Editorial Content for Hot Wax
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
On tour with a hard-living rock ‘n’ roll band is no place for the faint of heart, the easily offended, or a 10-year-old girl. But what if your dad is the frontman, and life on the road usually keeps you apart? What begins as an exciting family adventure just might end in violence and result in decades of bad memories and emotional turmoil.
Such is the trajectory for Suzanne --- the now forty-something daughter of Gil Delgado, the recently deceased lead of the punkabilly band Gil and the Kills --- in M.L. Rio’s new novel, HOT WAX. A tale of debauchery, the pursuit of stardom, love of music, family and escape, the book follows Suzanne in two timelines as her younger self moves toward a devastating event that continues to haunt her in the present.
Even before Suzanne’s parents, Gil and Nora, split up, she didn’t see much of her father. Gil traveled a lot, from gig to gig, hoping to make it big with his band. But when Nora remarries and takes a long honeymoon, Suzanne finally has a chance to spend a whole summer with him. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Gil is taking Suzanne on tour with the Kills.
"M.L. Rio has packed so many great elements in this story... HOT WAX is a big, bold novel by turns frightening and redemptive."
This is great fun for Suzanne at first. She gets to see her dad in action on stage as a wildly costumed and charismatic figure doing what he loves. And offstage she learns about the hard work that goes into making music professionally. She becomes a keen observer of the adults around her, and her nascent photography skills provide a bit of distance from some of the chaos she witnesses.
However, as the weeks go on, life with the Kills becomes increasingly tense. There are band disputes and even violence at shows as the group’s fame rises. When they join the more popular and volatile Babel Mouth for some big concerts, everything begins to spiral out of control.
Suzanne never fully recovered from that tour. She’s been at loose ends for years despite having published a book of photography and settling into marriage with a man named Rob. After finding out that her father died, she takes his beloved Ford Ranchero and hits the road again, leaving Rob behind. On this journey she hopes to finally understand her father and the summer of 1989 when everything went wrong. Along the way, she hooks up with a young nomadic couple and once again escapes a violent episode.
M.L. Rio has packed so many great elements in this story --- from the exploration of fame, the dangers of drugs and nihilism, and the variety of loving and harmful relationships examined, to themes of maps and the power of music. But there are perhaps too many ideas that leave readers wanting more explanation and motivation for the actions and feelings of the characters. The young Suzanne timeline jumps around a bit, which can be confusing, and the big reveal comes so late that there is no time to see the consequences or read about the characters processing it.
HOT WAX is a big, bold novel by turns frightening and redemptive. There are a few missed opportunities here, but the writing is always interesting and stylish.
Teaser
Summer, 1989: Ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning --- one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come. The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next 29 years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband, Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers.
Promo
Summer, 1989: Ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning --- one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come. The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next 29 years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband, Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers.
About the Book
The new novel from the bestselling author of IF WE WERE VILLAINS and GRAVEYARD SHIFT --- a vivid and immersive tale of one woman’s reckless mission to make sense of the events that shattered her childhood, and made her who she is.
Summer, 1989: Ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But fame has sharper fangs than anybody realized, and as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning --- one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come.
The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next 29 years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband, Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers. Hitching her fate and Gil’s beloved car to two vagabonds who call an old Airstream trailer home, she finds everything she thought she’d lost forever: desire, adventure and the woman she once wanted to be. But Rob refuses to let her go. Determined to bring her back where she belongs, he chases her across the country --- and drives her to a desperation all her own.
Drenched in knock-down drag-out rock and roll, HOT WAX is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back --- where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.
Audiobook available, read by Helen Laser
