Choke Hold

By Christa Faust

Angel Dare went into Witness Protection to escape her past -- not as a porn star, but as a killer who took down the sex slavery ring that destroyed her life. But sometimes the past won't stay buried. When a former co-star is gunned down, it's up to Angel to get his son, a hotheaded MMA fighter, safely through the Arizona desert, shady Mexican bordertowns, and the neon mirage of Las Vegas...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hard Case Crime
• Release date: Oct 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9780857684059

Christa Faust

Christa Faust is a successful horror and crime writer. Her most recent novel Money Shot for Hard Case Crime won the Crimespree Award and was nominated for several others — a sequel is forthcoming. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and loves vintage shoes and noir cinema.

[sheriawilkinson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Choke Hold by Christa Faust

Former porn star Angel Dare comes out of witness protection to help an old friend. She agrees to watch out for her former co-stars son, Cody. He is an rising star in the MMA, a good fighter wanting to advance his career.

Things take a turn when their lives are in danger and they must fight to stay alive. No one is safe and Angel will not go down without a fight.

A fast paced page turning wild ride. Angel is a fighter in every way possible. A strong female lead who will fight to death, to help her friends. Full of intense edge-of-your-seat moments. I was hooked from the first page until the end.

Overall I found Choke Hold enjoyable and highly recommend to those who like thrilling crime. I also suggest the first Angel Dare book Money Shot.

[mugsynoir · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A former lover of Angel Dare's walks into a diner where she's working until she can arrange a new identity and embroils her in a new set of complications. Angel's already hiding out from Croatian criminals that she fell afoul of in Faust's first Angel Dare novel, MONEY SHOT.

Angel's ex-lover, Vic, is meeting his 18-year old son, Cody, and when Vic is gunned down in the diner, he extracts a promise from Angel that she'll look out for Cody.

Cody is determined to compete to become a fighter in a Las Vegas Mixed Martial Arts show, so Angel has two priorities, keeping Cody and his fighting mentor, Hank, from getting killed, and getting Cody to his fighting competition.

Angel has her work cut out for her, especially when the Croatians show up again. They're still angry she exposed their sex-slave operation and they're seeking revenge.

CHOKE HOLD is a spare story, with action aplenty and little sentimentality. It rolls along from one calamity to the next until its dark, brutal ending. Those looking for expansive descriptions of the MMA fight scene will be disappointed. However, those looking for a tale from an evolving voice of gritty angst should be well-satisfied.

[verge0007 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Yes! Visceral, and brutal. Angel Dare is a fantastic protagonist. More please...

[calum7iain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the sequel to the brilliant, instant classic, "Money Shot" which introduced ex-porn star and noir heroine Angel Dare. It is a superb thriller, packed full of page-turning suspense, blazing action and a witty, hard-boiled noir sensibility. The characters are all cut from classic noir cloth, with each in turn combining a lost soul aspect with a mixture of good intentions and bad decisions. The characters are all trying their best in a sordid world, but a mix of naivety, foolish choices and self-indulgence leaves them lost and adrift in a deadly, dark world. Best of all, however, is Angel Dare herself; the beautiful but jaded porn queen, blasting her way through a sordid underworld, while fending off her own insecurities about intimacy and encroaching middle age. Angel is a hugely compelling character, who is beautifully written and developed by Christa Faust. Faust's writing is fast, sharp and intense, with a real feel for a hardboiled exchange and turn of phrase. "Choke Hold" is an outstanding noir thriller that more than lives up to the pyrotechnics of its powerful predecessor. The ending of the book, happily, leaves the way open for a further instalment and hopefully it won't be too long before we see Angel's adventures becoming a trilogy.