Audrey Dare and Mace Valor take on crime and adventure in a noir series, the likes of which you've never seen.

THE
SToRy

THE CASE
STARTS HERE

LITTLE WRATH PUBLISHING is proud to present:

Set in the uneasy, electric years just after World War II, these books reflect a time defined by shifting power, returning soldiers, and a nation caught between optimism and unrest.

This hard-boiled series carries the shape of the era: the clipped wit, the smoky atmosphere, the moral tension simmering beneath the bright California sun. Combined with the energy of pulp means shorter novels. More momentum. More adventure per page.

One world seen continuously through two sets of eyes. The Dare and Valor series is based on alternating books between the two main characters:

Audrey Dare--a relentless, capable “Girl Friday” whose wit and willpower drive her deeper into secrets she has no business uncovering.

Mace Valor--a hard-boiled, wise-cracking, private detective, built for tough situations—direct, dangerous and lethal when pushed.

Two writers. Two vantage points. One continuous noir chronicle.

We’re thrilled you’re here for it.

WELCOME TO
SARITA MUERTA

Sarita Muerte is a sun-bleached paradise with a deadly underbelly—a coastal city where beach glamour masks a postwar rot steeped in gangster intrigue. The name itself—"Sarita Muerte"—translates to "little princess death" and the city lives up to it.

Endless beaches spill into a neon-lit pier where tourists chase carnival rides, saltwater taffy, and jazz drifting from oceanfront clubs. Palm-lined boulevards run from fog-shrouded cliffs and luxury hotels to inland blocks of Spanish bungalows, smoky bars, and hidden gambling dens. The air tastes of salt, cigarettes, and quiet corruption.

The war left behind heroes with nowhere to go—embittered veterans trading uniforms for trench coats, badges, or trigger fingers. Some try to keep the city honest. Most just try to survive it.

Beneath the glamour, gangsters run the show: offshore gambling ships beyond the three-mile limit, protection rackets along the boardwalk, bootleg liquor pouring into Hollywood-adjacent parties. Rival mobs carve up territory through backroom deals, fog-slick drive-bys, and bodies washing ashore at dawn.

Hard-boiled detectives, cops on the take, crooked politicians, and femme fatales in red lipstick are silhouetted against the sunset. Sarita Muerte lures them all with golden beaches and the promise of reinvention—then closes her hand around their throats with a kiss of death.

GET WISE TO
THE GOOD GUYS

Sunshine with steel edges.

A relentlessly optimistic Girl Friday, who answers every crisis with "We can fix it."

But her missing father, drowning debt, and run of cruel luck are testing just how long she can keep pretending the cracks don't show.

MACE VALOR

AUDREY DARE

NERO

HAVOC MCGRANE

Wrecking ball with a wrench.

Grease, grit, and barely-contained fury. Commando turned mechanic, he's a hard-drinking hellraiser who never shook the taste for chaos.

Sabotage and survival aren't skills; they're reflexes.

Frog-dog with a lion heart.

The pint-sized French Bulldog pup has a face full of mischief and a personality that's equal parts chaos and loyal sidekick.

A one-dog demolition crew—get in his way and prepare for tiny tank takedown.

Bright spark in a powder keg.

Ex-fighter pilot with a mind like a razor and morals like smoke.

Once an ace pulling miracles from flak and fire; now a two-bit shamus blowing every hard-earned dime on rye, willing dames, and horses that finish last.

Gunner RUtt

REBECCA 'BECS' RUTT

PINCHET & Punch

CHUGGIE BARNES

THE USUSAL SUSPECTS:
MUGS YOU'LL LOVE TO HATE

Gunner's soon-to-be ex, a raven-haired knockout with a taste for trouble and other men's beds.

Spoiled rotten, indiscreet, and so damn pretty it hurts to look at her.

She drifts through rooms like a cloud of French perfume laced with arsenic.

Old money, the kind that buys silence and never apologizes.

Handsome in an icy Nordic way—his smile warms the room while his soul stays locked in permafrost.

The city bows when he walks in; the corpses just don't talk about why.

Chuggie Barnes' rough-neck muscle. Thugs who collect on overdue loans with their fists and a sap.

Not the sharpest knives in the drawer—hell, they wouldn't know a thought if it slugged them—but they get the job done with plenty of enthusiasm.

The friendliest loan shark this side of the river Styx. He'll pat you on the back, buy you a drink and ask after your kids.

But miss the vig? The affable uncle turns butcher in the back room. He'll slit your throat, like he's opening yesterday's mail

Claire LeClerc

ARSENY

THE VINCH

EDWIN IRWIN

SKIRTS & BRUTES:
TROUBLE YOU CAN'T QUIT

Sultry as a slow blues number, violet eyes that could melt steel or freeze your blood, depending on her mood.

Upper-crust bad girl with a pedigree longer than her rap sheet. Trouble in silk stockings, the kind who makes you forget you're breathing.

Claire's private Rasputin, a lean, Russian pipe-hitter who handles the dirty work with quiet efficiency.

Battle-scarred with an eye for the future, he's got all the empathy of a hired gun.

When LeClerc snaps her fingers, he makes problems disappear—permanently.

Sharp-dressed Sarita Muerta mobster with a taste for power and a grudge against half the town.

Ambitious made guy, tired of fighting Rutt and LA's Mickey Blowtorch for scraps of the rackets.

Cross him and you'll die regretting it.

A by-the-book DA, shakebox, all starched collars and no mercy.

Valor's flyboy war buddy, but don't let the clean-cut act fool you—he'll hang you high and sleep like a baby afterward.

Justice is his racket, and he plays it rough.

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