Review: FIERCE BITCHES by Jedidiah Ayres

FIERCE BITCHES is a novella unlike any I've read before. A haunting and violent slice of noir set amongst a desolate backdrop where ramshackle residents live and die by their vices. The town of Politoburg, a satellite-like town is a lonely place where hearts come to die and hope fades quicker than innocence. The trade push is prostitution and strong arm tactics; for pimps and revellers, a haven of sorts, for those bound to the town limits, a hell as hot at the Mexican desert.

Despite the bleak environment, a demented love story spawns through Ramone and his cast of Maria's (female prostitutes). Horribly beaten, Ramone's physical injuries coincide with the Maria's inner scars. Together they form an uprising to break the shackles of their respective confinement only to roam the desert seeking solace in the blood of men who take advantage of the fairer sex.

Jedidiah Ayres manages to portray a deep and wholly satisfying tale which reads more like a full length than novella. The writing is crisp and concise; not a word out of place, nor scene unwarranted. The sense of atmosphere is unmistakable, Ayres consumes the reader wholeheartedly, I couldn't help but get lost amongst the escapades of Ramone and co., the gringo escape, double cross, and the unforgiving landscape which dominates the story.

The style and substance echoes the darkest corners of Quentin Tarantino's mind; an exploitation of the genre so raw and bloody it's sure to become an underground cult classic. Jedidiah Ayres proves with FIERCE BITCHES that noir has a new prince; readers rejoice for a new dawn of dark fiction is slowly descending upon us.

The cinematic beauty amongst the brutality leads me to think an adaptation to graphic novel would be perfect. In fact, as I read FIERCE BITCHES I couldn't help but picture the story in a Vertigo-Crime-like viewfinder. Here's hoping.

Side note - FIERCE BITCHES is due for release early 2013 and should feature on many noir enthusiasts best novella lists by years end.