First published 2014
In "Mussolini and the Axeman's Jazz," New Orleans trembles under the threat of its only confirmed serial killer, the Axeman, whose reign of terror intersects with Freemasons and the aftermath of World War I. Brite weaves historical records into fiction, creating a narrative where secret societies and documented murders collide in the sultry streets of the Crescent City. "Are You Loathsome Tonight?" takes readers inside the world of Elvis Presley, but not the sanitized version of popular memory. Brite strips away the glitter and mythology to reveal something darker beneath the King's crown. Her Elvis exists in a shadowy realm where fame becomes a different kind of prison. Both stories showcase Brite's signature ability to find the sinister threads running through American culture. She transforms historical figures and real events into something unsettling, revealing the violence and obsession that lurk beneath familiar surfaces. These tales capture the author's distinctive voice at its most potent.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, crime, 21st-century, dark
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: historical-figures, real-events
Setting: New Orleans
Period: World War I
46 pages · Kindle Edition · Open Road Media
Content warnings: violence