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45 Caliber Perfume
A wildly funny noir masterpiece by Leo W. Banks, the author of DOUBLE WIDE, a Western Writers of America double Spur award winner for Best First Novel and Best Contemporary Western… and True West Magazine's Best Western Crime Novel of the Year.
Arizona businessman Henry Belmont’s senate campaign is looking good. The cash contributions are rolling in and Mary Rose Cleary, his sexy, young campaign manager and mistress, is happy to handle the flow, as long as she can secretly pocket her cut. Complicating the picture is Henry’s conniving wife Barbara, a fading beauty with a secret criminal past and a deadly agenda. But Mary and Barbara share more than a bed with handsome Henry. They both love guns, money and sex...and know how to use them to get what they want. Now, in the brutal heat of a Phoenix summer, the lives of this scheming trio will collide in a violent explosion of betrayal, greed and murder.
Praise for Leo W. Banks
".45-Caliber Perfume, combines murder and greed with a hefty does of dark humor. There is plenty for noir fans to savor, but Banks livens everything with frequent and surprising humor. This is most evident in the dialog, but also finds its way into the description of the settings. It’s a risky mixture – but Banks pulls it off with a deft touch." Bookgasm
"The writing flows easily, the dialogue is peppered with wry observations, the plot tightly braids its seemingly disparate strands into a fascinating pattern, and the characters zing with life. This intelligent, pleasurable western noir will have readers longing for more." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Great writing line to line, wonderful evocation of place, each sentence edged with grit and humor" James Sallis, author of Drive
"Banks writes skillfully and with deep love for the Arizona desert and his characters." NPR
Arizona businessman Henry Belmont’s senate campaign is looking good. The cash contributions are rolling in and Mary Rose Cleary, his sexy, young campaign manager and mistress, is happy to handle the flow, as long as she can secretly pocket her cut. Complicating the picture is Henry’s conniving wife Barbara, a fading beauty with a secret criminal past and a deadly agenda. But Mary and Barbara share more than a bed with handsome Henry. They both love guns, money and sex...and know how to use them to get what they want. Now, in the brutal heat of a Phoenix summer, the lives of this scheming trio will collide in a violent explosion of betrayal, greed and murder.
Praise for Leo W. Banks
".45-Caliber Perfume, combines murder and greed with a hefty does of dark humor. There is plenty for noir fans to savor, but Banks livens everything with frequent and surprising humor. This is most evident in the dialog, but also finds its way into the description of the settings. It’s a risky mixture – but Banks pulls it off with a deft touch." Bookgasm
"The writing flows easily, the dialogue is peppered with wry observations, the plot tightly braids its seemingly disparate strands into a fascinating pattern, and the characters zing with life. This intelligent, pleasurable western noir will have readers longing for more." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Great writing line to line, wonderful evocation of place, each sentence edged with grit and humor" James Sallis, author of Drive
"Banks writes skillfully and with deep love for the Arizona desert and his characters." NPR
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2022
43 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Leo W. Banks
16 books44 followersIn high school, Leo W. Banks worked loading delivery trucks with the Sunday edition of the Boston Globe. In those days the Sunday paper was really heavy, so he switched from lifting to writing. He graduated from Boston College and earned a masters degree from the University of Arizona, where he later taught writing. His articles have appeared in the USA Today, Newsday, Miami Herald, National Review, National Geographic Traveler, Sports Illustrated, Wall Street Journal and many others. He has been a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and, yes, the Boston Globe.
He has written four books of Old West history for Arizona Highways publishing and co-wrote a book about the Grand Canyon. His book about the saguaro cactus won’t stop selling. He has won thirty-eight statewide, regional and national journalism awards.
Leo has written four novels: Double Wide, Champagne Cowboys, .45 Caliber Perfume, and his latest, The Flying Z.
He has written four books of Old West history for Arizona Highways publishing and co-wrote a book about the Grand Canyon. His book about the saguaro cactus won’t stop selling. He has won thirty-eight statewide, regional and national journalism awards.
Leo has written four novels: Double Wide, Champagne Cowboys, .45 Caliber Perfume, and his latest, The Flying Z.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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January 26, 2023Look - I’m throwing in the towel on this one. I loved the author’s previous two novels but this one isn’t working out for me.
Not rated out of fairness to the author.
Not rated out of fairness to the author.
October 17, 2022
Greed, sex, and murder combine in .45-Caliber Perfume by Leo W. Banks, a gritty, face-paced, and entertaining contemporary noir tale.
One thing Leo W. Banks does exceptionally well is the way he uses a well-chosen word or phrase that does so much to paint a scene or create a mood, a hallmark of the best noir fiction writers.
Most of us rise above our baser instincts, but not so for the main characters in .45-Caliber Perfume. It’s a story about a shady politician and two women in his life, all who act on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated. We learn all three have secrets and hidden agendas which set them on a collision course. This, along with the terse, snappy dialogue and suspenseful plotting, gives the reader no chance to get bored.
Henry Vincent Belmont (Vin the Chin), we learn, was once an all-conference college football star with his sights set on the NFL until a knee injury crushed the dream. Now he is a self-made Phoenix businessman running for the United States Senate, motivated by the same things as most politicians, profiting from influence peddling and the thirst for fame and power. The two principal women in his life are his wife Barbara and his campaign manager Mary Rose Cleary. As might be expected, Mary is the common denominator in the story between Henry Belmont and his wife, Barbara. Mary manages not only Henry’s campaign fundraising, she is also his mistress, dreaming that once Henry gets elected, he’ll dump Barbara, marry her and take her to Washington with him. But no one knows her husband as well as Barbara does. She knows all about his philandering ways and Barbara has ambitions of her own that don’t include Henry.
Banks alternates between Mary and Barbara as narrators, so we hear from both the women and he produces believable and individual “voices” for each which I found compelling. It allows us to see the events and situations unfold from their individual points of view. We learn what they think about Henry, each other, and gain insight into their specific characters (or lack thereof), motivations, and agendas.
Ostensibly, Mary Rose Cleary at the beginning, despite her selfish motivations, is committed to Henry and helping him succeed. But once she discovers Henry’s secrets and that she won’t realize her dreams, that facade falls away quickly. Mary isn’t quite the nice girl and dedicated assistant we first believed she was, but a rather shady, conniving, and vengeful person who intends to get what she believes she deserves. As secrets get revealed and the lies uncovered amidst alcohol-fueled and illicit sexual trysts, we learn the unvarnished truths about two women with troubled pasts and hidden agendas. I’m uncertain we can find a single likeable character in this book, someone to feel sympathy for or root for. But understanding they are all on the edge of moral breakdown (or have already completed it), their actions are understandable.
There’s a sense of predictability here and I think readers will clearly see where this book is going. After all, the reason most of us strive to rise above our baser instincts is because we know we would get burned in the end if we didn’t. But not so for the main characters here. This is a story about all three acting on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated despite knowing things probably won’t end well for them. And Banks throws in enough surprises, it’s good fun for all.
Our verdict is .45-Caliber Perfume is a safe bet if you’re in the market for a gritty, suspenseful, noir fiction read where the combination of sex, greed, and murder moves the plot along masterfully. Just don’t expect light to triumph over darkness or good to win out in the end.
One thing Leo W. Banks does exceptionally well is the way he uses a well-chosen word or phrase that does so much to paint a scene or create a mood, a hallmark of the best noir fiction writers.
Most of us rise above our baser instincts, but not so for the main characters in .45-Caliber Perfume. It’s a story about a shady politician and two women in his life, all who act on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated. We learn all three have secrets and hidden agendas which set them on a collision course. This, along with the terse, snappy dialogue and suspenseful plotting, gives the reader no chance to get bored.
Henry Vincent Belmont (Vin the Chin), we learn, was once an all-conference college football star with his sights set on the NFL until a knee injury crushed the dream. Now he is a self-made Phoenix businessman running for the United States Senate, motivated by the same things as most politicians, profiting from influence peddling and the thirst for fame and power. The two principal women in his life are his wife Barbara and his campaign manager Mary Rose Cleary. As might be expected, Mary is the common denominator in the story between Henry Belmont and his wife, Barbara. Mary manages not only Henry’s campaign fundraising, she is also his mistress, dreaming that once Henry gets elected, he’ll dump Barbara, marry her and take her to Washington with him. But no one knows her husband as well as Barbara does. She knows all about his philandering ways and Barbara has ambitions of her own that don’t include Henry.
Banks alternates between Mary and Barbara as narrators, so we hear from both the women and he produces believable and individual “voices” for each which I found compelling. It allows us to see the events and situations unfold from their individual points of view. We learn what they think about Henry, each other, and gain insight into their specific characters (or lack thereof), motivations, and agendas.
Ostensibly, Mary Rose Cleary at the beginning, despite her selfish motivations, is committed to Henry and helping him succeed. But once she discovers Henry’s secrets and that she won’t realize her dreams, that facade falls away quickly. Mary isn’t quite the nice girl and dedicated assistant we first believed she was, but a rather shady, conniving, and vengeful person who intends to get what she believes she deserves. As secrets get revealed and the lies uncovered amidst alcohol-fueled and illicit sexual trysts, we learn the unvarnished truths about two women with troubled pasts and hidden agendas. I’m uncertain we can find a single likeable character in this book, someone to feel sympathy for or root for. But understanding they are all on the edge of moral breakdown (or have already completed it), their actions are understandable.
There’s a sense of predictability here and I think readers will clearly see where this book is going. After all, the reason most of us strive to rise above our baser instincts is because we know we would get burned in the end if we didn’t. But not so for the main characters here. This is a story about all three acting on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated despite knowing things probably won’t end well for them. And Banks throws in enough surprises, it’s good fun for all.
Our verdict is .45-Caliber Perfume is a safe bet if you’re in the market for a gritty, suspenseful, noir fiction read where the combination of sex, greed, and murder moves the plot along masterfully. Just don’t expect light to triumph over darkness or good to win out in the end.
December 13, 2022
Weird a** story
Well, isn’t this inspirational and uplifting. Not. Two psychos battle it out. One psycho left standing. Stupid hitmen from Boston, conniving politician and money laundering. It took me several hours to read this. Those are hours I’ll never get back
Well, isn’t this inspirational and uplifting. Not. Two psychos battle it out. One psycho left standing. Stupid hitmen from Boston, conniving politician and money laundering. It took me several hours to read this. Those are hours I’ll never get back
February 5, 2023
Awful
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews