KNUCKLE SANDWiCH book club
iNTRODUCE KNUCKLE SANDWiCH TO YOUR BOOK CLUB, AND MAKE A HARD-BOiLED, PUNK ROCK DAY OF IT.
L.A. GOTHiC, NEO-NOiR, HARD-BOiLED, PUNK ROCK, MYSTERY THRiLLER
A ne’er-do-well punk rocker accidentally becomes a private investigator and has to find a missing goth girl.
From ivory office towers to no-name clubs, the rain slick streets of Los Angeles won't give Rachael up without a fight.
Her family wants Nick Paras to find her - But someone wants to kill him for trying.
Author Justin DiPego invites you into parts of the city that you’ve never seen - or maybe only think you know - and shines a flashlight shaking with adrenaline into the dark corners.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Justin DiPego is an author, screenwriter, horseman and artist with a passion for storytelling across multiple genres and media. He lives in a 110 year old haunted house in South Los Angeles and is slowly fixing it up (but not exorcising it) with his wife and their dog. His works include the L.A. Gothic, Neo-Noir, Hard-Boiled, Punk Rock, Mystery Thriller Knuckle Sandwich, plus short stories Saint Nick and The Pit King, and Illustrated, Urban-Noir, Mythological Thriller Wrong Side of a Workingman and Psycho-Noir Mystery Thriller Seven o’Clock Man.
WHAT TO TALK ABOUT
Discussion topics
- Favorite hard-boiled simile, metaphor or analogy?
- What did you learn about the punk rock ethos?
- What genres does the book cover? Southern Gothic is a thing - is California Gothic a thing?
- Do you think Nick can make a go of it?
- How do you feel about the ending?
- Did you see it coming?
- How do you feel about the cast of characters?
- Thoughts on the depiction of race or sexuality?
- How about the depictions of subcultures like punk or goth?
- How do you feel about Nick's "secret?"
- in places, the format changes from prose to poetry. Did that have any impact?
- Would you be interested in further stories from the casefiles of Nick Paras and Associates?
WHAT TO WEAR
Not everyone in the story is a punk, and even the ones who are don’t all dress the same.
Gather your punk or goth wardrobe
- Band or grindhouse movie t-shirts
- Blue jeans
- Plaid pants
- Black fishnets (on your arms!)
- Doc Martens
- Creepers
- Black leather
- Harness or corset
- Black dress
- Black pajamas
- Etc.
- if you picked this book for your book club, you know how to dress for this
WHAT TO DRiNK
There are several potent beverages mentioned in the text. i was looking for an on theme non-alc option, but i think the only one in the book is a tepid espresso.
Tequila
La Gritona
Sugar Hiccup cocktail
1 ½ oz MULLHOLLAND GiN
1 oz CHAREAU
½ oz RONDO APERTiVO
½ oz MANGO
½ oz LiME
BLACK SALT
- Vigorously shake your liquid ingredients over ice
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice
- Sprinkle with black salt
Midsummer Fox cocktail
1 ½ oz KULEANA NANEA RUM
1 ½ oz REDEMPTiON RYE
½ oz APRiCOT
½ oz DEMERARA SYRUP
½ oz OLOROSO SHERRY
- Vigorously shake your rum, rye, apricot and demerara over ice
- Strain into a julep cup full of fresh crushed ice
- Float your sherry on top and cover with a bit more crushed ice
Jägerbomb
½ can RED BULL
1 ½ oz JÄGERMEiSTER
- Just... do not do this
WHAT TO EAT
Even in the heat of the case, there are a few moments set aside for food.
Mom’s lentil soup
(this really is my mother’s recipe, extracted from her cookbook, edited with things i’m sure she would have done instead)
2 cups GREEN LENTiLS
3 ½ cups WATER OR BROTH
1 lb CANNED CHOPPED TOMATOES
1 SMALL ONiON, DiCED
an equal portion of DiCED CARROT
an equal portion of DiCED CELERY
4 CLOVES GARLiC, SMASHED
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE
2 BAY LEAVES
1 tbsp RED WINE ViNEGAR, PLUS EXTRA
1 tbsp GREEK OREGANO, PLUS EXTRA
1 choúfta FETA CHEESE FOR GARNiSH
- In a large pan, sauté your onion and garlic until soft
- Add water, tomatoes, salt and pepper and bay leaves and bring to boil
- Add lentils, reduce heat and simmer until tender, 30-60 minutes
- Stir in vinegar and oregano
- Remove from heat, remove bay leaves, taste for salt and pepper
- Serve hot or room temp
- Garnish with black pepper, oregano, a sprinkle of feta cheese and a drizzle of red wine vinegar
Saganaki
4 tbsp OLiVE OiL
1 ONiON, CHOPPED
2 CLOVES GARLiC, SMASHED
1 14 ½ oz can CHOPPED TOMATOES, OR SAME AMOUNT FRESH
½ glass DRY WHiTE WINE
1 tbsp GREEK OREGANO
SALT AND PEPPER
16 JUMBO SHRiMP, PEELED AND DEVEiNED
3 tbsp MiNT, FRESHLY CHOPPED, PLUS EXTRA
4 oz FETA CHEESE, DICED
GOOD BREAD
- In a cast-iron pan, heat the oil over medium heat
- Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft
- Add tomatoes, wine, oregano, salt and pepper, increase heat and simmer until thickened, 10 minutes
- Fire up your broiler
- Add shrimp and mint to pan, stirring until shrimp is almost cooked through, 2-3 minutes
- Add feta cheese, do not stir or mix in
- Put pan under the broiler until cheese is melting and starting to brown, 2-5 minutes (don’t look away)
- Sprinkle with mint and serve immediately in the pan, with good bread for dipping
WHAT TO LISTEN TO
Knuckle Sandwich Music (songs from the punk rock detective novel Knuckle Sandwich)
There are no fewer than 21 music references that carry Nick through this story. To hear what was playing in the background or in Nick’s head, check out the playlist Knuckle Sandwich Music on:
YouTube Music
Spotify
Apple Music
DOWNLOAD as a PDF