Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love

Carlos Allende is a media psychology scholar and a writer of fiction. He has written two previous novels: Cuadrillas y Contradanzas, a historical melodrama set during the War of Reform in Mexico, and Love, or the Witches of Windward Circle, a horror farce set in Venice, California. Based on his research on narrative persuasion and audience engagement, he developed the course The Psychology of Compelling Storytelling, which he teaches in the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension. He lives in Santa Monica with his husband.

“The most irredeemable and meticulously fashioned ne'er-do-wells I've ever rooted for. Murder in LA has never been such lurid, frothy fun.” —Dave Caplan, Executive Producer of The Conners“Fresh, highly original, and whiplash funny, Allende serves up a story in a voice like no other I’ve ever read. It’s often profane but by equal turns poignant—and I found myself laughing out loud from the start.” —Susan Jane Gilman, author of Donna Has Left the Building“The unapologetically wicked characters of Carlos Allende’s darkly comedic novel are beyond salvation, no matter the legal (or emotional) crimes they’re committing. But that’s the fun for us. Allende’s masterful comedy of errors comes out hot and reaches a frenetic pace by the climax of Jignesh’s and Charlie’s hijinks—but all’s well that ends well, even if it didn’t end well for those who crossed their paths. Funny, shocking, and depraved, this novel warns us about what happens when our darkest impulses drag themselves into the light.” —Charles Jensen, author of Nanopedia"Charlie’s penchant for digressive cinematic deep cuts is endearing.” —Kirkus Reviews“It’s a murder mystery, it’s a crime drama, it’s all kinds of things wrapped up in this wonderful comedic novel. Yet, there’s pathos; there’s is something poignant in the story. . . .Funny and fascinating at the same time, there’s a poignant aspect to both of these characters.”—Norman B from Life Elsewhere“There’s humor, there’s sadness, and there’s this poignant undercurrent of recognition. . . .Both characters are flawed and yet we root for them!” “It’s [full of] teeny tiny little jokes that were awesome." —Shelagh Connor Shapiro from Write the Book: Conversations on Craft“A very good read. Very excited for people to read it!” —Joey Held from Good People, Cool Things "Carlos Allende has written a very strange and complex story of murder, mayhem, and maybe a little madness, filled with wacky characters, lots of dark humor, and some pretty unbelievable situations." — Rosi Hollinbeck from Seattle Book Review"Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love is a delightful beach read, a lampoon of American culture that provides plenty of suspenseful fun." — Sarah Osman from the arts fuse"It’s a very funny tale of an unlikely and unusual relationship between two gay men and murder." — Alternative Perspectives"Allende's take on the mystery novel is a darkly humorous one, and that's a good thing." — Edge Media Network's Summer Books Roundup"It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book as unabashedly fun as Coffee, Shopping, Murder, Love, and I think it’ll be a while before I read another book that so deftly marries whimsy with wrongdoing, that makes me laugh out loud while cringing at the same time." -- Genevieve Hartman from Independent Book Review