"Gray brilliantly returns us to his wonderfully vivid, sinuously imagined Vancouver, this time six months before the Crash. Superb." —William Gibson, author of Neuromancer
"A dreadfully funny novel, and a fitting cap to his “Northwest Noir” trilogy. As with his Victorian thrillers, Gray takes us down the slippery streets of 1920s Vancouver where, at the edge of the British Empire, world history plays itself out in murderous ways." —John Harlan Hughes, author of Dead in Tangier
Praise for Vile Spirits, Book 2 in the Raincoast Noir series:"enjoyable and propulsive sequel to 2017’s The White Angel." —Publishers Weekly
"From its first pages, Vile Spirits pulls the reader along its wry cavalcade of anarchy, desperation, intrigue, coincidence, and frenzy through scenes set by a playwright with an eye for staging and an ear for deadpan dialogue. Stifle your temptation to race toward its startling denouement. Read slowly and savor it from the start." —Washington Independent Review of Books
"The 1920s city depicted by John MacLachlan Gray is an ideal setting for noir fiction, full of drugs, alcohol, political corruption and sex....Highly recommended." —Vancouver Sun
“A riveting thriller of a read from first page to last, Vile Spirits once again showcases author John MacLachlan Gray's genuine flair as a novelist for the kind of narrative storytelling style that hooks the reader total and fascinated attention.” —Midwest Book Review
Praise for The White Angel, Book 1 in the Raincoast Noir series...
“This rich fictionalized take on the real-life 1924 murder of Scottish nanny Janet Smith, one of Vancouver’s most famous cold cases, is another feather in the cap of MacLachlan Gray (Not Quite Dead).... There’s wonderful dark humor, which Gray uses as a weapon against ruling-class political aspirations, clueless cops, and the shameful racism of the time. This is a highly entertaining work of fiction informed by hard truths.” ―Publishers Weekly
“It takes a distinct talent to turn factual murder into fiction and playwright (Billy Bishop Goes to War) John MacLachlan Gray has it…. I found it tightly edited without a single extraneous page. One of the best novels of the year.” ―The Globe and Mail“Labor unrest, enormous class disparities, and racial prejudice all figure into this thoughtful and entertaining novel.... Gray’s attention to character development yields fascinating protagonists.... The White Angel is a particularly appealing work of historical fiction.” ―Foreword Reviews
“Wonderfully evocative mystery set in Vancouver, 1924. Smog, police corruption, and of course the Klu Klux Klan. I’d so love the CBC to do a limited series of this. The setting, historically accurate, would be as wildly unfamiliar as it is weirdly topical.” ―William Gibson, from a New York Times interview
