Ceremony of Flies

When a showgirl named Kitty accidentally kills her boss, she quickly finds herself on the run with a petty criminal named Rex. When two more people wind up dead, Kitty, Rex, and an odd young boy named Harvey head for Mexico...

I got this from Netgalley.

The DarkFuse novella series continues to impress. Ceremony of Flies is a road trip novel through the American southwest, from Las Vegas to Mexico, with lots of killing and creepy shit along the way.

Even though it's a pretty slim story, there's a lot going on in Ceremony of Flies. Kate Jonez does a great job of pacing, both in action and how she doles out the backgrounds of Kitty and Rex is small morsels. I liked how Kitty gradually made Rex and Harvey her family, despite Harvey being one creepy little kid. Although, when you pick up a strange kid at the crossroads, you're pretty much asking for it.

Kitty is a pretty good narrator, her black humor a nice counterpoint to the generally icky feeling the book gradually acquires along the way. Oddly enough, the part of the book I found most revolting was the swim in the Salton Sea, one of the foulest lakes on Earth from what I'm told.

3.5 out of 5 stars. I'll be watching for more Kate Jonez books to pop up.