This Rancid Mill

This Rancid Mill is an engaging read with a distinct narrative voice and charming characters. Alex, the narrator, is a flawed but thoughtful young man who makes a conscious effort to better himself. Many of the story's themes revolve around the tough front Alex attempts to put up but ultimately peel back and subvert the troupe of the ultra-masculine hardboiled hero. In addition to being a homage to hardboiled noir, This Rancid Mill is inspired by modern issues like #MeToo. As Alex investigates the potential murder of a popular local singer he uncovers some unsavoury secrets about the victims private life. Even though Alex is a fan of the late singer, he starts to accept the evidence and reflects on his own past behaviours and attitudes. Ultimately, the story encourages readers to do the same. A lot of research went into writing the book as well. Numerous memoirs were read, countless documentaries watched, old 'zines were dug up, both in print and online. The book contains a lot of real places and even refers to actual shows and accurate line-ups from June of 1981. Thus making the book as immersive as possible for people who were actually there, as well as those who wish they could have been.


Genre: Mystery

"Alex Damage is, in his own words, 'a private investigator, of sorts...' Which is like saying Gnossos Pappadopoulis, the protagonist of Farina's 1960s classic Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me is a college student. Gnossos unforgettably wended his picaresque way through a crazed 1960s psychedelic landscape. Alex Damage lives in--and wryly observes and obsessively comments on--our own not psychedelic but no less crazy times. What Been Down So Long was to my generation, Kyle Decker's This Rancid Mill will become to contemporary readers. It's smart, it's funny, it's memorable. It's not wrong to call this a brilliant novel." - Mort Castle

"A neo-noir with a mohawk: This Rancid Mill masterfully combines wit, humour and suspense into a dark, and sometimes wonderfully ridiculous page-turner. Alex Damage is a riot, whose narrative begs an encore and a sneaky glass of bourbon to taste." - Vanessa C Hawkins

"Hilarious, hardboiled, and full of heart. Decker's a genius." - Cara Hoffman

"Philip Marlowe meets his match in Kyle Decker's punk noir detective Alex Damage. Set in the LA punk scene of the 80s, this dark mystery crackles with gritty scenes and wry dialogue. Damage drinks his booze neat and takes a few for the girl, just like any hard-boiled detective. Chandler would have approved." - Catherine O'Connell