Hard Light

The Cass Neary Crime Novels, Book 3

By: Elizabeth Hand

Narrated by: Carol Monda

As her passionately devoted fans know, Elizabeth Hand is a uniquely gifted storyteller. Listeners were introduced to her iconoclastic crime novels, featuring offbeat photographer Cass Neary, in the underground classic Generation Loss, which was followed by the brilliant Available Dark. In Hard Light, the third book in the series, Cass makes a remarkable discovery that could change our understanding of human history - if she lives long enough to share it.

As the story opens, Cass arrives in London, where she's arranged to meet her long-lost lover, Quinn O'Boyle. When Quinn fails to show at their rendezvous point, Cass meets the eccentric couple Mallo and Morven Dunfries. When Mallo catches Cass rifling through his medicine cabinet in search of drugs, he threatens to turn her in to the authorities then puts her to work as a runner for his illegal goods. Cass makes a delivery to Poppy Teasel, a famous singer from long ago. Cass leaves Poppy's flat but returns a short time later to find the place ransacked and Poppy dead. Fearful she'll become the next victim, Cass goes on the run.

©2016 Elizabeth Hand (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great series of books!

I got into these books when I'm read Available Dark I was hooked. Cas the main player she draws you in and keeps you in, it's a story that you won't forget and you'll read it over and over.

A rough ride .

The performance made the book. This writer takes the most uncomfortable and ugly story and adds interesting blurbs about photography which almost makes it enjoyable. This story was never meant to be enjoyable. It’s a dark journey through the most ugly parts of life.

A fantastic original crime novel

Elizabeth Hand is a fantastic author and I can’t recommend this series enough! Must read!

Well, yuck

I'm an indiscriminate user of audiobooks. I'm addicted. Plus Catalog is a mainstay of my life. I listen a lot and find a lot to enjoy in what I find. I never write reviews unless the book blows me away - one way or the other. This is the other.

While Elizabeth Hand is amazingly evocative with images, she seems to have no skill at all in creating relatable characters. I'm not a prude. I can relate to serial killers, pedophiles, rapists, etc. when they are presented in a sympathetic light, but the protagonist, and honestly all the rest of the characters here, lack all of the required requisites from which to elicit the compassion and human understanding which could gain any sympathy for their plight or their actions.

And, I can get behind almost any alternate worldview from satanism to aliens in a well-rendered story. But this? No. The whole Cass Neary series just lacks the ability to suspend my disbelief.

I like to give a writer a good chance of redeeming a few flaws in the narrative but I'm now in the third book of this series (I'm very patient and don't have much else to do while I knit) but I'm getting pissed off. It's lucky I didn't have to pay to find out how badly an author can let down her protagonist, cast of characters, and her readers. Thank you Plus Catalog.

#abrknpoet reviews Hard Light

Hard Light is the third instalment in the Cass Neary crime series, following the adventures of a punk photographer who gets involved in dark and dangerous mysteries. In this book, Cass travels to London to meet her lover Quinn, but he doesn’t show up. Instead, she finds herself entangled with a gangster, a filmmaker, and a group of cult-like fans of a legendary singer-songwriter. Cass has to navigate a twisted web of art, drugs, violence, and secrets that leads her to a stunning archaeological discovery that could change history.

Elizabeth Hand is a master of noir fiction, and Hard Light is a brilliant example of her skill and style. She creates a vivid and atmospheric world that blends the gritty realism of London’s underworld with the haunting beauty of England’s countryside. She also crafts a complex and compelling protagonist in Cass Neary, who is flawed, fearless, and fascinating. Cass is a survivor who lives by her own rules, but also has a deep sense of empathy and loyalty. She is drawn to the fringes of society, where she finds both danger and inspiration.

Hard Light is a thrilling and captivating read that will keep you hooked until the end. It is a book that explores the themes of loss, identity, creativity, and redemption. It is also a book that celebrates the power and passion of music, film, and photography. If you are looking for a novel that combines noir, punk, and archaeology in an original and exciting way, you should definitely check out Hard Light by Elizabeth Hand.


@stuartbrknjohns Twitter/Goodreads #1 reviewer 

Loved this third book!

This is a story about Cass, a super spicy Jessica Fletcher/Angela Lansbury. Instead of a 60 something mystery writer and amateur detective, you have a sexy 50 something photographer and amateur detective. Some people have left reviews that focus on the drug use and thievery but I'm sure that Jessica F was also popping those prescriptions that were dolled out back in the day and she would snag up items that she saw as 'clues'. Ok Sticky Fingers Fletcher, I saw what you did back in the day.
Another fantastic fast passed action packed book by Elizabeth Hand! I'm excited to start the fourth book but also feel that book gloom I always get when I'm almost done with an engrossing series.
My love for Carol Monda's voice grows with every book I hear her narrate.

A grim past revealed in the hard light of day

Another excellent performance by Carol Monda, although perhaps her attempt at British accents is not spot on. That fits though, given that the book is narrated in the voice of Cass Neary, who would probably be terrible at doing those accents herself. Cass is a very damaged and road-worn protagonist, and here she is thrust into a world of even more damaged people, an artistic scene with a dark past that haunts the present. Hand is great at evoking atmospheric locales, and she brings to life the rain lashed streets of London and the snow and sleet whipped moors of Cornwall. I enjoyed the way Hand wove the work of the eccentric photographer William Mortensen into the story too. Archaeology also figures into the story as well, with Cass making a fascinating discovery of ancient ingenuity. Cass may be too dark and damaged for some readers, even ones accustomed to down and out alcoholic detectives, but Carol Monda’s performance pulls me in and makes Cass vivid and compelling, even when she is not very admirable. I enjoyed the way Hand wove the work of the eccentric William Mortensen into the story too.