Shoot the Moon

In the second Rainey Hall mystery (following Double Exposure), Barry continues to explore the glamorous and gloomy extremes of California, with a story that ventures through Los Angeles, Laurel Canyon, and Joshua Tree in search of answers to a current mystery that connects events from Rainey’s past. The story weaves between the summer that Rainey spent near LA, when she and her best friends Alice and Spencer broke into empty houses and engaged in small criminal acts that ultimately spiraled into a big theft. A few days later, Alice went missing—and nine years after that, Rainey takes on a case that brings her back into the same mysterious society steeped in drugs, art, and influence. Some of the narration feels a little heavy-handed (e.g., using a radio broadcaster to fill in gaps in information for readers), and the novel could benefit from some compression. Still, the story is well-paced and features a psychologically complex cast of characters. It’s familiar yet satisfying, with trenchant observations about celebrity culture, childhood relationships, addiction, and family secrets.