What happens when currency is an illusion and the world seems on the verge of another Collapse? The drinks keep flowing!
So uncover the conspiracy with this week's Pick Your Poison—where we create a cocktail inspired by a recently published mystery, thriller, or crime novel—“The Last Paloma” cocktail, inspired by Robert Kroese's 2nd Erasmus Keane and Blake Fowler mystery, The Last Iota!
The year is 2039, and Los Angeles is poised between order and chaos. After the Collapse of 2028, a vast section of LA, now known as the Disincorporated Zone, was disowned by the civil authorities and became a de facto third world country within the borders of the city.
Navigating the boundaries between DZ and LA proper is a tricky task, and there’s no one better suited than eccentric private investigator Erasmus Keane. So when movie mogul Selah Fiore decides she needs to get her hands on a rare coin lost somewhere in the city, she knows Keane is the man for the job.
But while the erratic Keane and his more sensible partner Blake Fowler struggle to unravel the mystery of the elusive coins, Blake’s girlfriend Gwen goes missing and Selah Fiore turns up murdered. Both of these crimes seem to be linked to the coins—and to an untraceable virtual currency called iotas, used by drug dealers and terrorist networks.
Framed for Selah’s murder and desperate to find Gwen, Keane and Fowler must outwit DZ warlords, outmaneuver a reclusive billionaire, and stay a step ahead of the police while they gradually uncover the truth about iotas. Soon the clues begin to point to a conspiracy at the highest levels of government—and to a mysterious trickster who has orchestrated it all. As the DZ devolves into chaos and another Collapse seems to loom, Blake Fowler realizes that the brilliant Erasmus Keane may have finally met his match.
Read an excerpt from The Last Iota!
PICK YOUR POISON
“The Last Paloma”
Ingredients:
– 2 oz. silver tequila
– 2 oz. grapfruit juice*
– 1/2 oz. lime juice
– lime wedge (garnish)
– salt (rim)*Traditional palomas are made with grapefruit soda, but grapefruit juice and soda water give it a fresher taste, in my opinion.
How to make the cocktail:
- Rim a highball or rocks glass with salt (optional).
- Build the ingredients in order over ice.
- Give it a gentle stir to combine.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Stir up a few “Last Paloma” cocktails, and don't forget to order your copy of The Last Iota by Robert Kroese!
Read Angie Barry's review of The Last Iota!
To learn more or order a copy, visit:
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Robert Kroese honed his sense of irony growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After barely graduating from Calvin College, he stumbled into software development. In 2009, he called upon his extensive knowledge of useless information and love of explosions to write his first novel, Mercury Falls.