“Brett Garcia Rose’s ferocious, action-packed first novel Noise delivers a jet-fueled narrative that pays off from start to finish.
Noise has the ruthless speed and efficiency of one of Donald E. Westlake’s Parker novels. Like those stories, Rose’s book dives deep into pulp when illustrating Leon’s adversaries, who wear evil on their sleeves—with overwrought dialogue to match.
Noise is unquestionably a thrilling read. It races along but still finds time for solid characterization, suspense, and metaphorical touches. It’s an energetic tale with grit and gravity, and a promising start for a first-time novelist.” Blue Ink
“Noise by Brett Garcia Rose introduces a wealth of emotionally resonant characters via an action-packed vengeance tale that explores the impacts of family and love against isolation. The plot is excellently paced, and the author presents a near perfect balance between quiet character moments and over-the-top action.
The prose of Noise is descriptive, evocative, and passionate, raising the novel above its more violent elements. Leon, who ignores society’s rules and uses his own brand of do-whatever-it-takes justice, operates in a moral gray area but still manages to evoke empathy, as he does what he does out of an overarching sense of family loyalty and love. Secondary characters also prove to be complex and sympathetic, including a pair of police officers who play a big role in Leon’s journey.
Noise is an action-packed story certain to excite those who enjoy thrillers driven by revenge.” Forward Reviews
“The Bottom Line: One of the year’s most memorable heroes embarks on a high-velocity quest to save the only woman he’s ever cared about. Leon’s jaw-dropping courage in a world of sleaze and unimaginable danger is pure magic.
While Garcia Rose has created a classic quest thriller, he’s no less devoted to the art of wordsmithing. Noise features some of the most lush language you’ll find in the genre, at times resembling the carefully crafted prose of Cormac McCarthy.” Best Thrillers
“By and large this could simply have been the literary equivalent of one of those revenge flicks you curl up with on the couch, a bowl of popcorn and a beer (or two) close at hand. But no, we’re given a story that’s more than popcorn and violence (though there is plenty of the latter). When Rose isn’t detailing Leon’s choreography of investigation and execution, he offers Leon’s reflections on his predicament and surroundings.
Noise is a revenge flick dressed up as art house mystery. Rose juxtaposes brutality with spirited, yet acerbic, prose. Meticulous attention to detail evokes noirish cinematic imagery. Read the book before Hollywood figures out how to make the movie.” The New Podler Review of Books
“This is a fast-paced, action filled novel that will leave you breathless. The main character draws you in to the story from the very beginning, and you’re right there with him through all the passion and the fury that follows. Is it society that corrupts us or do we corrupt society – do we become the very thing we fight against? This is an explosive, and at times terrifying, look at what one man is willing to do for someone he loves. It displays the power of love to bring about change in a person’s life, and how sometimes that power can become uncontrollable.
An action packed, dark novel. It stands out in the mystery/thriller genre because it is different. The characters are well developed and the plot makes some interesting and unexpected turns. It is definitely a page turner and once you start reading, it is hard to put down.
Noise is a force to be reckoned with.”
Net Galley
“In one of the best moments in Brett’s story, the narrator recounts how the life of the drummer is one of numbers, of counting. The passage is beautiful, and this concern–with time, with counting, with the beat of the heart–is what the story focuses on. Brett uses the drumming motif throughout the story to tell a sadder, deeper story of a relationship heading south.”
Short Story Reader
“Years ago, on first reading Catcher in the Rye, it was the voice that astounded me there. The voice had attitude. Attitude makes for great writing. But it can also make for bad writing, if it’s overdone. Finding the balance is harder to achieve than one might initially think. Brett does that here. And what makes the surly, don’t-want-to-be-here voice so much more interesting is that it’s happening on vacation. If there’s any time to lay off the cynicism, an expensive trip on a ship is it. Not our narrator, though. He really isn’t happy to be alive. And somehow we’re glad to hear it”.
Short Story Reader
“A beautifully, articulately, sensitively described journey. ”
Gloria Garfunkel
“I’m usually on guard against the extended metaphor, but you pull it off, and more than once, in the course of a few pages, in second person no less. A merciless character study…I want his name…”
John Minichillo
‘He would carry child-sized scars for the rest of his life.’ “That’s one of those sentences that makes me read and write fiction.”
David Erlewine
“I felt the emotions in this piece – the sadness, the loneliness, the weariness. I feel you captured the end of a relationship and gave it a certain dignity.”
Teresa Shen Swingler
“A piece of perfect. The language is unbelievable – heady – took me and pulled me into the drama and intensity of feeling, without being saccharine or syrupy. Well done.”
Yvette Wielhouwer Managan
“Loved this story. It has such an engaging, cinematic quality, and such ferocious language.”
J.A. Johnson
“The voice here is more sculptor than painter to me–words hammered into place, into the exactly suited shape and shine, and scratches. The fierce language has the smell of metal to it, too, of twisted thoughts fused and rusted with pink water. Dynamite prose. So good it hurts.”
Barry Friesen
“Mind-blowing perfect. It has everything. Exquisite details, world-weary voice, and people worth knowing. A staggering, compelling work of fiction.”
MaryAnne Kolton
“Compelling raw energy.”
Susan Tepper
“Gorgeous language, well traveled, methodically, memorized paths, used up — such a perfect description of that universal need to connect and its ugliness, rather than the ugliness of desperate people. what people do over and over to not be alone.”
Lauren Becker
“What heft at the end! Well done.”
Frank Goodish
“I read this a couple times and it came up different each time. The end is so incongruous yet so realistic that I wanted to cry.”
Susan Gibb
“The language crackles. Well dressed, and perfectly conveyed.”
Andrew Bowen
“Best I’ve read yet.”
D.W Hooker
“Superbly Explosive. The rage escalates and careens out of control. Amazing!”
Ajay Nair
“Potent, strong noir.”
Larry Strattner
“Beautiful and moving, wonderfully sustained.”
Rachel J. Fenton
“Great characterization and the narrative just drives forward! Wonderful work!”
Lucille Barker
“Spectacular Writing!”
James Claffey
“This feels terribly real. Emotional depth, choice of physical/psychological detail, voice is keen. Wonderful writing and real, vivid people. This work is frighteningly good.”
Meg Pokrass
“So excellent.”
Beate Sigriddaughter
“Beautiful and wonderful and sad and real.”
Sally Houtman
“Perfect, compact and explosive, closing with the gentlest word.” James Lloyd Davis”
