinkson's grasp of the era, the narrator's sexuality, the atmosphere and setting -the rural Arkansas Ozarks- is uncanny.

The novel becomes very, very dark early on.
Eventually characters a reader might easily mistake as one-dimensional, toss-away walk-ons when first introduced develop into more complicated, multi-faceted figures.

The sense of dread that permeates NO TOMORROW is overwhelming.
I haven’t read a more suspenseful novel in months.
The writing is of a level that rivals the best of the practitioners of contemporary Noir.

This novel might have been inspired by the Suspense-Thriller authors Gil Brewer, Charles Willeford, Jim Thompson, and James M. Cain but Jake Hinkson turns this novel into something even greater than the sum total of those (mostly) original paperback masters.

This ranks among the best of the Noir novels of the 21st century.

[Feilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good at first, I was quickly taken by the story but I hoped for an exciting plot twist... that never came unfortunately, everything was finally what it seemed to be (She kills people, runs away, gets caught, that's all) and it disappointed me a little.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two-thirds of this novel confirmed why Jake Hinkson is one of my favorite writers, so I was sad when the energy dissipated in the last third. One could argue that it was a thematic dissipation, but even so, that doesn't make for a great denouement and ending. I could be way off base here, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this was Hinkson's first novel, and that maybe he couldn't find a publisher until the success of his other books. Wouldn't be the first time. There are a lot of parallels with his non-fiction noir writing and that is another reason to suspect that this is early work. I mean, it is just hard to imagine that the writer of Hell on Church Street and The Posthumous Man and Saint Homicide and The Big Ugly would follow those books up with this one. Could be wrong, but I think this one came first.

[Sylvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai vraiment senti le genre Film (Polar) Noir et c'était bien écrit.
Je n'ai juste pas aimé l'histoire qui me semblait trop invraisemblable mais c'est aussi ça les histoires de ce genre.
Mais je vais essayer un autre de ses livres.

[Justine Crdl · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'ai peut-être pas compris le but / le sens du livre... Mais je n'ai pas aimé. Facile à lire et forme du récit original mais pas de suspense... Dommage

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember the last time a book kept me from going to sleep but this one certainly did. No Tomorrow is the first work of Jake Hinkson that I have read but it certainly won't be the last. I find it really awesome that New Pulp Press specifically asks for reviews and I will gladly write a couple of words about it. People should write more reviews. Period.

Billie Dixon is a female distributor of bad Hollywood movies. One day she comes to Arkansas and meets the wife of a religious fanatic. From that moment on she makes one bad decision after another and her life takes a tragic turn. It's not necessary to know more about the plot, as a matter of fact I would argue that the less you know the better.

What's remarkable about No Tomorrow is its incredibly tight atmosphere and sense of unease throughout. It's quite hard to describe it but I would compare it to sitting in a restaurant and noticing a strange looking couple. They exchange words filled with subtle underlying attacks, their body language is off, the bad energy between them grows and it is clear that there's going to be a scene. A full on quarrel is about to break out. But it's not only uncomfortable it's also dangerous. Things might even go violent. This is what it felt like reading this work.

What's more is that Jake Hinkson includes several strong female characters. They are strong in a realistic way, quick-witted, clever, confident. This is quite unusual as I have never before read a noir/pulp novel with women like these as the main characters. Throughout the story I realized that we could be reading the exact same story but from a different perspective, from the good side. Both sides of the story are fleshed out remarkably well in terms of characterization.

But No Tomorrow is narrated by the villain, if you can call her that. You can understand her motives but it is important to point out that she does make several decisions that are completely bonkers. This is the one and biggest criticism I would express. Apart from that the prose is filled with a lot of clever lines and you can tell Hinkson is an intelligent guy staying away from fake pretentiousness and trying to be too deep. I will say that there were moments that could have been handled even better. At one point in the story I thought I was experiencing a moment like the famous ending from the movie The Graduate but it was not fleshed out at all. Talk about subverting expectations for real. Otherwise I would have given it 5 stars. Still, to be completely honest I am really quite excited having discovered Jake Hinkson through Goodreads and will certainly read more by him.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bechdel oui
Diversité oui, avec une protagoniste lesbienne et plusieurs personnages handicapés (physiques ou mentaux) qui ne sont pas traités avec condescendance. Par contre tout le monde est blanc.

Le thème de l’Eglise baptiste menaçante et du meurtre dans la nef, dans des petites villes reculées du Midwest, sont chers à Jake Hinkson… on retrouve une ambiance similaire dans « au nom du bien ».

Le roman se lit d’une traite, les pages défilent toutes seules et portent une atmosphère de menace sourde qui m’ont empêchée de refermer le livre avant de l’avoir terminé. On sent le drame qui approche de page en page… le sang gicle, les corps s’accumulent, et on se demande comment tout ça va se terminer.

Baignant dans le meurtre, l’homophobie, l’intégrisme religieux, les personnages demeurent curieusement détachés, ce qui donne un ton cynique, sarcastique, a l’ensemble. Un roman très noir, tout en demeurant étrangement serein.

[Craig Amason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an earlier novel by Hinkson that doesn't show the same skill as his 2019 Dry County, but it's still entertaining. The dialogue is a little weak in places, and some of the characters never quite get to the third dimension. His portrayal of lesbian sex reads more like male heterosexual fantasy than an intimate encounter between two women. The relationship between the protagonist and the female "sheriff" could have been more intriguing with further development. This is a short novel. On the positive side, the first person narrative of the book is interesting considering how the story ends. The setting is the Ozarks, the region where the author grew up, but it could have taken place in many rural areas of the country, especially the South, from the 1940s.

[Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood visits fundamentalist Arkansas as Billie begins her new job peddling B- and C-grade movies to rural theaters. Everyone knows everyone else's business in a small town, and strangers are noticed right off the bat. The mantra should be: Don't stay in town long, as they'll see how you're different and the trouble will start. But Billie lacks caution and gets adventurous and strays from the narrow...and encounters the wrath of God and Arkansas...like a frog in boiling water, the temperature rising dangerously but not realizing death in imminent. Well done characters, sense of scene, bleakness, and mental wounding and anguish in this noir of murder, forbidden lust, and missed love. Jake Hinkson is a writer of great talent.

[Parsnip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t really know what to think of this in the end.
I didn’t really care for the writing, it wasn’t bad but I can’t say I found it good either. I enjoyed the settings and the plot of the story. I have to admit it’s kind of a page turner, and I “just one more chapter”-ed a few time while reading this. But in the end, although I was intrigued by Billie, Amberly and the Lucy/Eustace duo, although a dramatic queer road trip in the 40s sounded really good, I found the whole thing a bit flat. I think having only the narrator’s pov was part of the reason why I was never fully committed and I would have liked a darker/deeper atmosphere.

2,5/5

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je reste perplexe suite à la lecture de ce roman. Je l'ai trouvé lesbophobe par moment dans l'écriture de Jake Hinkson. Notamment dans le côté coup de foudre et absence de réalisme des premiers ébats. Parce qu'évidemment les ébats sont réalisés directement, parce que oui les lesbiennes ne savent pas retenir leur pulsion. Tout comme ce côté constant du caché par la prière. Alors oui, je veux bien le roman est censé se passer dans les années 40 aux USA, mais l'écriture aurait pu être tournée autrement pour éviter la niaiserie qu'inspire malheureusement cette histoire entre 2 femmes.

[Mysticpt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quick read, my kind of story. This noir tale takes place in Arkansas during the 40s but with a nice twist as the leads are all women. A great main character and if you think that everything that could go wrong might go wrong for her,.,,. well you might be right... but the fun is in the reading. Jake Hinkson always writes a great story and I will not take as long to read his last one as I did to get to this one. 4 + Stars

[Fanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely loved this book ! I could not put it down and really got into it from the very beginning.
The strong and -wanna be- independent women are all unique and fascinating.
There is a very good rythm and the author always brings a new turn when the novel is slowing down.
highly recommend this book to people who like the genre and for those new to it (like me)

[Steve Laflamme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon roman dans la tradition de Jim Thompson. Les États-Unis ruraux, l'Arkansas sale, salement ignare et salement chrétien. Un roman féministe, à mon avis - les trois personnages forts ou personnages phares sont des femmes : la criminelle, l'affranchie rêveuse et la justicière droite et investie. Bien réussi!

[Léon · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'était super déroutant et perturbant mais c'était vraiment bien ? J'ai pas vraiment l'habitude de lire des choses de ce style-là, y a un côté très froid et très cru. La violence est omniprésente mais en même temps elle ne l'est pas car presque anesthesiée ? Je crois qu'il va me falloir un peu de temps pour digérer le livre, mais je ne risque pas de l'oublier.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novel that held my attention. A quick quick read but not always believable to me. I read and loved Dry County by the same author. Similar themes of small town America, strong religion, sexuality. This book was ok but I didn’t love it.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

review coming

[Hannasol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Déçue de la seconde partie de l'intrigue. Les protagonistes m'ont semblé très convenus et caricaturaux. Sans doute pas mon genre littéraire...

[Elorin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chouette lecture, on rentre dedans, bien pulp, mais j'ai pas eu d'empathie pour les personnages....

[L'atelier de Litote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le travail de Billie Dixon est d’essayer de vendre des films de secondes zones dans les petits cinémas des localités du Midwest qu’elle traverse au cours de sa tournée. Elle ne s’attendait pas à rencontrer l’animosité d’un prêcheur fanatique en arrivant chez les culs terreux de l’Arkansas. Pourtant sa rencontre avec la femme du dit pasteur va se révéler dévastatrice, l’attirance est instantanée et semble réciproque. Tous les éléments sont là pour que ce polar chaud et un rien pervers ne face qu’une bouchée de nous. Traiter de l’homosexualité au féminin n’est pas si courant mais la placer dans une communauté religieuse et conservatrice est un coup de maître. Le personnage de Billie est quasi héroïque, elle reste fidèle à ce qu’elle est une femme aimant les femmes et une briseuse de cœur. Deux des personnages secondaires m’ont beaucoup plu, il s’agit du shérif Eustace et de sa sœur Lucy, ce duo improbable était le petit plus de ce polar, la construction de leur relation avec Billie est très bien amenée. J’ai trouvé l’atmosphère des années 1947 tellement bien rendue que je me suis demandée si l’auteur ne les avaient pas vécues mais pas du tout, né en 1975 ce roman écrit en 2015 nous donne un parfait aperçu de ce que peut être la vie dans une petite communauté où la religion a une grande importance. On conçoit aisément le calvaire que peut endurer la jeune femme du prédicateur Amberly à jamais coincé dans un rôle de faux semblant que j’imagine être invivable.
J’ai aimé les deux première parties du livre qui nous emportent sur les chapeaux de roues mais le ralentissement de la troisième partie m’a laissé au bord de la route, quel intérêt à poursuivre puisque l’on pressent ce que sera la fin. Mêler ainsi religion et crime est une recette parfaite pour une tragédie magnifiquement retranscrite. Bonne lecture.

[Rory Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Hinkson returns to his favorite setting (Arkansas) and one of his favorite themes (religion) for another exciting psychological thriller. It moves swiftly -- I finished it easily in a day -- and I did not foresee where it was going. Hinkson's characters are always well-drawn, especially the "country" types, and I enjoy how his film scholarship informs his stories too.

[Viktor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've tried several times to write a review of this, but everything I wrote kinda gave it away.
So, I'll just say I liked it a lot and will reread it.

[Viktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not what you think it is. And to say anything more, is to give it all away.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my thoughts here

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