num_pages: 329
description: In Cocaine Nights, Ballard stretches the taut canvas of his transgressive vision over the framework of an old-fashioned mystery. The setting is the Costa del Sol and the stylish resort of Estrella de Mar where young retirees from Europe's chillier climes bask in a lifestyle of endless leisure. Into the queasy beauty of this artificial environment steps Charles Prentice, a travel writer from London who has come to visit his brother Frank, manager of the resort's Club Nautico — tennis and swim club by day, coked-up discotheque by night.Frank is in jail, having confessed to setting an explosive fire that has taken five lives. Certain that the confession was coerced, Charles wants to launch his own investigation. But Frank isn't interested in salvation, and the Spanish police don't want their open-and-shut case corrupted by a meddling Brit. Charles insists on continuing his crusade, though his life is threatened. As he allows himself to be drawn further into Estrella de Mar's dark underworld, this explosive novel accelerates toward a disturbing climax and Ballard once again reveals his visionary mastery in this warped tale of the unexpected.
language: English
title: Cocaine Nights
titlecomplete: Cocaine Nights
characters: Inspector Cabrera, Dr Paula Hamilton, Charles Prentice, David Hennessy, Elizabeth Shand, Bobby Crawford, Frank Prentice
genres: Literature, Fiction, Crime, Science Fiction, Thriller, Dystopia, 20th Century, British Literature, Novels, Mystery
ratings_count: 5991
places: Costa del Sol
awards: awardedAt: 820483200000
name: Whitbread Award
category: Novel
publisher: Counterpoint