By Paul D Brazill

This what his bio says:

‘Josh Stallings is your average ex-criminal, ex-taxi driver, ex-club bouncer, film making, script writing, movie advertising editing, punk. Google him and you may find out he has won many awards for his work as a trailer editor. He wrote and edited the feature film “The Ice Runner,” a Russian/American co-production. “Kinda Cute for a White-Boy” an independent feature he directed and co-wrote with novelist Tad Williams, won best picture at the Savannah International Film Festival. He also wrote “Ground Zero Texas,” a best selling Sony video game with Edward Neumeier (writer of RoboCop). He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Erika, his bullmastiff Nelson, Lucy the lab pit mix and Riddle the cat. BEAUTIFUL, NAKED & DEAD is his first novel’

And what a whipcrack of a novel it is, too!

Moses McGuire, the hero of BEAUTIFUL, NAKED & DEAD, has been through the mill. He’s an ageing, strip-club bouncer with a death wish and a code of honour that gets him into life threatening  trouble. He’s self-destructive. He’s a biker. He’s ex –army. And he’s hard as bloody nails!

In Beautiful, Naked & Dead, Josh Stallings’ exceptionally well -written, high –octane , debut novel, Moses’ only friend  is murdered by mobsters and, drenched with guilt and soaked in thoughts of revenge, Moses sets off  on a violent, boozy, road trip to track  down the killers. Search and Destroy!

From Los Angeles to Las Vegas, from the mean streets to yuppy  mountain homes, from bars to bordellos,  this is a vivid, exciting, funny and touching  piece of hardboiled noir complete with an Iggy  and Clash soundtrack.

Moses McGuire, like a cross between Sisyphus and The Man With No Name, is a compelling hero for our nihilistic times.

Highly recommended.

For a sample of Moses world, you can read Freedom Day, a short story by Josh Stallings, here.