Bad Girls

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUN 25, 2018

Evoking the vibrancy of 1950s Havana, this fierce thriller follows a posse of jazz hall patrons and performers as they escape from a nightclub on New Year's Eve, 1958 the night Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista stepped down and Castro took power. Carole, gangster moll to the owner of hot spot El Ed n, arrives at the club and discovers a tense showdown over an exchange of dirty money. Tasked with entertaining her husband's "business associate," she enlists her friend Taffy, one of the showgirls, but things take a dark turn, and the women end up with only a few hours to escape Cuba amidst political revolution after committing a murder and making off with a suitcase holding six million dollars. De Campi (No Mercy) delivers a script packed with righteous femme fatales full of wit and moxie, who, according to Taffy, "never face a crisis without lipstick." De Campi's masterful writing is punctuated by the coolness of Santos's block shading artwork and moody coloring; simplistic and reminiscent of the pop art style of the 1950s. Readers will revel in this fast-paced noir, embracing both its elegant period detail and pulpy genre roots.