He applied the Page 69 Test to Yellow Medicine and reported the following:
One day, I hope one of my page 69s is full of dirty, raw, squishy sex. But not this time. Yellow Medicine's 69 is the beginning of Chapter 7, wherein our protagonist Billy Lafitte, bent cop and Southerner exiled in Minnesota, is on the phone with Drew, the girl he loves who doesn't love him back (except for that one time he fucked her rotten, baby), because her psychobilly band, Elvis Antichrist, just got a surprise gig a couple of hours away in the Twin Cities. Hmmm. Suspicious? Not at the time, but it will be. I mean, later.Learn more about Yellow Medicine and its author at Anthony Neil Smith's website and his MySpace page.
But one line here sums up their relationship: "Always good to hear from her, heartbreaking as it was."
If not for his love for Drew, Billy wouldn't even be involved with most of the mess that happens in this book--including severed heads, amateur terrorists, an ex-partner with a secret, and a frame-up. But she asked for a favor, not for her but for her loser boyfriend Ian, and Billy responded like a puppy waiting for his treat. A stupid choice, but it's hard to say no when your heart is pumping twice as fast every time she looks your way.
Does it sound romantic? Maybe I'm just trying to trick you. After all, if it was all sweet and lovely, it wouldn't be noir, would it?
Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.
--Marshal Zeringue
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