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Sunsetter
A propulsive, fast-paced literary thriller that peels back the layers of small-town police corruption, drugs, and teen disillusionment to expose unlikely heroes and unexpected villains.
When two teens, Dallan and Hannah, attend the opening night of the infamous Sunsetter rodeo, they find themselves entangled in the suspicious deaths of their two closest loved ones. Driven by loss, rage, and their gut instincts for justice, they channel their grief and confusion into uncovering the criminal truth about their small town of Perron, a prairie community that has been long deserted by industry, leaving a ghostly emptiness of abandoned gravel pits, golf courses, and storefronts. They soon discover that Perron — with its population of bored and discontented youth, as well as police officers who are only looking out for themselves — is the ideal place for a mysterious and omnipresent drug trade to flourish. Soon enough, Dallan and Hannah are being tailed by Deputy Arnason, who has been tasked with protecting the reputation of the local police, even as his conscience screams in protest with every move he makes.
Equal parts crime novel and literary fiction, Sunsetter is an unflinching story about the opioid crisis, teen isolation, police brutality, and the fickleness of late-stage capitalism.
When two teens, Dallan and Hannah, attend the opening night of the infamous Sunsetter rodeo, they find themselves entangled in the suspicious deaths of their two closest loved ones. Driven by loss, rage, and their gut instincts for justice, they channel their grief and confusion into uncovering the criminal truth about their small town of Perron, a prairie community that has been long deserted by industry, leaving a ghostly emptiness of abandoned gravel pits, golf courses, and storefronts. They soon discover that Perron — with its population of bored and discontented youth, as well as police officers who are only looking out for themselves — is the ideal place for a mysterious and omnipresent drug trade to flourish. Soon enough, Dallan and Hannah are being tailed by Deputy Arnason, who has been tasked with protecting the reputation of the local police, even as his conscience screams in protest with every move he makes.
Equal parts crime novel and literary fiction, Sunsetter is an unflinching story about the opioid crisis, teen isolation, police brutality, and the fickleness of late-stage capitalism.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
dnf-abandoned
April 28, 2023NO rating. Did Not Finish.
I read about a third, skimmed to more than half, and then quit. Small town rodeo, young people, drugs, couple of deaths, crooked cops who don't want to know. You can read a lot of the beginning in the preview on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Sunsetter-N...
For those who care, there are no quotation marks.
I read about a third, skimmed to more than half, and then quit. Small town rodeo, young people, drugs, couple of deaths, crooked cops who don't want to know. You can read a lot of the beginning in the preview on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Sunsetter-N...
For those who care, there are no quotation marks.
December 15, 2022
This was overall an entertaining read; it was fast-paced, dark & gritty - a solid 4-star thriller.
The lack of quotation marks was annoying, but it didn't make the book unreadable.
Thanks to ECW Press for the ARC.
The lack of quotation marks was annoying, but it didn't make the book unreadable.
Thanks to ECW Press for the ARC.
Read
September 27, 2022Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Sunsetter by Curtis LeBlanc
I enjoyed this novel, I had previously tried to read it and just couldn't get into the story, so I put it aside for a few weeks and when I picked it up again, I couldn't put it down. The narrative is a little different but it's fast paced, I never felt like there was a lull or too much repetitive information about the characters.
This novel is about a small town and the corruption in the local police department, how a couple of teens deal with this information that they unfortunately stumbled across, the loss of lives and the dealing with this loss
The story introduces us to Hannah and Dallan, they both find themselves at the Sunsetter, the fair that comes to town once a year. Hannah is going to meet Nick whom she hasn't sen in a year since the last time he was in town working the fair, Dallan is hanging out with his buddy Brooks taking in the fair, but looking to beer as well. Things don't end well for two of them.
I recommend this novel, it's the first I've read by this author and would certainly read more
I enjoyed this novel, I had previously tried to read it and just couldn't get into the story, so I put it aside for a few weeks and when I picked it up again, I couldn't put it down. The narrative is a little different but it's fast paced, I never felt like there was a lull or too much repetitive information about the characters.
This novel is about a small town and the corruption in the local police department, how a couple of teens deal with this information that they unfortunately stumbled across, the loss of lives and the dealing with this loss
The story introduces us to Hannah and Dallan, they both find themselves at the Sunsetter, the fair that comes to town once a year. Hannah is going to meet Nick whom she hasn't sen in a year since the last time he was in town working the fair, Dallan is hanging out with his buddy Brooks taking in the fair, but looking to beer as well. Things don't end well for two of them.
I recommend this novel, it's the first I've read by this author and would certainly read more
November 15, 2022
I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I found this novel difficult to get into. I felt the premise went around and round, so I guess I'm not the target audience. The story was descriptive, albeit a little too much. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC
May 13, 2023
I got this as a free Goodreads Giveaway.
I absolutely loved this book. This is proof that small presses have great talent. I liked the format and focus on just key characters; the weekend timeline; the dialogue; and the description.
It was well paced and told a devastating yet story of people in a small town many seem to think is a dead end, where corruption and drugs run rampant and where accidents can set off an unfortunate chain of events. It also didn't wrap everything up, which I appreciated. I look forward to LeBlanc's next book.
I absolutely loved this book. This is proof that small presses have great talent. I liked the format and focus on just key characters; the weekend timeline; the dialogue; and the description.
It was well paced and told a devastating yet story of people in a small town many seem to think is a dead end, where corruption and drugs run rampant and where accidents can set off an unfortunate chain of events. It also didn't wrap everything up, which I appreciated. I look forward to LeBlanc's next book.
October 27, 2022
Curtis LeBlanc’s Sunsetter is the Canadian little brother of Stephen Markley’s Ohio—it’s gritty, it’s rough, and it’s a heck of a slow-burn literary thriller.
Set in a rural Canadian town that had me picturing the boonies of Appalachia or a dying Rust Belt burg, this novel follows several different characters as they interact with one another following two deaths at the Sunsetter rodeo, a carnival that comes to town once a year for a long weekend each May. Readers follow the happenings in the days immediately after the deaths, and it’s a cautious build of anticipation leading up to the sizzling final pages before waning in the end, with the action settling on a quieter, darker, and somewhat ponderous note when all is said and done.
LeBlanc’s story puts us in the middle of the action right away—the two deaths that set into motion the rest of the novel happen in the opening pages, and they are quick, shocking, and seemingly normal, as much as accidental deaths can seem normal. Characters are here one second and gone the next, and the deep, wide chasms that open up in their friends we follow throughout the story, named Dallan and Hannah, are more numbing than jarring. LeBlanc does an excellent job at describing the vague sense of loss after watching your best friend or your soon-to-be live-in boyfriend die of tragic and accidental circumstances, and the lack of melodrama adds a subdued realness to the novel that other stories that deal with the deaths of teenagers or people in their early twenties oftentimes lack or go over-the-top with.
Dallan and Hannah aren’t the only characters we follow though, as we soon learn of a corrupt police force who rules the town with an iron fist alongside drug-running cronies. LeBlanc deftly swaps points of view every chapter, with some diving into the heads of our two young leads and others following a morally-grey police officer named Deputy Arnason, and the author does an excellent job of fully rounding-out each character, including with dialogue that's razor-sharp, biting, and realistic. Whereas some authors would lean too far into the ‘corrupt cop’ stereotype, LeBlanc allows readers to spend time with Arnason as he visits his mother in an assisted living facility before heading home after long shifts, giving him emotional depth that would’ve otherwise been sorely lacking. We see him interact with a wife who just wants a better life, and his motivations are explored through his interactions with her, various drug runners, and his coworkers. Motivations and personalities are shaped for Dallan and Hannah as well, but they aren’t as fully-formed as Arnason, but that’s all right—even though he’s the main villain of this book to an extent, he’s also the most compelling and interesting character.
As the novel progresses, we see Dallan and Hannah making the same mistakes their dead friends made, and their actions begin to catch up to them quickly. The three main characters meet in two explosive confrontations near the end, and everyone doesn’t make it out alive. However, once the climax comes and goes, LeBlanc then ends the novel on a very quiet note, an ambiguous one in a sense, and it makes readers wonder what the point of all the death and destruction was for in the first place.
This is LeBlanc’s first novel after writing a few poetry collections, and his prose translates wonderfully to the form. His writing is terse, beautiful, and descriptive, but he never gets carried away with long, detailed passages about something mundane, such as the way a landscape unspools outside a car window or how a character looks. He moves us readers from one scene to the next, and the pacing is perfect, especially for a novel that’s only around 240 pages long.
One of the only critiques here is that some of the action seemed contrived to the point where it might pull readers out of the story, including a scene at a local golf course near the middle point of the novel and a character’s death later in the story just prior to the climax. The convoluted and low chances of what occurs both during and after these scenes made them ring hollow and Deus-ex-machina-esque to me, but I can at least understand why the author made the choices he did for each situation, as unrealistic as they are of happening in the real world.
Overall, this is a slow-burn of a literary thriller, with an emphasis on the literary part. Don’t let that scare you away though—this is a gritty and tough rural noir novel, and the slowness helps lead to a crashing climax that makes you question the point of it all in the end, demonstrating the simple but tragic ways how drugs can disrupt so many lives. LeBlanc does a terrific job of building realistic settings, characters, and plot points, and the novel can easily be read in a sitting or two, allowing you to both breeze through it while also reflecting on the author’s true message once you put it down.
Recommended for fans of the rural noir genre, literary mysteries/thrillers, realistic crime stories dealing with the drug trade in everyday settings, and corrupt cop narratives.
Thanks to NetGalley, ECW Press, and Curtis LeBlanc for the digital ARC of Sunsetter in exchange for an honest review.
Set in a rural Canadian town that had me picturing the boonies of Appalachia or a dying Rust Belt burg, this novel follows several different characters as they interact with one another following two deaths at the Sunsetter rodeo, a carnival that comes to town once a year for a long weekend each May. Readers follow the happenings in the days immediately after the deaths, and it’s a cautious build of anticipation leading up to the sizzling final pages before waning in the end, with the action settling on a quieter, darker, and somewhat ponderous note when all is said and done.
LeBlanc’s story puts us in the middle of the action right away—the two deaths that set into motion the rest of the novel happen in the opening pages, and they are quick, shocking, and seemingly normal, as much as accidental deaths can seem normal. Characters are here one second and gone the next, and the deep, wide chasms that open up in their friends we follow throughout the story, named Dallan and Hannah, are more numbing than jarring. LeBlanc does an excellent job at describing the vague sense of loss after watching your best friend or your soon-to-be live-in boyfriend die of tragic and accidental circumstances, and the lack of melodrama adds a subdued realness to the novel that other stories that deal with the deaths of teenagers or people in their early twenties oftentimes lack or go over-the-top with.
Dallan and Hannah aren’t the only characters we follow though, as we soon learn of a corrupt police force who rules the town with an iron fist alongside drug-running cronies. LeBlanc deftly swaps points of view every chapter, with some diving into the heads of our two young leads and others following a morally-grey police officer named Deputy Arnason, and the author does an excellent job of fully rounding-out each character, including with dialogue that's razor-sharp, biting, and realistic. Whereas some authors would lean too far into the ‘corrupt cop’ stereotype, LeBlanc allows readers to spend time with Arnason as he visits his mother in an assisted living facility before heading home after long shifts, giving him emotional depth that would’ve otherwise been sorely lacking. We see him interact with a wife who just wants a better life, and his motivations are explored through his interactions with her, various drug runners, and his coworkers. Motivations and personalities are shaped for Dallan and Hannah as well, but they aren’t as fully-formed as Arnason, but that’s all right—even though he’s the main villain of this book to an extent, he’s also the most compelling and interesting character.
As the novel progresses, we see Dallan and Hannah making the same mistakes their dead friends made, and their actions begin to catch up to them quickly. The three main characters meet in two explosive confrontations near the end, and everyone doesn’t make it out alive. However, once the climax comes and goes, LeBlanc then ends the novel on a very quiet note, an ambiguous one in a sense, and it makes readers wonder what the point of all the death and destruction was for in the first place.
This is LeBlanc’s first novel after writing a few poetry collections, and his prose translates wonderfully to the form. His writing is terse, beautiful, and descriptive, but he never gets carried away with long, detailed passages about something mundane, such as the way a landscape unspools outside a car window or how a character looks. He moves us readers from one scene to the next, and the pacing is perfect, especially for a novel that’s only around 240 pages long.
One of the only critiques here is that some of the action seemed contrived to the point where it might pull readers out of the story, including a scene at a local golf course near the middle point of the novel and a character’s death later in the story just prior to the climax. The convoluted and low chances of what occurs both during and after these scenes made them ring hollow and Deus-ex-machina-esque to me, but I can at least understand why the author made the choices he did for each situation, as unrealistic as they are of happening in the real world.
Overall, this is a slow-burn of a literary thriller, with an emphasis on the literary part. Don’t let that scare you away though—this is a gritty and tough rural noir novel, and the slowness helps lead to a crashing climax that makes you question the point of it all in the end, demonstrating the simple but tragic ways how drugs can disrupt so many lives. LeBlanc does a terrific job of building realistic settings, characters, and plot points, and the novel can easily be read in a sitting or two, allowing you to both breeze through it while also reflecting on the author’s true message once you put it down.
Recommended for fans of the rural noir genre, literary mysteries/thrillers, realistic crime stories dealing with the drug trade in everyday settings, and corrupt cop narratives.
Thanks to NetGalley, ECW Press, and Curtis LeBlanc for the digital ARC of Sunsetter in exchange for an honest review.
May 21, 2023
4.5 stars.
September 24, 2022
It’s Sunsetter, the annual rodeo activities, where people drink to much and teens get high on drugs and the atmosphere. Brooks dies as a result of a bad pill, the same evening Nick dies after falling onto the ground - the police put both down as accidents, not to be investigated further, but Dallan and Hannah aren’t convinced and try to find out what is going on and why the cover up of each of their best friends. They reveal police corruption, and in their desire to seek justice will the truth come out, or will more people get hurt?
Twists and turns, some surprises - the backgrounds as to why people do what they do and then find they can’t back out, all they can see is going forwards, going deeper and losing themselves.
An engaging read, fairly fast paced once it gets going and rather thought provoking - people stuck in small town lives. But I was intrigued how it would end, and was surprised.
Twists and turns, some surprises - the backgrounds as to why people do what they do and then find they can’t back out, all they can see is going forwards, going deeper and losing themselves.
An engaging read, fairly fast paced once it gets going and rather thought provoking - people stuck in small town lives. But I was intrigued how it would end, and was surprised.
October 4, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s Sunsetter, which is an annual rodeo more about people getting drunk and/or high than anything else. The story begins with Brooks and Nick dying at the rodeo, the result of the drug fueled atmosphere. The police mark both deaths as accidents, which will not investigated further. However, Dallan and Hannah aren’t convinced and investigate what really happened to their friends and why the police are trying to cover it up.. What they find is police corruption and not a clear story. In seeking justice will they find the truth, or will more people get hurt?
This is a twisty story with suspense, mystery and some surprises thrown in. An engaging read, fairly fast paced once it gets going. Its about how you can get stuck in small town life and not be able to find your way out.
Overall an interesting read! Recommend!
It’s Sunsetter, which is an annual rodeo more about people getting drunk and/or high than anything else. The story begins with Brooks and Nick dying at the rodeo, the result of the drug fueled atmosphere. The police mark both deaths as accidents, which will not investigated further. However, Dallan and Hannah aren’t convinced and investigate what really happened to their friends and why the police are trying to cover it up.. What they find is police corruption and not a clear story. In seeking justice will they find the truth, or will more people get hurt?
This is a twisty story with suspense, mystery and some surprises thrown in. An engaging read, fairly fast paced once it gets going. Its about how you can get stuck in small town life and not be able to find your way out.
Overall an interesting read! Recommend!
December 16, 2025
4.25 Stars
****
Dallan and Hannah know each other peripherally in their small town of Perron. But, one fateful night at the Sunsetter Rodeo has their lives crashing into each other in the most devastating way. Both now grieving the loss of their closest loved one, they decide to work together to seek justice. Because the rodeo has been fuelling their city with illicit drugs, causing damage it its wake. However, their search for justice will put them on the radar of Deputy Arnason, a cop in debt who took on a job for his boss that is now testing his morality. Can they find out the truth before Arnason finds them? Will the city of Perron ever recover from the grip the drug business has on both the rodeo and their police force?
What an emotionally defeating book. It starts with a one-two punch and never really allows you a chance to recover from the damage done. Dallan is so deeply connected to his best friend Brooks that Brooks death sends Dallan into a spiral, which causes him to lash out at the person they bought drugs from. But, that worker had never associated with the drugs at the rodeo before, he only decided to take on the job in desperation for money he needed in order to leave the rodeo for his girlfriend Hannah. And this is what this book highlights so well, how intricately connected all these things can be. How dastardly the drug trade really is, that it sets of ricochets and ripples that touch hundreds of lives around it. From families who have lost a loved one, to friends who look for answers, to violence perpetuated as a means to protect those selling. It is sicking in its perfect machinations that stop any sort of effective change from happening. Because often times the ones in power, who could and should stop it, are profiting just as much as the ones selling.
The setting of this book also had a life of its own. A small, rundown town that relies on a rodeo to come to town in order to help build up revenue. A rodeo that runs a carnival for families, but hides an illicit drug operation. The juxtaposition is wild, because what do you mean this family friendly, brightly lit, carnival of fun can also be the place where people die? How can something seemingly so innocent leave catastrophe in its wake? A place where children go to spend time with their families and then as they age they begin to go for other reasons, whether drinking in the forest, having sex, or experimenting with drugs that turn out to be laced with something deadly. As you age the innocence of this place you loved, all the amazing memories you have made there, is stripped away from you and replaced with something ugly.
****Mild Spoilers****
The police in this are so sinister and while you sort of feel sympathy for the position Arnason has been placed in, you also are disgusted by his weakness and overall apathy. He has seen the truth, follows through on things he never should have, and therefore must face the consequences of his inaction to stop the violence and murder. So, while the machine continues to spin, at least one piece faces justice.
Dallan's story is terrifying as it unfolds. His need to enact justice, then his need to correct a mistake made only to be told to leave and not make waves. His slow realization about what is going on in his town, his disbelief and fear. Knowing the truth as it is slowly revealed and then knowing that he has put himself in a position that means he knows too much and is now a liability to a vast drug operation. His section is a slowly ticking clock that is inching ever closer to a fatal end. You pray that he can survive the night, but you know that others in the same position have not been so lucky.
Hannah feels her life stagnating, the only bright spot being Nick, who she met when he was working at the rodeo the previous year. The two have talked on the phone since and plan on running off together when the rodeo arrives again. When he is accidentally killed, she is at a loss. She has put her future in his hands and feels unmoored. The only thing anchoring her to life is revenge, which she seeks with the help of Dallan. My favourite part about Hannah's story is her flipping the narrative on those who would harm her, she herself becomes the hunter. And, while she can hopefully find her revenge, she ultimately finds herself where Nick was at the beginning of the novel. She entrusts her future to the rodeo by signing up to work there. Unknowingly, she becomes employed by those same people who sold the drugs that lead to Nick's death.
So, while this book does offer some closure, it is also truthful in that there seems to be no way to know who really controls the drug trade and drugs will seemingly always be sold illegally. It leaves you wondering how safe Hannah will be, how she may react once she learns the truth, or how she could possibly leave with this group when she has done so much already to move on. You feel just as helpless and alone at the end as she must have. Wondering who to trust, what to do, and trying to grasp at a life she feels she lost the moment Dallan attacked Nick.
If you like gritty, revenge soaked mysteries than pick this book up! Thank you so much to ECW Press for sending me a copy to read and review.
****
Dallan and Hannah know each other peripherally in their small town of Perron. But, one fateful night at the Sunsetter Rodeo has their lives crashing into each other in the most devastating way. Both now grieving the loss of their closest loved one, they decide to work together to seek justice. Because the rodeo has been fuelling their city with illicit drugs, causing damage it its wake. However, their search for justice will put them on the radar of Deputy Arnason, a cop in debt who took on a job for his boss that is now testing his morality. Can they find out the truth before Arnason finds them? Will the city of Perron ever recover from the grip the drug business has on both the rodeo and their police force?
What an emotionally defeating book. It starts with a one-two punch and never really allows you a chance to recover from the damage done. Dallan is so deeply connected to his best friend Brooks that Brooks death sends Dallan into a spiral, which causes him to lash out at the person they bought drugs from. But, that worker had never associated with the drugs at the rodeo before, he only decided to take on the job in desperation for money he needed in order to leave the rodeo for his girlfriend Hannah. And this is what this book highlights so well, how intricately connected all these things can be. How dastardly the drug trade really is, that it sets of ricochets and ripples that touch hundreds of lives around it. From families who have lost a loved one, to friends who look for answers, to violence perpetuated as a means to protect those selling. It is sicking in its perfect machinations that stop any sort of effective change from happening. Because often times the ones in power, who could and should stop it, are profiting just as much as the ones selling.
The setting of this book also had a life of its own. A small, rundown town that relies on a rodeo to come to town in order to help build up revenue. A rodeo that runs a carnival for families, but hides an illicit drug operation. The juxtaposition is wild, because what do you mean this family friendly, brightly lit, carnival of fun can also be the place where people die? How can something seemingly so innocent leave catastrophe in its wake? A place where children go to spend time with their families and then as they age they begin to go for other reasons, whether drinking in the forest, having sex, or experimenting with drugs that turn out to be laced with something deadly. As you age the innocence of this place you loved, all the amazing memories you have made there, is stripped away from you and replaced with something ugly.
****Mild Spoilers****
The police in this are so sinister and while you sort of feel sympathy for the position Arnason has been placed in, you also are disgusted by his weakness and overall apathy. He has seen the truth, follows through on things he never should have, and therefore must face the consequences of his inaction to stop the violence and murder. So, while the machine continues to spin, at least one piece faces justice.
Dallan's story is terrifying as it unfolds. His need to enact justice, then his need to correct a mistake made only to be told to leave and not make waves. His slow realization about what is going on in his town, his disbelief and fear. Knowing the truth as it is slowly revealed and then knowing that he has put himself in a position that means he knows too much and is now a liability to a vast drug operation. His section is a slowly ticking clock that is inching ever closer to a fatal end. You pray that he can survive the night, but you know that others in the same position have not been so lucky.
Hannah feels her life stagnating, the only bright spot being Nick, who she met when he was working at the rodeo the previous year. The two have talked on the phone since and plan on running off together when the rodeo arrives again. When he is accidentally killed, she is at a loss. She has put her future in his hands and feels unmoored. The only thing anchoring her to life is revenge, which she seeks with the help of Dallan. My favourite part about Hannah's story is her flipping the narrative on those who would harm her, she herself becomes the hunter. And, while she can hopefully find her revenge, she ultimately finds herself where Nick was at the beginning of the novel. She entrusts her future to the rodeo by signing up to work there. Unknowingly, she becomes employed by those same people who sold the drugs that lead to Nick's death.
So, while this book does offer some closure, it is also truthful in that there seems to be no way to know who really controls the drug trade and drugs will seemingly always be sold illegally. It leaves you wondering how safe Hannah will be, how she may react once she learns the truth, or how she could possibly leave with this group when she has done so much already to move on. You feel just as helpless and alone at the end as she must have. Wondering who to trust, what to do, and trying to grasp at a life she feels she lost the moment Dallan attacked Nick.
If you like gritty, revenge soaked mysteries than pick this book up! Thank you so much to ECW Press for sending me a copy to read and review.
December 2, 2023
The Sunsetter rodeo and fair is the big annual event in the town of Perron - a place long deserted by industry, leaving a ghostly emptiness and a bored, discontented youth. Early in the novel, LeBlanc reflects that “it’s the quietest places that tend to have the most troubled of sounds rumbling away, just out of earshot,” and as the plot unfolds, this is confirmed again and again, for the town, and the central characters Hannah and Dallan.
Alongside the fairground games (often rigged), line dancing, beer tents, and bush parties, there’s a seedier side.
Most are drawn to the Sunsetter through sentiment and pure rote activity. But for many, the Sunsetter is a place to release inhibitions and wander in an inebriated haze. Even the most nostalgic for this jumble of gaudy grinding apparatus and heaps of electrical cables seem to need a cushion of alcohol, weed, and pills to embrace the nostalgia.
Dallan and his friend Brooks plan to “roll” as part of their Sunsetter experience, a decision that ends abruptly in the death of Brooks. When Dallan, an introverted, shy and altogether awkward college student, takes on Nick, who sold them their supply, the tragedy is only compounded.
He and Hannah, Nick’s girlfriend, form an unlikely allegiance as they dig deep into what is happening at the Sunsetter. Of course, as a drug ring is revealed, we too see a gradual exposing layer after layer of corruption in local law enforcement.
Deputy Arnason is a man who should make your blood boil - a police officer who began his “second career” as a supplier of illicit narcotics. Yet there are moments of intense humanity and emotional depth as he reminisces with his ageing mother in the nursing home, for whose fees he started into the criminal activities. He has trouble settling his conscience but still finds this commitment leading him to new levels of violence and moral corruption.
Sunsetter is a raw blend of crime thriller and literary fiction exploring police corruption, the horrors of drugs and the oppressiveness of small town life. I couldn’t help thinking of Demon Copperhead and the opioid crisis depicted while reading Sunsetter. 4⭐️
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC via NetGalley; as always, this is an honest review.
Alongside the fairground games (often rigged), line dancing, beer tents, and bush parties, there’s a seedier side.
Most are drawn to the Sunsetter through sentiment and pure rote activity. But for many, the Sunsetter is a place to release inhibitions and wander in an inebriated haze. Even the most nostalgic for this jumble of gaudy grinding apparatus and heaps of electrical cables seem to need a cushion of alcohol, weed, and pills to embrace the nostalgia.
Dallan and his friend Brooks plan to “roll” as part of their Sunsetter experience, a decision that ends abruptly in the death of Brooks. When Dallan, an introverted, shy and altogether awkward college student, takes on Nick, who sold them their supply, the tragedy is only compounded.
He and Hannah, Nick’s girlfriend, form an unlikely allegiance as they dig deep into what is happening at the Sunsetter. Of course, as a drug ring is revealed, we too see a gradual exposing layer after layer of corruption in local law enforcement.
Deputy Arnason is a man who should make your blood boil - a police officer who began his “second career” as a supplier of illicit narcotics. Yet there are moments of intense humanity and emotional depth as he reminisces with his ageing mother in the nursing home, for whose fees he started into the criminal activities. He has trouble settling his conscience but still finds this commitment leading him to new levels of violence and moral corruption.
Sunsetter is a raw blend of crime thriller and literary fiction exploring police corruption, the horrors of drugs and the oppressiveness of small town life. I couldn’t help thinking of Demon Copperhead and the opioid crisis depicted while reading Sunsetter. 4⭐️
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC via NetGalley; as always, this is an honest review.
November 12, 2022
2.5 but rounding up because I think some people will like this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A raw novel of bad choices, good ol' boy politics, and tragedy, Sunsetter offers a searing look into the crimes that invade spent, small town USA. We follow barely adults Dallan and Hannah as they try to piece together what exactly brought about the deaths of the two people closest to them and watch as their suffering changes them.
Overall, this book just didn't work for me. The modern noir take will probably work for lots of other people, though. The story line is believable-- drugs being cut with fentanyl being sold to young people who don't know any better and the deaths resulting being covered up or ignored by the people of the community. I can see this story playing out in the small town I lived in for two years, a town I'm grateful to have gotten out of.
My problem with this story comes with the pacing. Billed as fast paced, pretty much nothing happens in the first half of the book. Dallan and Hannah are more or less spinning their wheels. The last quarter of the book is good, and the ambiguous ending is fitting, in my opinion, for a story like this. The problem always goes deeper than any one person, and sometimes getting the hell out is the best someone can do.
My other complaint and the thing that really pulled me out of the story was the formatting of the ebook copy. The total like of quotation marks drove me absolutely insane, and they aren't present in the PDF copy either. This book desperately needs formatting and proofing work before its released for purchase.
CW: murder, drug use, police misconduct
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A raw novel of bad choices, good ol' boy politics, and tragedy, Sunsetter offers a searing look into the crimes that invade spent, small town USA. We follow barely adults Dallan and Hannah as they try to piece together what exactly brought about the deaths of the two people closest to them and watch as their suffering changes them.
Overall, this book just didn't work for me. The modern noir take will probably work for lots of other people, though. The story line is believable-- drugs being cut with fentanyl being sold to young people who don't know any better and the deaths resulting being covered up or ignored by the people of the community. I can see this story playing out in the small town I lived in for two years, a town I'm grateful to have gotten out of.
My problem with this story comes with the pacing. Billed as fast paced, pretty much nothing happens in the first half of the book. Dallan and Hannah are more or less spinning their wheels. The last quarter of the book is good, and the ambiguous ending is fitting, in my opinion, for a story like this. The problem always goes deeper than any one person, and sometimes getting the hell out is the best someone can do.
My other complaint and the thing that really pulled me out of the story was the formatting of the ebook copy. The total like of quotation marks drove me absolutely insane, and they aren't present in the PDF copy either. This book desperately needs formatting and proofing work before its released for purchase.
CW: murder, drug use, police misconduct
October 2, 2022
2.5 stars
I enjoyed the writing style. LeBlanc evokes vivid images and develops the characters using spare prose that cuts to the essence. I was hooked on the story very quickly. It held my interest and I was keen to see how it ended.
SPOILERS:
However --- although the writing was great, the storyline was Swiss cheese.
If someone killed the person I loved right in front of me, there would be no way I'd agree not to call police, or to let the killer have some time to think, and be like "OK, I trust you will turn yourself in tomorrow." And then the next day, start hanging out with said killer, and even begin looking at them and thinking, "I am kinda attracted to them and hey, maybe...". And for the entire story to take place over 3 days? It takes 2 days for teens to bust a secret drug ring just by asking questions? (My town needs to hire them pronto because the cops here sure aren't doing it!)
I was disappointed at the too-neat little resolution after all the twists and messiness of the narrative up to that point. It was unsatisfying and unrealistic. Seriously? The old "put a gun in a dead man's hand and say it was suicide because testing for gunshot residue isn't a thing and the fact it would be blatantly obvious the wound wasn't made at skin contact range would never ever be noticed by experienced law enforcement" trick? 😒
In summation, the book is enjoyable if you don't think about it too much. It would have been a great made-for-TV movie on ABC back in 1979, if fentanyl was a thing then.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
I enjoyed the writing style. LeBlanc evokes vivid images and develops the characters using spare prose that cuts to the essence. I was hooked on the story very quickly. It held my interest and I was keen to see how it ended.
SPOILERS:
However --- although the writing was great, the storyline was Swiss cheese.
If someone killed the person I loved right in front of me, there would be no way I'd agree not to call police, or to let the killer have some time to think, and be like "OK, I trust you will turn yourself in tomorrow." And then the next day, start hanging out with said killer, and even begin looking at them and thinking, "I am kinda attracted to them and hey, maybe...". And for the entire story to take place over 3 days? It takes 2 days for teens to bust a secret drug ring just by asking questions? (My town needs to hire them pronto because the cops here sure aren't doing it!)
I was disappointed at the too-neat little resolution after all the twists and messiness of the narrative up to that point. It was unsatisfying and unrealistic. Seriously? The old "put a gun in a dead man's hand and say it was suicide because testing for gunshot residue isn't a thing and the fact it would be blatantly obvious the wound wasn't made at skin contact range would never ever be noticed by experienced law enforcement" trick? 😒
In summation, the book is enjoyable if you don't think about it too much. It would have been a great made-for-TV movie on ABC back in 1979, if fentanyl was a thing then.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2023
A debut Canadian poet author, Curtis Le Blanc’s Sunsetter is his debut crime mystery novel. It’s the tale of two teenagers, Dallan and Hannah, who attend opening night at the Sunsetter rodeo and struggle with the deaths of their two close friends. The unfolding drama reveals the dying small prairie town of Perron, deserted by industry and replaced with a flourishing drug trade. The local police don’t seem to care and are only interested in protecting their own interests. It’s a gritty slow burn of a story that is difficult to get into. The narrative fails to flow into an enticing story, but rather feels like a series of vignettes that would seem to reflect his poetic works. As a modern noir, it doesn’t work as either literary or crime fiction, and so is a disappointing two star read rating. With thanks to ECW Press and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.
August 23, 2022
This book has a lot of potential and I enjoyed it overall. I did not feel like this was a fast-paced thriller like the description markets the book as, but more of a slow burn as the abundant description of people/places outweighed the action. I was not particularly drawn to any of the characters until the end scenes with Hannah where her character really shined, which were my favorite part of the story. The concept of the Sunsetter mixed with the drug ring creates the foundation for a unique premise that did make this an enjoyable read.
October 21, 2022
So it was a little difficult for me to get really into this book. It starts off slow and gives a detailed description of their town carnival from the view of two very young adults just looking to have some fun. Drugs and alcohol are the main topics of this book.. Once it actually picks up and get really interesting is when you see who is actually behind the "drug ring" in the town. Overall, it is a good book but I was hoping for a little more at the end. It definitely had the opportunity to go on for another chapter just to see how the outcome of her decision affected the life she chose.
October 26, 2022
This was an interesting read that used fiction in a way to expose real life issues such as law enforcement corruption, the increasing opioid epidemic and teen violence. While this book scraped the surface of these topics, there was a lot of potential to dig further into it. The characters were fascinating, the writing interesting, but the plot needed a little more beef to make it 5 stars. The ending also left me with a lot of questions and I really wondered what would have come next had the story continued.
May 13, 2023
Exceptionally well-written, with honest characterizations and intense, poetic imagery (the atmosphere in the room as “thick with the night’s heavy breath”, for example), Sunsetter redefines the conventions of crime fiction. There is no tidy resolution here. The truth is revealed, but only to Hannah, not to the world. How she carries this truth will remain with the reader. It is not typical, genre-driven crime fiction, for it is also literary fiction, and we will ponder the outcome, and the people of that outcome, for a long time.
July 3, 2023
There's no doubt LeBlanc is a very good writer. The book opens with a crisis, and then another, so it pulled me in quickly. After a while, though, it started to bother me because I didn't believe it; there were details missing that made it all feel unreal and highly unlikely. But then I realized it absolutely works as a post-apocalyptic story -- the setting being a small Prairie town that used to thrive but that has lost its industry and purpose. With this in mind, my interest was revived and the book felt like a success. But be warned: it is dark and violent, even a bit Tarantinoesque.
November 22, 2022
This book is a fast paced story, with a few twists and turns I didn't see coming. I really liked Dallan and Brooks and Hannah, and the small town carnival vibe was nostalgic and the premise believable. The ending felt a little abrupt, but I think it made sense for the character. Hannah does not show her emotions easily, and the imagery of washing everything down the drain to move on with her life felt right.
June 11, 2023
What a lovely little book.
Despite the fact that the main characters are late teens, I think this would have appeal to an adult audience also.
It is well crafted - turns out that Jen Sookfong Lee was his editor - moving along at a nice clip and keeping tightly focused on the critical elements of the story, resisting any temptations to wander off on tangents or get preachy, which could easily have been the case.
Definitely recommended.
Despite the fact that the main characters are late teens, I think this would have appeal to an adult audience also.
It is well crafted - turns out that Jen Sookfong Lee was his editor - moving along at a nice clip and keeping tightly focused on the critical elements of the story, resisting any temptations to wander off on tangents or get preachy, which could easily have been the case.
Definitely recommended.
December 11, 2022
Got an ARC of this book. It's a very fast paced literary thriller. It takes place over one rodeo weekend in a small town. It features young characters, corrupt cops, the opioid crisis, a town desecrated by the oil industry, and a lot of twists and turns. All topped with gorgeous writing.
Highly recommended, especially for people craving modern prairie fiction.
Highly recommended, especially for people craving modern prairie fiction.
March 13, 2023
I enjoyed this thriller as it was fast paced and put you in the head of the characters and the reasons behind the actions they took regardless of the consequences. The description of the Sunsetter rodeo made you feel like you were there. It did take me a while to get use to the lack of quotation marks but overall it worked for me.
September 12, 2022
Loved everything about this book - finished it in one sitting! A dark, small-town thriller that will have you wanting to do nothing else but read all day until you get to the end. And what an ending! Leaves you with major book-hangover.
May 7, 2023
A fast-paced story of aching in a small town of characters whose dreams are left unfulfilled and in which corruption aids the continuation of hopelessness among many. Hannah's story is possibly the saddest of them all.
May 23, 2023
A compelling read that I ploughed through in a weekend! Layered characters, intense plot, and wonderful, gritty descriptions of even the everyday aspects of life in a prairie town. Leblanc's prose is literary and his plot drives forward like a good thriller. Highly recommend!
September 11, 2023
A slow burn leads to an explosive event in this sort of mature YA novel. This novel feels a lot like a lovesong for people who are from the Canadian prairies. I know I found myself replacing Sunsetter with Red River Ex while I was reading it.
August 20, 2022
What an ending, I was not expecting that at all. I really enjoyed reading this book. Thank you for choosing me for an ARC.
September 4, 2022
Well-done small town tale of teenagers, drugs, carnies, and corrupt cops—solid literary noir with a great county fair/rodeo setting that ramps up the menace. No spoilers, but it's dark.
September 29, 2022
The tension and surprising plot twists drove the book to an excellent ending. Perfect for those who love solving mysteries and quick paced thrillers.
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